English Apocalypse Manuscripts
Encyclopedia
Illustrated Apocalypse
manuscripts are manuscript
s that contain the text of Revelation
or a commentary on Revelation and also illustrations. Many of the more famous Apocalypse manuscripts were made in England
c. 1250-1400.
Paul Meyer
and Léopold Delisle, in their book L’Apocalypse en français au XIIIe siècle (Paris MS fr. 403), 2 vols., Paris, 1900-1, were the first scholars to try to list, describe and categorise the English Apocalypse manuscripts.
M. R. James also wrote about illustrated Apocalypse manuscripts in his book The Apocalypse in Art, London, 1931.
Since M. R. James' work, there have been a number of more recent studies by R. Freyhan, George Henderson, Peter Klein, Suzanne Lewis, Nigel Morgan and Lucy Sandler.
These manuscripts can be divided by the language and form of the Apocalypse text. Many manuscripts have a Latin
text, others have an Anglo-Norman
prose text and others have a French
verse text combined with a Latin text. Two manuscripts do not have a separate text, but incorporate excerpts from the text into the illustrations.
The illustrations can be divided into several different iconographic
groups. Interestingly, the manuscripts with a Latin text all belong to the same iconographic family. With a few exceptions, this is also true of the manuscripts with the French prose texts and also with the French verse-Latin texts.
This is a complete list of known English Apocalypse manuscripts of the 13th and 14th centuries.
Apocalypse
An Apocalypse is a disclosure of something hidden from the majority of mankind in an era dominated by falsehood and misconception, i.e. the veil to be lifted. The Apocalypse of John is the Book of Revelation, the last book of the New Testament...
manuscripts are manuscript
Manuscript
A manuscript or handwrite is written information that has been manually created by someone or some people, such as a hand-written letter, as opposed to being printed or reproduced some other way...
s that contain the text of Revelation
Revelation
In religion and theology, revelation is the revealing or disclosing, through active or passive communication with a supernatural or a divine entity...
or a commentary on Revelation and also illustrations. Many of the more famous Apocalypse manuscripts were made in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
c. 1250-1400.
Paul Meyer
Paul Meyer
Marie-Paul-Hyacinthe Meyer , was a French philologist.-Biography:Meyer was born in Paris and educated at the Lycée Louis le Grand and the École des Chartes, specializing in the Romance languages....
and Léopold Delisle, in their book L’Apocalypse en français au XIIIe siècle (Paris MS fr. 403), 2 vols., Paris, 1900-1, were the first scholars to try to list, describe and categorise the English Apocalypse manuscripts.
M. R. James also wrote about illustrated Apocalypse manuscripts in his book The Apocalypse in Art, London, 1931.
Since M. R. James' work, there have been a number of more recent studies by R. Freyhan, George Henderson, Peter Klein, Suzanne Lewis, Nigel Morgan and Lucy Sandler.
These manuscripts can be divided by the language and form of the Apocalypse text. Many manuscripts have a Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
text, others have an Anglo-Norman
Anglo-Norman language
Anglo-Norman is the name traditionally given to the kind of Old Norman used in England and to some extent elsewhere in the British Isles during the Anglo-Norman period....
prose text and others have a French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
verse text combined with a Latin text. Two manuscripts do not have a separate text, but incorporate excerpts from the text into the illustrations.
The illustrations can be divided into several different iconographic
Iconography
Iconography is the branch of art history which studies the identification, description, and the interpretation of the content of images. The word iconography literally means "image writing", and comes from the Greek "image" and "to write". A secondary meaning is the painting of icons in the...
groups. Interestingly, the manuscripts with a Latin text all belong to the same iconographic family. With a few exceptions, this is also true of the manuscripts with the French prose texts and also with the French verse-Latin texts.
This is a complete list of known English Apocalypse manuscripts of the 13th and 14th centuries.
- Berlin, Kupferstichkabinet Blatt Inv. No. 1247
- Brussels, Bibliothèque Royale MS II.282
- Cambrai, Bibliothèque Municipal MS 422 Cambrai Apocalypse
- Cambridge, Corpus Christi College MS 20 Corpus Apocalypse
- Cambridge, Corpus Christi College MS 394
- Cambridge, Fitzwilliam Museum MS Add. 317
- Cambridge, Fitzwilliam Museum MS McClean 123 Nuneaton Book
- Cambridge, Magdelene College MS F.4.5 Crowland Apocalypse
- Cambridge, Magdelene College MS Pepys 1803 Pepys Apocalypse
- Cambridge, Trinity College MS B.10.2
- Cambridge, Trinity College MS B.10.6
- Cambridge, Trinity College MS R.16.2 Trinity Apocalypse
- Cambridge, University Library MS Gg 1.1
- Copenhagen, Kongelige Bibliothek MS Thott 89.4
- Dublin, Trinity College MS 64 Dublin Apocalypse
- Eton College Library MS 177 Eton Apocalypse
- Lisbon, Gulbenkian Museum MS L.A.139 Gulbenkian Apocalypse
- London, British Library MS Add. 18633
- London, British Library MS Add. 35166
- London, British Library MS Add. 38842
- London, British Library MS Add. 42555 Abingdon Apocalypse
- London, British Library MS Royal 15.D.II Welles/Greenfield Apocalypse
- London, British Library MS Royal 19.B.XV Queen Mary Apocalypse
- London, British Library MS Royal 2.D.XIII
- London, Lambeth Palace Library MS 209 Lambeth Apocalypse
- London, Lambeth Palace Library MS 434
- London, Lambeth Palace Library MS 75
- Los Angeles, J. Paul Getty Museum MS Ludwig III.1 Getty/Dyson Perins Apocalypse
- Metz, Bibliothèque Municipal MS Salis 38 (no longer extant) Metz Apocalypse
- Moscow, State Lenin Library MS NH.1678
- New York, Pierpont Morgan Library MS M.524 Morgan Apocalypse
- New York, Public Library MS Spencer 57 Spencer Apocalypse
- Norwich, Central Library MS 287 Norwich Apocalypse
- Oxford, Bodleian Library MS Ashmole 753
- Oxford, Bodleian Library MS Auct D.4.14
- Oxford, Bodleian Library MS Auct D.4.17 Bodleian Apocalypse
- Oxford, Bodleian Library MS Bodley 401
- Oxford, Bodleian Library MS Canonici Bibl.62 Canonici Apocalypse
- Oxford, Bodleian Library MS Douce 180 Douce Apocalypse
- Oxford, Bodleian Library MS Selden Supra 38 Selden Apocalypse
- Oxford, Bodleian Library MS Tanner 184 Tanner Apocalypse
- Oxford, Lincoln College MS lat.16
- Oxford, New College MS D.65 New College Apocalypse
- Oxford, University College MS 100
- Paris, Bibliothèque de Arsenal MS 5214
- Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale de France MS fr.403 Paris Apocalypse
- Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale de France MS fr.9574
- Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale de France MS lat.10474
- Toulouse, Bibliothèque Municipal MS 815
- Yorkshire Apocalypse, private collection Yorkshire Apocalypse