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BETWEEN IMAGINATION AND REALITY:

THE APOCALYPTIC WARFARE IN LATE MEDIEVAL MANUSCRIPTS

Assoc. Prof. Ivelin Ivanov

St.St. Ciryl and Methodius University

Reading the Text or ‘Reading’ the Images?

The 13th – 14th c. Apocalypses are relatively neglected as information sources on

the warfare of the period. There are several reasons for such an attitude. First I would

like to mention the traditional representation of John’s Book of Revelation as of purely

religious background, speaking both about the text and the concomitant illuminations;

and second, there comes the prejudice that, due to the specific character of the text, the

illustrations are schematic and often imitate older manuscripts.1 Despite the fact that

‘reading’ the images is a relatively new but quite beneficial method for studying

illuminated medieval manuscripts there is still little written on visual image of war and

warfare. A number of illustrated English apocalypses of the 13th – 14th c. period can

also be found among those manuscripts. At first sight the relation to war and warfare of

the period may seem strange but a comparative analysis leads to some interesting

conclusions. As Peter Brieger writes : ‘The revival of the illustrated apocalypse about

the middle of the thirteenth century in England is one of the most problematical and

fascinating features in the history of the illustrated book…The style and the spirit of the

English illustrated apocalypse are the result of a new understanding and a new

interpretation of the Revelation of St. John that dates back to the close of the twelfth

century.’2 A thorough research confirms these reflections and leads to a question:

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‘Where is the boundary between real and imagined in the visualization of war and

warfare in those remarkable manuscripts?’

The Strange Weapons of the Apocalypse

The observations on the researched Apocalypses show examples of both realistic

and some definitely strange weaponry. First I would mention the image of first rider

from St. John’s visions, depicted and described as one carrying a bow and an arrow. In

Douce Apocalypse (d.1264-65) we find a similar image where the bow is of medium

length, with a visibly rough fore-part.(pics.1, 2) In another 14th c. apocalypse the first

rider is again carrying a short, crude and unpolished bow.3 There are more images of a

similar type in some other researched manuscripts – a fact which gives rise to a number

of questions.

The first one is: Was such a bow in use in the 13th - 14th c. period? A number of

written sources and illustrations confirm the existence of that kind of bow but that is

throughout the 12th – 13th c. period, whereas there is no clear evidence for the usage of

such a weapon in the 14th century. This is most probably due to the practice of copying

older manuscripts (and images) from the 13th and even from the 12th centuries. The

reason for the depiction of such bows is also very intriguing. In my view it corresponds

with the symbolic meaning of weapons in the apocalyptic manuscripts. Traditionally,

the bow used to be the weapon of common warriors and the medieval illustrators were

associated those crude but efficient bows with the devastation and extermination the

Apocalypse describes.

Beside the crude Welsh bow, the illustrations portray other unusual weapons,

too. In a 13th c. manuscript there is depicted an image of the false prophet armed with a

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small round shield and a sword strangely curved downward at the top. The warriors

under his command are also armed with similar weapons and round shields wearing

simple spangelhelms. What is interesting here is the comparison with the arms of the

Saviour who is represented as a mounted knight with a triangular shield and a long

spear. The analysis of this characteristics leads to the conclusion that there is a

purposeful representation of the beast, the false prophet and their warriors as armed

with weapons, some of which are not typical for the British Isles and even for west-

northern Europe of the period. Another typical example of that is pictured in an

illumination from another thirteenth-century apocalypse where the first rider is wearing

a pot-helmet with a wide periphery and is armed with a long, straight falchion, the

second one with a cap-helmet and a mace, the third only a shirt-mail and a falchion, and

the fourth – a spangelhelm and a sword. What is strange here is that unrealistic mixture

of knights’, common soldiers’ and even Mongols’ weaponry. Another illustration with

elements hinting at Eastern weaponry is portrayed in a thirteenth-century manuscript

belonging to the collections of the Bodleian Library in Oxford where three of the riders

are wearing unusually high pointed helmets which are not typical of the researched

period.

Another frequently encountered weapon is the falchion. In an apocalypse from

the end of the 13th c. we could find a number of images of falchions with broad,

massive blades, slightly curved at the top.(pics. 3, 4) In fol. 26r. of the manuscript the

image of the beast, who is armed with a similar falchion, is also quite impressive.

Besides, a scene from fol. 29v. where an angel is showing St. John the way some

people will be put to the sword is also very significant because what the illustrator has

depicted is a falchion but not a sword. These images are just a small part of the

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numerous examples proving the symbolic functions of the falchion in the studied

manuscripts. The falchion is present not only among the hordes of the beast but also

among the warriors of Christ – a fact which comes to symbolize both the destructive

powers of evil and the mass resistance against the beast and the Antichrist. Besides, it

could be assumed that some of the images of falchions, mainly among the riders of the

Apocalypse and the warriors of the beast, are an obvious but not that successful attempt

at depicting Mongol sabers. (pic. 5)

Other more frequently pictured weapons in the studied manuscripts are those of

battle axes, maces and battle clubs. The depicted battle axes can be separated into two

types: a short axe and a long, or heavy, battle axe also popular as Danish battle axe.

Among the first type of images I would like to mention those in Trinity Apocalypse4

and in another Bodleyan Library manuscript5 where we find a sizable axe with a broad

head and a handle of medium length. (pics. 6, 7) We also find a similar image in an

end-13th c. apocalypse where one of John’s guards is armed with a long Danish battle

axe. A similar kind long battle axe is also pictured in a miniature from an apocalypse

from the 14th c.

Other weapons, albeit less frequently encountered in the manuscripts, are the

maces and battle clubs. I would like to point out that there are two types of maces there

– with a round head and with a rectangular, elongated one; in both cases they are used

by the four horsemen. Beside the mace some manuscripts show the reader battle clubs.6

In one of them it is the weapon of one of the riders and in Trinity Apocalypse it is used

by one of the warriors of the beast, where it has a long, cylinder-shaped, spiked battle-

head. These cursory observations on the usage of maces and battle clubs lead to the

conclusion that they, too, are typical of the warriors of the Beast and the Antichrist.

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The abovementioned observations on weaponry in the studied manuscripts also

lead to the conclusion that those seemingly unusual weapons are in accordance with

some basic ideological messages of the Apocalypse. We cannot doubt the fact that in

this way the medieval illustrator puts a stress on the clash between the warriors of the

Antichrist and those faithful to Christ, and we could trace two ways of influence: the

representation of Welsh and Scotsmen as a personification of evil, and a reverberation

of the Mongol invasions from the 13th century. Due to the fact that the latter didn’t have

a direct impact on France and the British Isles the illustrators, while trying to introduce

this new element, demonstrated quite superficial knowledge regarding the Mongols’ or

other eastern weaponry and outfit.

The Image of the Other

As I have already underlined, in some of the studied apocalypses we could see a

tendency towards the representation of non-Christians by means of peculiarities in their

weaponry and outfit. Such an example we can find in the Gulbenkian Apocalypse (d.

1265 – 70), where the Christian warriors are represented with great helmets and shields,

armed with spears and wearing long shirt mails, i. e. dressed as knights, whereas the

warriors of the beast are armed only with round shields and helmets of an unusual

shape.7 A similar division could be observed in other images from the 13th c. where

there is a battle between Christians and pagans armed with maces, D-shaped bows,

short axes and round shields.8 (pic.8) In another 13th c. apocalypse there is pictured an

intriguing vision of the four horsemen of the Apocalypse. While a part of their

weaponry is knightly, their helmets are quite unusual: one of them wears a tall one

which is slightly curved forwards, while those of the others are simple conical helmets.

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In addition, one of the horsemen is armed with a slightly curved sword.9 (pic.9) In

another scene representing the armies of the beast the kings of the Earth are pictured as

horsemen armed with round, small size shields, slightly curved swords and conical

helms.10 This is obviously an attempt at representing horsemen from the East (most

probably Mongols or Saracens) which visualizes a total, ultimately devastating war.11

These images could be compared to similar ones belonging to non-apocalyptic

manuscripts from the 15th c. period. The representation of Muslims in Metrical lives of

Saints Edmund and Fremund (d.1434-39) is also quite significant.12 Here the long,

composite bow is depicted as a distinctive Muslim weapon, which again corresponds to

the idea of otherness.

Beside the full defensive armament, the studied images give us numerous

examples of partial one, or even the lack of any body armour equipment. Most often the

warriors of the beast are those who are represented in this way – they are dressed in

short or long shirt-mails but carry small or middle-sized round shields, and sometimes

they do not have any mail or shield at all.13 One is also impressed by the representation

of the warriors of Christ and the four horsemen where there is a strange mix-up of

different styles, even the introduction of elements of Saracen and Mongol weaponry,

like the composite bow, curved falchion, scale mail, round shield, and conical helmet.

The abovementioned leads to the conclusion that there is an obvious

distinction between Christians and pagans, Muslims, the warriors of the beast and the

false prophet of the Apocalypse, attained through peculiarities in outfit, clothing,

weaponry, and specific anthropological characteristics.14 Having in mind the fact that

the better part of the manuscripts studied here belong to the 13th c., which marks a real

bloom of the apocalyptic literature, we can also detect some Tartar-Mongol, Saracen or

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generally Eastern influence.15 The most evident signs of that influence are the strange

conical helms and hats, the curved swords and falchions (in my view standing for

sabers), the round shields and composite bows.

The final analysis of the abovementioned details leads to some clear symbols and

notional messages. The composite bow for example is a weapon which definitely

symbolizes eastern peoples. An no less telling symbol is the round shield, which was

widely popular among Arabs, the peoples of the Steppes, and in eastern Europe. There

is a certain portion of symbolism in the small round shield (bouclier) as well, because

in the 13th – 14th c. period it was widely used by Scotsmen and extremely popular with

common warriors in the West. Besides, the frequent representation of high conical

helms focuses attention to Eastern weaponry, i. e. it leads us to the idea of an Eastern

origin of the beast and the Antichrist. All this proves the tendency of the text of The

Revelation of John the Divine towards representing a decisive clash not only of moral

and religious values, but of different peoples and social groups as well.16

Apocalyptic War and Social order

Beside the aspects considered so far, the apocalypses from the studied period are

also a source of information about the social picture of the medieval society.17 I would

like to start with the observation that a great number of the warriors in the images are

depicted as knights.(pics.10, 11) A vivid example of this tendency is the scene of a

battle between some mounted knights and the beast in a late thirteenth-century

apocalypse, where the knights are led by two kings.18 Estimating the appearance of

weaponry and clothes, it is quite evident that the God’s army is depicted as a body of

knights with some squires and mounted sergeants following them. Although all of them

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are on horseback, the knights stand out with their full defensive armament, swords,

great helms and standards. 19 In addition I would mention an image in another English

apocalypse from end-13th c. where angels are depicted as knights with swords, middle-

size triangular shields and long sleeved chain-mails.20

We also find similar images in the Gulbenkian Apocalypse where the warriors

of Christ are pictured as mounted knights wearing great helmets, lances, and middle-

size triangular shields, which is in accordance with the knightly armament of the

period. Their adversaries are depicted as riders, too, but with round shields, maces and

simple conical helmets.21 Furthermore, we could find evidences towards the

demonstration of striking differences in weaponry in the Dublin Apocalypse, where the

warriors of Saviour are again mounted knights wearing long shirt mails, although things

are a bit different here due to the presence of weapons like the falchion and the battle

axe. This may seem strange at first but a comparison with other written sources and

images from the same period confirms the use of broad, long falchions and battle axes

by mounted knights. A slightly different version of the same scene is presented in an

illustrated apocalypse from the early 14th century. Here there are knights, too, but in the

background they are followed by riders similarly wearing long shirt mail, but without

helmets.22 (pic. 12) The image obviously represents knights and their squires, a fact

which clearly means an attempt at realism. In certain images, however, both armies are

represented as knightly, for example in some illustrations in the Queen Mary’s

Apocalypse. 23 (pic. 13)

Beside the knights and other nobles there are a lot of common soldiers and

ordinary people in the studied apocalypses. In a scene representing the siege of the City

of the Saints the besiegers are pictured like foot soldiers armed with spears, bows,

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swords and boucliers.24 We also could find a representation of similar non-noble

warriors in another apocalypse from the end of the 13th c. where St. John’s guards are

armed with swords and long Danish axes but have no defensive weaponry25, and in yet

another manuscript from the same period we see warriors whose weapons hint at

squires and sergeants26. In the famous Gulbenkian Apocalypse the woman’s sons wear

light armour and no helmets, and they are armed with spears, a crossbow, a falchion

and a bow, which corresponds to the weaponry of common foot soldiers from the

middle and the second half of the 13th century. 27 Common soldiers battling the beast

are depicted in the Dublin Apocalypse (end-13th – early 14th c.), too, and most of them

also have only partial defensive armament.28 Almost the same picture is shown in a

miniature from another apocalypse from the first quarter of the 14th c. where some of

the soldiers wear short chain mail, others have small-size triangular shields, and one

carries a bouclier.29 In other images the same are represented as ordinary people

without any body armour and armed with a lance, a crossbow, a falchion and a small

battle axe.30 (pics. 14, 15) Besides, common foot soldiers are presented in miniatures

from another early-14th c. manuscript. 31 A similar picture can be seen in a c. 1320–30

apocalypse where this ‘non-noble’ weapons are predominant, and there is also one very

typical ‘non-knightly’ weapon – the battle fork. 32 A total lack of armour and helmets

could be found in another mid-14th c. manuscript where some weapons typical for the

commoners could be seen, too: a battle fork, a long bow, a long battle axe, a spear and a

bouclier.33 The presence of the long bow is interesting due to the fact that this is a

typically English weapon throughout the 14th – 15th c. period.(pic. 16)

But what is the social idea behind this visual interpretation of the Revelation of

John the Divine? In my opinion the answer emerges from an illustration of the battle of

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the angels against the dragon in one of the studied manuscripts. The general impression

is that of a clash between order (personified by the heavenly angels, armed with spears

and shields) and chaos (personified by the warriors of the dragon, depicted as semi-

animals armed with clubs).34 There is no doubt that in this scene there is a clear

message and a warning to those who dare defy the order in Heaven and on earth. This

impression is supported also by other scenes of battles between those faithful to God

and the warriors of the beast, where the former are led by crowned rulers, i. e. they

represent the established divine and social order which is to triumph over the powers of

evil.35 In this respect the texts and the illustrations in the studied apocalypses bring a

clear and didactic message. They re-interpret the Apocalypse as a dramatic social

conflict in which the forces of the legitimate royal and ecclesiastic powers will triumph

over all attempts at any change.

Finally, I would like to mention an interesting miniature from an apocalypse from

the end of the 13th century in which there are two bishops among the dead warriors of

the Antichrist and the kings of the earth. The image has no analogy among the

abovementioned studied manuscripts and in my view is a sign of a diffident criticism

against the Church’s elite.36

Conclusions : Bellum, Guerra or Feud ?

All the abovementioned gives rise to the following question: if war and warfare

are typical characteristics of the apocalyptic text and miniature, then what type of war is

it – bellum, guerra or feud ?

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Presumably, some images could be connected with the representation of a clash

between legitimate and illegitimate authorities followed by knights and other, common

warriors. From this point of view a certain part of the miniatures gives the impression

of a riot or a feud.37 Generally, that could be interpreted as a riot against a legal

authority in the 12th-13th cc. political reality. Following this point of view, I would like

to mention the continuation of an apocalypse from the end of the 13th c. in which we

find vivid evidence for the destructive power of the knighthood and the substantial role

of the Church and the Episcopacy in its restrain. The story is closely connected with the

didactic character of the Revelation of St John for the knightly class which must to

come after the supreme seigneur : God, Christ, The Church, the bishop. The other

positions (following and fighting for the kings who are aggressive to the Church for

example) brings to an destruction of the soul and the body, both.38 At the same time

other images could be interpreted in the light of guerra or bellum because of the fact

they represent a picture of a collision, total war between the armies of Christendom and

the warriors of the beast and the Antichrist.

Finally, I would like to point out that the analyzed images supply us with

interesting information about the different categories of warriors, their weaponry and

social background. The differences between knights and common soldiers are obvious

but they do not reflect only social and military hierarchy. Their message is that the

clash with the Antichrist is not just a battle, it is a total war or guerre mortelle in which

all those capable of carrying arms should rise against the powers of Evil. Here we could

find remnants an old military system or bann in which the volunteer corps is summoned

only in cases of an external intrusion. That is why some of the images represent the

knighthood as an avant-garde while the masses consist of free commoners. I certainly

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think that this could help to explain the abundant presence of ‘non-nobles’ and ‘non-

knightly’ weaponry among the armies of Christ and that is where the uniqueness of the

studied apocalypses lies. Although seemingly far from war and warfare at first sight,

they are a source of valuable information and the comparative analysis of the 13th – 14th

cc. apocalyptic literature could fill in part of the blanks in Medieval Studies.

Pic. 1. Oxford, Bodleian Library, MS Douce 180, fol. 13r.

Pic. 2 Bodleian Library, MS Canon.Bible, fol.9r.

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Pic. 3 Oxford, Bodleian library, MS Auct. D 4. 17., fol. 9v.

Beast killing witnesses with a falchion

Pic. 4 Bodleian Library, MS Canon.Bible 62, fol… 22r. One of

the riders with a heavy falchion.

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Pic. 5 Douce apocalypse, Pl. 8, p. 31.

Pic. 6 Trinity Apocalypse, fol. 14r. A priest with a battle-axe at the

centre.

15

Pic. 7 Oxford, Bodleian library, MS Auct. D 4.

17., fol. 7r.

A battle-axe.

Pic. 8 Oxford, Trinity college, MS E. I. 40., fol. 48r.

16

Pic. 9 British library , Add. MS 35 166, fol. 16r.

Pic. 10 Trinity Apocalypse, fol. 23r.

17

Pic. 11 Trinity Apocalypse, fol. 23r.

Pic.12 British library, Royal MS 19 B XV, fol. 37r.

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Pic. 13 British library, ,Royal MS 19 B XV, fol. 38r.

Pic. 14 British library, Royal MS 19 B XV, fol. 22v. Common warriors in a battle against the Beast.

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Pic. 15. Life of St. Alban, fol. 20v.

Common soldiers.

Pic. 16 Trinity Apocalypse, fol. 30v. Longbow in use.

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NOTES 1. I would mention the names of several contemporary researchers in this field as: M. Mills, “EB and his

two books: Visual Impact and the power of Meaningful Suggestion. ‘Reading’ the Illustrations in MSS

Douce 261 and Egerton 3132 “, in St. Kelly and J. Thompson (eds), Imaging the Book, (Brepols, 2005),

pp. 173-82. Other researchers in the field partly touch the problems of war and weaponry in the

apocalypses : Suzanne Lewis, Reading Images : Narrative Discourse and Reception in the Thirteenth-

Century Illuminated Apocalypse (Cambridge University Press, 1995); K. Scott, Tradition and Innovation

in later medieval English Manuscripts, (The British Library, 2007) ; G, Henderson, “Stylistic Sequence

and Stylistic Overlap in Thirtheenth-Century English manuscripts”, in : G. Henderson, Studies in English

Bible Illustration, II, (The Pindar Press, London, 1985), pp. 73-202. ; N, Morgan, “As Many Mysteries

as Words – The Context of the English 13th –Century Apocalypse”, in The Lambeth Apocalypse,(Harley

Miller Publishers, London, 1990), pp. 17-39.

2 P. Brieger, English Art 1216-1307, (Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1957), р. 159.

3 Bodleian library, MS Cannon. Bibl. 62, fols. 4r, 5r.

4 Trinity College, MS R.16.2, fol. 14r.

5 Bodleian, MS Auct. D.17., fol. 2a.

6 Bodleian, MS Tanner 184, fol. 58v.

7 Lisbon, Gulbenkian library, MS L. A. 139, fol. 26v.

8 Trinity college library, MS E I 40, fol. 48r.

9 British library, Add. MS 35 166, fol. 16r.

10 Ibid., fol. 25r.

11 S. Lewis, Reading Images : Narrative Discourse and Reception in the Thirteenth-Century Illuminated

Apocalypse (Cambridge University Press, 1995), p. 230-32 : “…A sense of impeding crisis caused by the

Mongol invasions of eastern Europe in 1236-42 provided a clear and unmistakably strong impetus for the

rash of apocalyptic expectations just before midcentury….Although thus terrible assault on Christendom

remains very distant from England, Matthew Paris gives a fuller account of the Tartar invasions than

those provided by most Continental writers of the period.”

12 British library, Harley MS 2278, fol. 50r.

13 Gulbenkian library, MS L.A.139, fol. 26v. ; Bodleian, MS Douce 180, fol. 47r.

14 Some of the most commonly encountered characteristics of the other in the studied manuscripts are a

darker complexion, black curly hair, and snout-like noses with broad nostrils. Although they do not give

a correct idea of the Mongoloid type, they could be accepted as an attempt at creating images after a

mediate information because the Mongols reach only as far as central Europe.

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15 N, Morgan, “As Many Mysteries as Words…”, p. 32. As Morgan underlines : “…During the 1240s

and particularly from 1247 …Frederick II…is identified with the Antichrist or his precurson. In the same

decade the Tartar hordes had approached Europe…It is quite understandable that this terrible army of

wild tribesmen was seen as the tribes of Gog and Magog…who would join with Antichrist in his

persecution of the Church.”

16 Ibid., p. 35. “…There is a final reason for the rise of popularity of this book in addition to its being a

response to the need for didactic theological-moral texts for the laity, and to the sensational

eschatological rumors of the time”.

17 S. Lewis, Reading Images…, p. 10. ‘…The distinction between the spiritual and material, the inner and

outer image, as well as the relation between word and image itself, is not simply a meter of theological

doctrine or optical theory but a question of ideology.’ I admit that reflection, but I would also add that it

is a question of social ideology, an issue of maintaining the celestial and terrestrial order, both.

18 British library, MS Add. 18 633, fol. 42v.

19 British library, MS Add. 35166, fols. 16r, 24r.

20 Ibid., fol.15v.

21 Gulbenkian, MS L. A. 139, fol. 26v.

22 British library, Royal MS 19 B XV, fol. 37r.

23 Ibid., fols. 37r, 38r.

24 British library, MS Add. 18633, fol. 44r.

25 British library, MS Add. 35166, fol. 1r

26 Ibid., fol. 34v. The picture presents foot soldiers with cap helmets, shirt mails, triangular shields,

lances and swords.

27 Gulbenkian, MS L. A. 139, fol. 33v.

28 Trinity College, MS 64, fol. 37v.

29 British library, Royal MS 2 D XIII. fol. 29r.

30 British library, Royal MS 19 B XV. Fol. 22v.

31 Idem.

32 Bodleian, MS Sild. Supra 38, fol. 83v.

33 Bodleian, MS Cannon. Bibl. 62., fol. 34v.

34 British library, Add. MS 38842, Apocalypse, early XIV c., fol. 14v.

35 British library, MS Add. 18633, fol. 42v.

36 Ibid., fol 42r., S. Lewis, Reading Images…, p. 209-10. The author stresses on the fact that after the

Lateran IV, centers of religious power shifted from the monasteries to the cathedrals, and bishops

replaced Benedictines as the ecclesiastical leaders. As a result, the bishops became more and more

subject to critics.

37 British library, MS Add. 35166, fols. 7v, 27r. : The first miniature : The second rider carries a ‘gladius

magnus’- a long sword with a big, oval shaped pommel and blunt point. It is worth to point out that the

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long sword was a symbol of a legitimate authority. ; The second miniature : The Beast after the 1000

years of captivity and as a leader of an army of knights (some standards are pictured), squares, sergeants,

cross-bow men with oval shields. All composition gives an impression of a rebellion against a king,

baron or other seigneur.

38 Ibid., fols. 34v, 35r.