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Original fileAngels Holding the Four Winds (Bamberg Apocalypse)
BambergApocalypseFolio017vAngelsHold4Winds
About This Work
This illumination is divided into two horizontal registers against a solid gold background. In the upper register, two angels with halos and multi-colored wings gesture upward toward wind-heads emerging from the top corners; the wind-heads have bulging cheeks and are blowing forcefully. In the lower register, two similar angels gesture downward toward two more wind-heads in the bottom corners. The figures wear simple, loose-fitting robes in shades of blue, purple, and yellow. The style is Ottonian/Romanesque, characterized by flattened, stylized figures and rigid, linear outlines.
This image illustrates Revelation 7:1-3, which describes four angels holding back the four winds of the earth to prevent damage to the land and sea before the servants of God are sealed. It is a core folio from the 11th-century Bamberg Apocalypse, a masterpiece of Ottonian manuscript illumination.
Inscriptions(Latin)
7 Ex tribu leui duodecim milia signati. Ex tribu isachar duodecim milia signati. Ex tribu zabulon duodecim milia signati. Ex tribu ioseph duodecim milia signati. 8 Ex tribu beniamin duodecim milia signati.
Translation
7 Of the tribe of Levi were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Issachar were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Zebulun were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Joseph were sealed twelve thousand. 8 Of the tribe of Benjamin were sealed twelve thousand.
Connected Texts
Book of Revelation (Apocalypse)
The image is a direct visual depiction of the vision of the four winds in the seventh chapter of the Revelation of John.