The Golden Images of the Apocalypse

The Golden Images of the Apocalypse

The Revelation of John, also known as the Apocalypse, is the last book of the New Testament. The tale of the end of the world and Judgement Day belongs among the most influential literary works worldwide and has been continuously adapted in literature, film, or in the visual arts. A particularly interesting edition of the biblical text is found today in the collection of the Briton Henry Yates Thompson. The origin story of the Apocalypse Yates Thompson continues to be a riddle for researchers and historians. The thrilling manuscript is illustrated with 69 large miniatures, golden initials and floral bordures.

The Path of the Mysterious Work

Only very little is known for sure about the Apocalypse Yates Thompson, whose name comes from its last owner, Henry Yates Thompson. It is not known who commissioned the precious manuscript. However, numerous sources verify the various places where the codex resided in the course of history. Its first owner was Jean Philipp Eugène von and zu Meroda, Margrave of Westerlo, and the Imperial Count of Brussels. The Imperial Count, who came from the upper nobility of Merode, was a Knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece since 1694 and was named Imperial Field Marshall in 1717. Numerous precious illuminated manuscripts were in the private collection of the nobleman. Later, ca. 1844, the manuscript was listed in the inventory of Augustus Frederick, the Duke of Sussex. After passing through various locations, the mysterious manuscript made its way to British newspaper tycoon and book collector Henry Yates Thompson at the beginning of the 20th century. He bequeathed the work along with the rest of his considerable library to the British Library in London after his death.

Precious Late-Gothic Illumination

The Apocalypse Yates Thompson was most-likely produced by the same master who was also responsible for the design of the Coronation Book of Emperor Charles V. The anonymous book artist decorated the manuscript with large, historiated initials that shimmer in a luminous wealth of colors and precious gold elements. The numerous miniatures illustrating the text completely retain the French Gothic style. The terrifying events of John’s vision of the end of the world, which fascinated Christians from across the world for centuries, are depicted in a charmingly original surface painting style. The depictions show pictures of Judgement Day, of monsters and wild beasts, of angels and heavenly creatures. The fantasy of the anonymous illuminator, who so skillfully staged the biblical story, was boundless.