Western Medieval Manuscripts : Expositio in Apocalypsim

Alexander, Minorita, d. 1271

Western Medieval Manuscripts

<p style='text-align: justify;'>The final redaction (1249-50) of the commentary on Apocalypse by Franciscan Alexander of Bremen (d. 1271) with additions probably by Albert of Stade (Schiller, I, 220). Alexander composed this commentary in the light of eschatological beliefs associated with Joachim of Fiore, resulting in imagery where <a href='' onclick='store.loadPage(50);return false;'>Roman emperors ride Apocalyptic horses</a>, <a href='' onclick='store.loadPage(77);return false;'>heresiarchs blow trumpets</a>, two-headed angels stand for popes or kings, and the Beast personifies various historical figures.<br /><br /> The pictorial cycle depicts historical parallels in chronological order, e.g., restoration of Monte Cassino by Benedictine monks under Abbot Petronax (<a href='' onclick='store.loadPage(181);return false;'>89r</a>), conversion of the Saxons by Charlemagne (<a href='' onclick='store.loadPage(202);return false;'>99v</a>), Bishops Sigfrid of Mainz, Bucca of Halberstadt, and Wenzel of Magdeburg, Gregory VII and Henry IV (<a href='' onclick='store.loadPage(219);return false;'>108r</a>), First Crusade (<a href='' onclick='store.loadPage(281);return false;'>139r</a>, <a href='' onclick='store.loadPage(285);return false;'>141r</a>), Investiture Controversy (<a href='' onclick='store.loadPage(291);return false;'>144r-144v</a>). For iconography of Mm.5.31 and related manuscripts, see Schiller, I, 219–27. Miniatures are unframed; most contain titles and speech scrolls. </p>