"Picture Book of the Life of St John and the Apocalypse is a unique and visually striking example of the picture-book Apocalypse - a distinctive group of medieval manuscripts that present the apocalyptic visions of the Book of Revelation primarily through images. Centred on the visions of St John and often framed by episodes from his legendary life, these manuscripts transform the biblical text into a continuous pictorial narrative."
"Inscriptions play a central role in these manuscripts. Nearly all miniatures include brief labels identifying key figures, as well as longer inscriptions that set forth scenes or convey dialogue. The balance between image, biblical quotation, and commentary varies considerably from scene to scene and from manuscript to manuscript. Some miniatures rely almost entirely on Berengaudus's commentary, while others omit it altogether, drawing instead on biblical excerpts or focusing on imagery."
Picture-book Apocalypses present the visions of St John primarily as sequential image cycles, often framed by episodes from his legendary life. Images are typically arranged in double registers with two framed miniatures per page, creating rhythmic narrative progression. Selected biblical passages and an exegetical commentary attributed to Berengaudus are integrated directly into the images on placards, labels, and speech scrolls, serving as narrative cues and interpretative guides. The balance of image, biblical quotation, and commentary varies between scenes and manuscripts; some rely heavily on commentary, while others emphasize visual storytelling alone. The tradition began in mid-thirteenth-century England with related Morgan and Bodleian manuscripts based on an Anglo-French archetype.
Read at Medievalists.net
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