Illustrations for the Apocalypse
In the 8th century, in a monastery in the mountains of northern Spain, 700 years after the Book of Revelations was written, a monk named Beatus set down to illustrate a collection of writings he had compiled about this most vivid and apocalyptic of the New Testament books. Throughout the next few centuries his depictions of multi-headed beasts, decapitated sinners, and trumpet blowing angels, would be copied over and over again in various versions of the manuscript.
Read about the Beatus of Facundus at the Public Domain Review.
Answers to questions you might be asking, unless you wandered onto this site purely by accident >>>
April 19th, 2014 at 23:26
Probably the oldest illustrations of the ergot hallucination on the island of Patmos. :D
I really liked the Jehovah’s Witnesses’ R.A. Salvatore-esque interpretation of the book of Revelation/Bible stories. I used to collect them; my JW classmates were more than giddy to hand over a copy when I ask for one.
Here’s their take on the Whore of Babylon:
http://e-watchman.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/fall-babylon-myth-image-full-copy.jpg
and the Four Horsemen:
http://knoji.com/images/user/four-horsemen-of-the-apocalypse%281%29.jpg