Amazon Prime Student 6-month Trial


Register a SNAP EBT card with Amazon

The Silos Beatus Codex

Commentary on the Apocalypse by Beatus of Liébana, Spain, 1090-1109AD
British Library Add. MS 11695.

f.102v The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse

A larger image of 'The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse', Silos Beatus Codex, Beatus of Liébana, Spain.

Source: Encyclopedie de la Langue Francaise

And I saw that the Lamb had opened one of the seven seals. And I heard one of the four living creatures saying, "Draw near and see." And I saw a white horse, and the rider was holding a bow, and a crown was given to him, and he went forth conquering. And when he opened the second seal, the second living creature spoke. And a red horse went forth, and it was granted to its rider that he would take peace from the earth, and that they would kill one another. And a great sword was given to him. And when he opened the third seal, the third living creature spoke. And he saw a black horse, and its rider was holding a balance in his hand. And when he opened the fourth seal, the fourth living creature spoke. And I saw a pale horse, and the rider's name was Death, and Hell was following him. And authority was given to him over the four parts of the earth, to destroy by the sword, by famine, and by death. (Rev. 6:1-8)

The manuscript was copied in 1090 and the illuminations completed in 1109 in the Spanish monastery of Santo Domingo de Silos, near Burgos.

---

Referenced on p 323 Scenes and Characters of the Middle Ages by Edward Lewes Cutts
In the Additional MS. 11,695, on folio 102 v., are four armed men on horseback, habited in hauberks without hoods. Two of them have the sleeves extending to the wrist, two have loose sleeves to the elbow only, showing that the two fashions were worn contemporaneously. They all have mail hose; one of them is armed with a bow, the rest with the sword.

---

This illumination from the Silos Apocalypse (British Library, Add. MS 11695, f. 102v) depicts the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse—Famine, Plague, War, and Death—represented by four cavalry soldiers (likely Spanish Muslims) riding colorful horses. While one rider is holding a set of scales, two are brandishing long tapering swords and one has a recurved bow armed with an arrow. All are wearing long mail coats that appear to be edged with decorative borders. The Silos Apocalypse is a commentary on the Book of Revelation by Beatus of Liébana and was written in 1109 in Silos, Spain.
Source: p.268, Medieval Weapons: An Illustrated History of Their Impact by Kelly DeVries & Robert D. Smith (2007)