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It’s all in the details!

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Shown is a detail from The Cloisters Apocalypse, an early fourteenth century Latin manuscript depicting the narrative present in the Book of Revelations. The manuscript dates to c.1330 when it was produced in Normandy, France for the noble family de Montigny.

Many of the illustrations in the book depict half-human half-bestial beings and were most likely drawn by the scribe himself as he created the Cloisters Apocalypse. The figures rarely correspond to the content of the text and are perhaps reflective of the scribe’s own thoughts and imaginations.

An original of this work is held by the Met in New York City, however Binghamton University Libraries owns a quality facsimile for students, faculty and other scholars to examine.

Please visit Special Collections located on the second floor of the Bartle Library (off of the North Reading Room to see this work which is currently on display as part of the From Aesop to Joachim: Medieval and the Early Modern Facsimiles of Special Collections exhibit.