Medieval & Renaissance Manuscripts

Compilatio historiarum / Giovanni, da Udine
Switzerland, Basel, ca. 1476
MS M.158 fol. 36r

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Miniature, upper left: 1) Noah: Nakedness -- Noah, supporting head with right arm, is asleep on ground, his robe open, exposing genitals. Of his three sons (Ham, Shem and Japheth), two wearing hats, all stand, gesturing; the foremost holds garment over the Noah. Scene in landscape with grapevine in background. Miniature, lower left: 2) Samson: blinded by Philistines -- Samson, standing below arch, grasps, with each hand, flanking colonnettes. Beyond the colonnettes are two men, wearing hats, on each side, extending hands to the Samson. All stand within open structure with tiled floor and paneled ceiling. Miniature, upper right: 3) Christ: Flagellation -- Christ, cross-nimbed, wearing short loincloth, stands with arms behind Him, His back to column. He is flanked by two torturers, one wearing hat, and one with knife tied to belt, both raising scourges with hands. Scene in room with vaulted ceiling. Miniature, lower right: 4) Achior: abandoned -- Achior, wearing short loin cloth, stands before tree, his wrists bound with rope. He is flanked by two men, one wearing hat, both grasp the rope. Scene in landscape. Miniatures for Bernhart Richel’s Spiegel der Menschlichen Behältnis (Basel: 1476) with biblical quotes, commentary and abbreviated extracts, in German, for Chapters 19 (Noah: Nakedness and Samson: blinded by Philistines) and 20 in the Speculum Humanae Salvationis.