THE FOURTH BOOK BEGINS.
OF THE SEVEN SEALS.
“And I saw when the Lamb had opened one of the seven seals, I heard one of the four living creatures, as if the voice of thunder, saying, ‘Come and see.’
“And behold, a white horse, and he that sat on him had a bow, and there was a crown given him, and he went forth conquering that he might conquer. And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature, saying, ‘Come and see.’
“And there went out another horse, a red chestnut*, and to him that sat thereon, it was given to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another, and a great sword was given to him.
“And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature saying, ‘Come and see.’ And behold, a black horse, and he that sat on him had a pair of scales in his hand.
“And I heard a voice in the midst of the four living creatures, saying, ‘Two pounds of wheat for a penny, and thrice two pounds of barley for a penny. You will not hurt the wine and the oil.’
“And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature, saying, ‘Come and see.’ And behold, a pale horse, and the name of him that sat upon him was Death, and hell followed him. And power was given to him over the four parts of the earth, to kill with sword, famine, death, and the beasts of the earth.” [Rev. 6:1-8, Vetus Latina]
It ends.
—————————–
[* Yup, here War rides a rose-colored horse — “roseus”, not “rufus” or “russus”. The blood association is still going to show up in the commentary, so it’s definitely a red rose you’re supposed to be thinking of. Anyway, “equus roseus” is a red-brown “sorrel” or “chestnut” color, on a horse. And “pallidus” means both “pale” and “yellow-green”, so some artists pick white, some yellow, and some green for that horse. Probably it’s a dun or palomino.]
—————————–
Picture from the Morgan folks. They think it’s “curious” that the white and red horses’ riders fight each other; but this is explained in the Explanatio that follows. (Yet another example that the art does follow the commentary, no matter what you read to the contrary.)
Horsemen from the Valladolid Beatus. The captions are pretty much quotes from the book about the “equus albus” rider having a bow, the “equus roseus” rider having a sword, the “equus niger” rider having a set of scales, and the “equus pallidus” rider having a sword.
The St. Sever Apocalypse has an action splash page for this.
In the Beatus d’Osma. The artists really really want you to be sure about the identity of the white horse’s rider. The red horse is really blood-colored here (in horse terms). Also, the white horse has a braided tail.
Beatus of Liebana's Bloggentary: Commentary on the Apocalypse 
Storia: Rev. 6:1-8
THE FOURTH BOOK BEGINS.
OF THE SEVEN SEALS.
“And I saw when the Lamb had opened one of the seven seals, I heard one of the four living creatures, as if the voice of thunder, saying, ‘Come and see.’
“And behold, a white horse, and he that sat on him had a bow, and there was a crown given him, and he went forth conquering that he might conquer. And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature, saying, ‘Come and see.’
“And there went out another horse, a red chestnut*, and to him that sat thereon, it was given to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another, and a great sword was given to him.
“And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature saying, ‘Come and see.’ And behold, a black horse, and he that sat on him had a pair of scales in his hand.
“And I heard a voice in the midst of the four living creatures, saying, ‘Two pounds of wheat for a penny, and thrice two pounds of barley for a penny. You will not hurt the wine and the oil.’
“And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature, saying, ‘Come and see.’ And behold, a pale horse, and the name of him that sat upon him was Death, and hell followed him. And power was given to him over the four parts of the earth, to kill with sword, famine, death, and the beasts of the earth.” [Rev. 6:1-8, Vetus Latina]
It ends.
—————————–
[* Yup, here War rides a rose-colored horse — “roseus”, not “rufus” or “russus”. The blood association is still going to show up in the commentary, so it’s definitely a red rose you’re supposed to be thinking of. Anyway, “equus roseus” is a red-brown “sorrel” or “chestnut” color, on a horse. And “pallidus” means both “pale” and “yellow-green”, so some artists pick white, some yellow, and some green for that horse. Probably it’s a dun or palomino.]
—————————–
Picture from the Morgan folks. They think it’s “curious” that the white and red horses’ riders fight each other; but this is explained in the Explanatio that follows. (Yet another example that the art does follow the commentary, no matter what you read to the contrary.)
Horsemen from the Valladolid Beatus. The captions are pretty much quotes from the book about the “equus albus” rider having a bow, the “equus roseus” rider having a sword, the “equus niger” rider having a set of scales, and the “equus pallidus” rider having a sword.
The St. Sever Apocalypse has an action splash page for this.
In the Beatus d’Osma. The artists really really want you to be sure about the identity of the white horse’s rider. The red horse is really blood-colored here (in horse terms). Also, the white horse has a braided tail.
Share this:
Related