Beatus Manuscript Leaf: Fifth Trumpet, Falling Star, Locusts from the Pit

A leaf from a medieval illuminated manuscript shows a framed miniature beneath a blue sky dotted with gold stars. An angel at upper left and a bright sun-like disk hover above red streams falling into a dark pit, while striped locust-like creatures swarm across red and green bands. Two columns of Latin text fill the lower page.

Artist

Unknown

Date

ca. 1180

Medium

Tempera, gold, and ink on parchment

Source

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Size

2845 × 4000 px

Credit (appreciated, not required for public-domain works): The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Purchase, The Cloisters Collection, Rogers and Harris Brisbane Dick Funds, and Joseph Pulitzer Bequest, 1991