Antichrist, Eschatology, and Romance in the Illustrated Harley Apocalypse, "Sibylle Tiburtine," and the "Tournoiement Antecrist" (MSS Harley 4972 and Douce 308)

This dissertation examines the transformative power of imagery in illustrated Apocalypse manuscripts made in the Lorraine region of France at the turn of the fourteenth century. The first part of this dissertation examines these manuscripts collectively as the Lorraine group. I have identified both Latin and vernacular Apocalypses in this group that follow iconography from a Latin Apocalypse made early in the development of English Apocalypses but with various adaptations. Iconography alone, however, does not link the Lorraine Apocalypses together. None of the extant Lorraine Apocalypses is a true copy of another. Texts, style, artists, and specific figures form threads of relation among the Lorraine Apocalypses. Much of the exchange of imagery witnessed in these manuscripts came about from artists operating out of small, individual ateliers and parsing out pieces of illustration as a form of collaboration. Most significant are the varying ways each Apocalypse manuscript was altered through supplementary figures and texts, which reveal new attitudes about Apocalypse design and the desires of manuscript patrons. One illustrated Lorraine Apocalypse now in the British Library exhibits striking adaptations indicative of the changes Apocalypse manuscripts underwent at the end of the thirteenth century and throughout the first half of the fourteenth century. This Apocalypse was once part of a manuscript compilation now split between London, British Library, MS Harley 4972 and Oxford, Bodleian Library, MS Douce 308. In addition to the vernacular Apocalypse, an Old French prose Prophecy of the Tiburtine Sibyl and Huon de Mery's Old French poem, The Tournament of Antichrist, form what I call the Antichrist compilation since all three texts and their illustrations address in some way the legend of Antichrist. This manuscript is remarkable for its blending of sacred and secular elements in its assemblage of diverse genres, biblical, ancient prophecy, and romance, and in the visual interconnectivity that streamlines the three texts into a single object. The second half of this dissertation examines the Antichrist compilation and the Harley Apocalypse as a case study on how changes to Apocalypse manuscripts affect the reception of Revelation. I argue that in the Harley Apocalypse various components, mise-en-page, miniature composition, decorative details, and other visual devices, evoke illustration practices in secular, vernacular manuscripts and convey meaning by recalling aspects of popular vernacular literature and court culture, lending a courtly veneer to the mysteries of John's Revelation. The cultural impact of the vernacular led to what I call "visual vernacularity" in which layout, decoration, and illustration draw from diverse elements of popular legend, literature, and court culture. The thirty-five historiated initials of the Douce Tournament of Antichrist present the only known illustration of Huon's poem. Their primary function is to punctuate the text at key points, highlighting virtues and vices most applicable to courtly reader-viewers. Visual allusions to Arthurian romance and a selection of courtly virtues establish an idealized miles Christi, or soldier for Christ, as an exemplar for how to defeat temptation in the form of Antichrist or his army of vices and win personal salvation. The compilation as a whole offered a relatable guide for personal eschatology for secular audiences and an alternative to erudite Latin Apocalypses that was more in line with lay abilities and tastes. Combined, the visual and textual elements of the Antichrist compilation present a remarkable blend of sacred and secular material that sheds new light on popular religion and secular eschatology.