Treccani - Il libro della rivelazione - 2022

Manuscrit 14410 The Book of Revelation Treccani.

Light defect on the outer case

France, ms. Lat. 14410, Apocalypse with figures

The content

The Latin 14410 manuscript of the Bibliothèque nationale de France contains the Latin text of the Apocalypse or Book of Revelation, the last book of the New Testament.

The identity of the author, who presents himself to the reader with the name John, is uncertain and almost certainly not attributable to that of the homonymous apostle author of the Gospel, due to differences in linguistic and stylistic terms. Nevertheless, criticism agrees in bringing the text closer to the circles closest to Johannine teachings.

Written during the reign of Domitian (51-96 AD), around 95 AD, on the island of Patmos, where the author was in exile because of his faith, this book is the only one among the New Testament books to fall into the genre classified as ‘apocalyptic’.

The text is divided into two parts: the first consists of a letter addressed to seven Christian communities of Asia, while the second presents visions, allegories and symbolisms, whose complex meanings were analyzed by numerous exegetes.

The aim of the Johannine text was to encourage hope in the imminent coming of the Christ and perseverance in bearing witness to the Christian truth and, at the same time, to admonish the believers, announcing the coming of the Kingdom of God that will guarantee salvation to the righteous, reserving to the impure ‘the flaming pool of fire and sulfur’.

Decoration: The manuscript presents 83 miniatures (2 missing), all framed. These occupy the upper half of the page, while the lower part is occupied by the Latin text, superbly illustrated by the miniatures. The author is still anonymous. Filigree initials alternately red and blue are present.

Provenance: the manuscript belonged to the Library of the Abbey of Saint-Victor, an important intellectual and spiritual center of Paris. The abbey residence, after the religious order was suppressed in 1790, was demolished in 1811. The manuscript later became the property of the Bibliothèque impériale, today the Bibliothèque nationale de France.

The case is damaged as can be seen from the photos