Doomsday manuscript: Apocalyptic medieval MAP OF HELL predicted Islam will conquer Europe
Doomsday manuscript: Apocalyptic medieval MAP OF HELL predicted Islam will conquer Europe
A RE-DISCOVERED manuscript predicting doomsday also forecast Islam would conquer Europe and eradicate Christianity.
The manuscript, which was written between 1486 and 1488, comes as a ‘map of Hell’ and depicts the ways in which the unknown author feared the world might end.
Originating from Lübeck, Germany, and written in Latin, it gives an overall feeling of how people lived between 639 and 1514.
It describes the rise of Islam, speaks of an Antichrist and predicts a Judgement Day which the author feared would occur in 1651.
While the alleged doomsday came and went without notable incident, the manuscript still makes for a chilling read.
One diagram shows a large circle which is representative of Earth, surrounded by water and with wedges in the centre used to show Asia, Africa and Europe.
The author behind the book, who is believed to have been a well-educated doctor as there are sections about astrological medicines which are advanced for their time, warns that Islam is a threat to the Christian world.
Another shows five swords inside a circle, with each one labelled: 'It corrects', 'It reforms', 'It crushes' and 'to Rome’, while the fifth is left blank.
This is said to represent the ‘Sword of Islam’ which he or she predicted would conquer Europe.
Van Duzer, author of Apocalyptic Cartography, said: “There's no way to escape it, this work is very anti-Islamic.
“It's unfortunate, but it was a widespread bias in that place and time.”
Perhaps the most farfetched illustration in the manuscript is of Judgement Day, which shows the mouth of Hell and the gates of Paradise opening which was predicted to happen in 1651.
The manuscript is now held in the Huntington Library in San Marino, California.
Doomsday manuscript: Apocalyptic medieval MAP OF HELL predicted Islam will conquer Europe
A RE-DISCOVERED manuscript predicting doomsday also forecast Islam would conquer Europe and eradicate Christianity.
The manuscript, which was written between 1486 and 1488, comes as a ‘map of Hell’ and depicts the ways in which the unknown author feared the world might end.
Originating from Lübeck, Germany, and written in Latin, it gives an overall feeling of how people lived between 639 and 1514.
It describes the rise of Islam, speaks of an Antichrist and predicts a Judgement Day which the author feared would occur in 1651.
While the alleged doomsday came and went without notable incident, the manuscript still makes for a chilling read.
One diagram shows a large circle which is representative of Earth, surrounded by water and with wedges in the centre used to show Asia, Africa and Europe.
The author behind the book, who is believed to have been a well-educated doctor as there are sections about astrological medicines which are advanced for their time, warns that Islam is a threat to the Christian world.
Another shows five swords inside a circle, with each one labelled: 'It corrects', 'It reforms', 'It crushes' and 'to Rome’, while the fifth is left blank.
This is said to represent the ‘Sword of Islam’ which he or she predicted would conquer Europe.
Van Duzer, author of Apocalyptic Cartography, said: “There's no way to escape it, this work is very anti-Islamic.
“It's unfortunate, but it was a widespread bias in that place and time.”
Perhaps the most farfetched illustration in the manuscript is of Judgement Day, which shows the mouth of Hell and the gates of Paradise opening which was predicted to happen in 1651.
The manuscript is now held in the Huntington Library in San Marino, California.
