absalom caught by his hair, hanging from a tree

"Now Absalom happened to meet David’s men. He was riding his mule, and as the mule went under the thick branches of a large oak, Absalom’s hair got caught in the tree. He was left hanging in midair, while the mule he was riding kept on going." - 2 Samuel 18:9 (NIV)

illustration from a manuscript copy of the weltchronik by rudolf von ems, zurich, early 14th c.

Alexander the Great underwater, from a German Weltchronik, about 1400 AD.

Beneath the surface of an ocean teeming with fish, King Alexander the Great sits in a bathysphere, a type of diving contraption, glowering as he raises his eyes to the couple above. Sitting in a boat, Alexander's mistress and her new suitor make eyes at each other and hold hands. The story of Alexander's underwater adventure was invented and greatly elaborated upon during the course of the Middle Ages, especially in German vernacular literature. Alexander, who was a student of the great philosopher Aristotle, was curious to explore the ocean. He had himself lowered into the water in a glass diving bell, taking with him three creatures: a dog, a cat, and a cock. Alexander entrusted his most loyal mistress with looking after the chain that pulled the bell up to the surface. She was persuaded by her lover to elope, however, and she cast the chain into the sea. With the chain uselessly coiled on the ocean floor, Alexander was left to devise his own escape. This miniature illustrates Jansen Enikel's contribution to the World Chronicle , the ancient history section.

So. Much. Stabbing. in the Old Testament!

the fall of the rebel angels

from a manuscript of the weltchronik by rudolf von ems, illuminated by the workshop of diebold lauber, alsace, c. 1459

nero giving birth to a toad

illustration from a copy of the "weltchronik" ("chronicle of the world") by rudolf von ems, bavaria, c. 1400-1410

king saul taking a shit (while david cuts off a piece of his robe)

illustrations of 1 samuel 24:3 in two different weltchronik (world chronicle) manuscripts. bavaria/austria, c. 1370-75 and c. 1400-50

nebuchadnezzar's dream of the statue made of four metals

miniature from a manuscript containing the world chronicle by rudolf von ems and other texts, bavaria, c. 1400-1410

abraham and the trinity ("the hospitality of abraham")

illustrations from a manuscript containing a compilation of world chronicles in verse. bavaria/austria, c. 1370-75