Medieval Illustrations of Knights and Battles

Medieval miniatures illustrating knights in armor, conflicts, and historical figures, capturing the spirit of chivalry and adventure.

Hanging scene, miniature from the Bible of Stephen Harding, manuscript from Citeaux, France 12th Century.

LITERATURA CATALANA. SIGLOS XIII-XIV. LLULL, Ramon (Palma de Mallorca, 1233/35-Bujía, 1315/16). Filósofo, místico y literato mallorquín "ELECTORIUM PARRUM SEU BREVICULUM". Códice San Peter. Pergamino 92. MINIATURA del folio 10 r. (facsímil) con la REPRESENTACION DEL VIAJE DE LLULL A BUJIA (izqda.) y LLULL COMO MISIONERO EN BUJIA DONDE LO LAPIDAN Y LO LLEVAN ANTE EL CADI, QUE MANDA APRESARLO. Biblioteca de Baden. Karlsruhe. Alemania.

LIBRO DE LOS CABALLEROS DE LA ORDEN DE SANTIAGO - 1361 - FOLIO 69 V - LERMA - SARMIENTO - SANTANDER. Location: ARCHIVO MUNICIPAL. BURGOS. SPAIN. LERMA ALONSO. SARMIENTO GARCI. SANTANDER ANTONIO. SANTOTIS HERNANDO.

LIBRO DE LOS CABALLEROS DE LA ORDEN DE SANTIAGO - 1361 - FOLIO 78 V - RUIZ MOTA - CUEVAS - PESQUERA. Location: ARCHIVO MUNICIPAL. BURGOS. SPAIN. CUEVAS ALONSO. RUIZ DE LA MOTA GARCI. PESQUERA ANDRES "EL JOVEN". POLANCO GREGORIO.

COMBATE DE CRUZADOS CONTRA SARRACENOS - MINIATURA - SIGLO XIV. Location: BRITISH MUSEUM. LONDON. ENGLAND.

Hanging scene, miniature from the Bible of Stephen Harding, manuscript from Citeaux, France 12th Century.

Arrival of Charles VII in the Bastille in 1418. The taking of Paris, par Martial d'Auvergne, The taking of Paris, by Martial d'Auvergne, illumination end of the book Vigils of Charles VII, Paris, France, XV century

LIBRO DE LOS CABALLEROS DE LA ORDEN DE SANTIAGO - 1361 - FOLIO 32 V - FERNANDEZ FRIAS - PEREZ FRIAS. Location: ARCHIVO MUNICIPAL. BURGOS. SPAIN. FERNANDEZ FRIAS JUAN. FERNANDEZ FRIAS MARTIN. FERNANDEZ FRIAS ROY. PEREZ FRIAS MARTIN.

Miniatures from the Bible, by Guiart Des Moulins and Pierre Comestor, manuscript, late 13th-early 14th Century.

William, Duke of Normandy, between half-brothers Odo, bishop of Bayeux and Robert of Mortain, detail of Queen Mathilda's Tapestry or Bayeux Tapestry depicting Norman conquest of England in 1066, France, 11th century.

Text with rubric and placemarkers. Miniature showing a battle.. 1445. Schlapperitzin, Konrad ca. um 1445. Religious books, Manuscripts. Manuscripts and Archives Division

Sir Geoffrey Luttrell, armed and mounted. From the fourteenth-century Luttrell Psalter. From The Island Race, a 20th century book that covers the history of the British Isles from the pre-Roman times to the Victorian era. Written by Sir Winston Churchill and abridged by Timothy Baker.

CEREMONIAL PARA LA CORONACION DE LOS REYES DE ESPAÑA - SEQUITO DEL REY DE CASTILLA - LAMINA IV - SIGLO XIV. Author: RAIMUNDO EBRARD II (-1331) OBISPO DE COIMBRA. Location: MONASTERIO-BIBLIOTECA-COLECCION. SAN LORENZO DEL ESCORIAL. MADRID. SPAIN. ALFONSO XI EL JUSTICIERO.

LIBRO DE LOS CABALLEROS DE LA ORDEN DE SANTIAGO - 1361 - FOLIO 71 - SORIA - ARCEO - BUEZO. Location: ARCHIVO MUNICIPAL. BURGOS. SPAIN. SORIA DIEGO. ARCEO JUAN. BUEZO SEBASTIAN.

Alfonso II de Aragón y Alfonso VIII de Castilla, 'Liber feudorum maior', cartulario escrito por Ramón de Caldes, siglo XII. Museum: ARCHIVO DE LA CORONA DE ARAGON, Barcelona, SPAIN.

Mural de la Crucifixión, 1350, procedente de la iglesia de Sant Miquel de Cardona. Museu Diocesà i Comarcal de Solsona.

Pope Pius II, frontispiece to a Constitution of the Sienese Church of the Year 1464. Italian (Siena); after Vecchietta (Lorenzo di Pietro di Giovanni) (Italian, 1410-1480). Date: 1464. Dimensions: 310 x 223 mm. Manuscript cutting in tempera and gold leaf on parchment. Origin: Italy. Museum: The Chicago Art Institute, USA.

RABANUS, Maurus (c. 780 - 856). De universo or De rerum naturis. 842 - 847. Codex 132. Exorcism. Edition of the 11th century from the original Carolingian manuscript. Romanesque art. Miniature Painting. ITALY. LAZIO. FROSINONE. Cassino. Archive of Monte Cassino's Abbey.

LIBRO DE LOS CASTIGOS DEL REY SANCHO IV DE CASTILLA - "COMIDA DE LOS CORTESANOS Y EL REY" FOL 58V - SIGLO XIII. Author: Sancho IV of Castile the Brave (1258-1295). Location: BIBLIOTECA NACIONAL-COLECCION, MADRID, SPAIN.

BIBLIA S XIII- TOMO I- 187V -SALOMON A CABALLO-MINIATURA GOTICA. Location: ACADEMIA DE LA HISTORIA-COLECCION, MADRID, SPAIN.

CHILDERIC I (436-481). King of the Salian Franks (458 - 496). The king Childeric, the queen Fredegunde and a concubine on horseback. Picture of the 'Grat Chronicles of France' (14th c.). Gothic art. Miniature Painting. FRANCE. MIDI-PYRÄNÄES. TARN. Castres. Goya Museum.

Emilia-Romagna Forli Cesena Biblioteca Comunale00. Hutzel, Max 1960-1990 .. Medieval: Manuscripts: 1) Laurentius Rusius: "De cura equorum" (15th century) BCM S.XXVI.2 2) Paolo Veneto: "History of the Origins of the World through Henry VII" (14th century) BCM S.XI.5 3) S. Isidorus: "Etymologies" (late 8th-early 9th centuries) BCM S.XXI.5 4) Gospel Book (Evangeliario), Greek (10th century) BCM D.XXVII.4 5) Pentateuch, Prophets, and Hagiographies, Hebrew (1348) BCM S.XXIX.1 6) "Somnium Scipionis", misc. (14th-15th centuries) BCM S.XII.6 7) Boethius: "De Consolatione Philosophie" (14th century) BCM D.XIV.1 8) Justinian: "Institutiones" (14th century) BCM S.IV.I 9) Bible (Old and New Testaments) (13th-14th centuries) BCM D.V.2 10) Giabir Ibn Afla "Almagestus" (De Astronomia) (13th and 15th centuries) BCM S.XXVII.2. Post-medieval: Manuscripts: 1) St. Augustine: "Enarrationes in Psalmos" (1452) BCM D.III.2 2) Herodotus: Histories (15th century) BCM S.X1V.1 3) St. Augustine: "De Civitate Dei"

LIBRO DE LOS CASTIGOS DEL REY SANCHO IV DE CASTILLA "INFANTE SANCHO IV PRESENTA VASALLAJE AL REY" - SIGLO XIII. Author: SANCHO IV (1258-1295). Location: BIBLIOTECA NACIONAL-COLECCION. MADRID. SPAIN.

COMENTARIOS AL APOCALIPSIS-FOLIO 91 RECTO. Author: BEATO DE LIEBANA. Location: CATEDRAL-BIBLIOTECA. BURGO DE OSMA. Soria. SPAIN.

Cavalry at Hastings battlefield, detail of Queen Mathilda's Tapestry or Bayeux Tapestry depicting Norman conquest of England in 1066, France, 11th century.

Conradin and his barons are sentenced and executed after the defeat of Tagliacozzo, miniature from the Cronica (Chronicles) by Giovanni Villani, manuscript, Italy 14th Century.

Bayeux Tapestry 1067: Harold Godwinson, Earl of Wessex (later Harold II of England), holding hawk, riding to his estate at Bosham for hunting and sea fishing. Ship blown across English Channel to Brittany, 1064. Dog Hound Horse Textile

Louis XI (1423-1483). King of France. Site of Paris. Miniature of a manuscript of 15th century.

Edward I in Parliament with the Archbishop of Canterbury, King Alexander III of Scotland, the Welsh Prince Llywelyn ab Gruffydd and the Archbishop of York. From the Wriothesley MS, 1523. From The Island Race, a 20th century book that covers the history of the British Isles from the pre-Roman times to the Victorian era. Written by Sir Winston Churchill and abridged by Timothy Baker.

King Wenceslas II or Vaclav (1271-1305) on throne with troubadours, from Manesse codex 1305-40 German manuscript, folio 10r

Colored pen drawing depicting crossbow shooters aiming against praying figures, dated 1420-1430, showing contrast between combatants and supplicants.

Vigilian or Albelda Codex. 10th c. Constantine receives consuls Paulinus and Julianus. Mozarabic art. Miniature Painting. SPAIN. MADRID (AUTONOMOUS COMMUNITY). San Lorenzo de El Escorial. Royal Library of the Monastery of El Escorial. Proc: SPAIN. LA RIOJA. Albelda de Iregua. Monastery of Saint Martin.

LIBRO DE LOS CABALLEROS DE LA ORDEN DE SANTIAGO - 1361 - FOLIO 34 - LOPEZ - GONZALEZ - GARCIA. Location: ARCHIVO MUNICIPAL. BURGOS. SPAIN. LOPEZ PERO. GONZALEZ DESPEJO FERRANT. GARCIA DE SAN FAGUNT GONZALO. GONZALEZ DE SANTA MARIA PERO.

The Trojan War: The Destruction of Troy. ca. 1470. Detail. Pyrrhus, son of Achilles, kills the king Priam in the temple of Apollo. Cloth number 11 in the series, work of the Master of Cotivy, Henry or Conrard of Vulcop (active 1454-1479). Manufacturing of Tournai. Wool and silk. 6/7 threads per cm. 477 x. Flemish art. Tapestry. SPAIN. CASTILE AND LEON. Zamora. Cathedral Museum.

Knight with Green and White Shields on Red Horse: Capodilista Codex 15th Century Manuscripts Civic Library of Padua

Butcher (de macello), folio 350 of 1023 manuscript of De Universo by Raban Maur, 780-856 German theologian and writer

Attributed to an unknown author identified only as Pseudo-Callisthenes, 'The Romance of Alexander' was first produced in Greek between 200-300 CE from written accounts and stories derived from the oral tradition. Although notionally a history of Alexander the Great (d. 323 BC), it is really a mixture of legend and fact that raised the already remarkable accomplishments of Alexander's thirty two years of life to mythological status. The original Greek manuscript (of which there were actually three editions) is now lost, but it was subsequently translated into the Syriac, Armenian and Pahlavi languages, -- each introducing its own variations -- contributing stories to the Qur'an, inspiring Persian poetry and giving rise to its retranslation and dissemination throughout the Middle East. An early Latin version was the basis for translation into the vernacular languages of Europe where it became established as a popular Medieval tradition.

FRONTAL ROMANICO-PROC ESPINELVES-DET IZQ REYES MAGOS-S XII. Location: MUSEO EPISCOPAL. VIC. Barcelona. SPAIN. Melchor. Gaspar. BALTASAR.

LIBRO DE LOS CASTIGOS DE SANCHO IV - EL REY SANCHO IV IMPARTIENDO JUSTICIA - FOL 17V - SIGLO XIII. Author: SANCHO IV (1258-1295). Location: BIBLIOTECA NACIONAL-COLECCION. MADRID. SPAIN. SANCHO IV EL BRAVO REY DE CASTILLA Y LEON. ALFONSO X EL SABIO HIJO.

The Family of Berthold VI; The Marriage of Hedwig and Heinrich. Date/Period: 1353. Folio. Tempera colors, colored washes, and ink on parchment. Height: 341 mm (13.42 in); Width: 248 mm (9.76 in). Author: Court workshop of Duke Ludwig I of Liegnitz and Brieg.

Trojan War. Antenor's captivity. Fol. 69r of the Codex Benito Santa Mora (15th c.). Gothic art. Miniature Painting. SPAIN. MADRID (AUTONOMOUS COMMUNITY). San Lorenzo de El Escorial. Royal Library of the Monastery of El Escorial.

MS.B.R.20- CANTIGA STA MARIA-Nº 312-F58-C-AMANTES EN LA ALCOBA-MINIATURA GOTICA- S XIII. Author: Alfonso X of Castile. Location: BIBLIOTECA NACIONAL COLECCIÓN. Florenz. ITALIA.

Colored woodcut by Johann Zainer from 1473 depicting Hyerenes and Charles with Ipatice, showing figures in historical attire and decorative elements.

MTI1-CANTIGA STA MARIA Nº165-F221V-f- DEFENSA DE LA CIUDAD DE TORTOSA DE ULTRAMAR-MINIATURA S XIII. Author: ALFONSO X EL SABIO (1221-1284). Location: MONASTERIO-BIBLIOTECA-COLECCION. SAN LORENZO DEL ESCORIAL. MADRID. SPAIN.

BIBLIA DE ALBA - SIGLO XV - MINIATURA - REY EN EL TRONO DEL PALACIO DE LIRIA. Location: PRIVATE COLLECTION. MADRID. SPAIN. FERNANDO EL CATOLICO (1452-1516) FERNANDO II ARAGO. FERNANDO II DE ARAGON (1452/1516) REY CATOLICO.

COMENTARIOS AL APOCALIPSIS-FOLIO 40 V. Author: BEATO DE LIEBANA. Location: CATEDRAL-BIBLIOTECA. BURGO DE OSMA. Soria. SPAIN.

LA SOTA DE LANCELOT.

Bayeux cathedral mural decors, normandy, France BAYEUX, FRANCE, MAY 14, 2024 : mural decors of Bayeux, cathedral, normandy Copyright: xZoonar.com/Bayeuxxcathedralxmuralxdecors,xnormandy,xFrancex 22188792

CANTIGA STA MARIA Nº222-F117V-CAPELLAN DE CHELAS SE TRAGO UNA ARAÑA Y LE SALIO VIVA POR LA HERIDA. Author: Alfonso X of Castile. Location: BIBLIOTECA NACIONAL COLECCIÓN. Florenz. ITALIA.

CRONICA MATRITENSIS-BIZANTINA FOL 141 V- PESTE BOVINA EN LA EPOCA DE ROMANO I. Author: SKYLITZES JOHN O SCYLITZA IOANNES. Location: BIBLIOTECA NACIONAL-COLECCION. MADRID. SPAIN.

Noah's Arc and the building of Athens, miniature from Chronicles of Bouquechardiere, manuscript, 1450.

Medieval History. Jewish community. Teacher and student. Miniature. Jewish Museum Berlin. Germany.

Paintings of Conquest of Majorca, 1285-90. Muslims. Palace Berenguer Aguilar, Barcelona. National Art Museum of Catalonia. Barcelona. Catalonia. Spain. Author: Master of the Conquest of Majorca.

Mosaic of Cain killing Abel, inside Monreale Cathedral, Monreale, near Palermo, Sicily, Italy

The Creation of the World; Malnazar, Armenian, active about 1630s, and Aghap'ir; Isfahan, Persia, Asia; 1637 - 1638; Tempera colors, gold paint, and gold leaf on parchment; Leaf: 25.2 x 18.3 cm (9 15/16 x 7 3/16 in.)

CORONACION DE TARQUINO PRISCO - DETALLE DERECHO - TAPIZ DEL SIGLO XV - 8,53x4,31 - TALLER DE TOURNAI - RESTAURADO. Author: TALLER DE TOURNAI (S XV). Location: CATEDRAL-MUSEO DIOCESANO. Zamora. SPAIN. LUCIO TARQUINIO PRISCO (616 AC-578 AC).

France, Normandy, Basse-Normandie, Calvados, Bayeux, the tapestry

Bayeux cathedral mural decors, normandy, France BAYEUX, FRANCE, MAY 14, 2024 : mural decors of Bayeux, cathedral, normandy Copyright: xZoonar.com/Bayeuxxcathedralxmuralxdecors,xnormandy,xFrancex 22188651

The creation of man, miniature from De universo by Rabano Mauro, manuscript, Italy 11th Century.

The Coronation of Henry IV, 1399 (15th Century)Artist: Master of the Harley Froissart

Illustration the 'The Great Chronicles of France' (14th c.). Gothic art. Miniature Painting. FRANCE. MIDI-PYRÄNÄES. TARN. Castres. Goya Museum.

Siege of Chäteau-Gaillard in 1204, where Philip II Augustus of France defeats John I of England. Illustration from 'Grandes Chroniques de France', 14th century. Gothic art. Miniature Painting. FRANCE. PICARDY. OISE. Chantilly. Mus_e Cond_ (Cond_ Museum).

pen-and-ink miniature from the picture chronicle of Henry VII (Balduineum) drawing on parchment from 1341

Detail from the Standard of Ur (Peace side). Sumerian artefact (circa 2600 BC) excavated from the royal tomb in the city of Ur in the 1920's. South of what is now Baghdad in Iraq. It is an historical account of ancient warfare, and shows a king, subjects, musicians, soldiers and animals

Colored pen drawing by an anonymous artist depicting Joseph and his brothers standing before Pharaoh, 1420-1430.

Wall hanging depicting episodes from Tristian and Isolde, the tale of doomed love. Dated 14th Century

Knight before a tournament, 1304, miniature from a copy of the Manesse Code, manuscript, Germany 14th Century.

TUMBO A (1125 A 1255) - ALFONSO II REY DE ASTURIAS (759/842) - FOL 1 V. Location: CATEDRAL-BIBLIOTECA, SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA, CORUA, SPAIN.

Martyrdom of Saint John. He was boiled in huge basin of boiling oil during persecution in Rome. He was mircaculously delivered from death. Miniature, 15th century. Conde Museum. Chantilly. France.

Sacking a city, miniature from a Codex of Veneto, manuscript, Italy 14th Century.

Arthur, 6th century semi-legendary Christian king of the Britons, late 14th century. Artist: Unknown

Bayeux cathedral mural decors, normandy, France BAYEUX, FRANCE, MAY 14, 2024 : mural decors of Bayeux, cathedral, normandy Copyright: xZoonar.com/Bayeuxxcathedralxmuralxdecors,xnormandy,xFrancex 22188689

Barlaam, Carrying a Shoulder Pack, Crosses a River; Follower of Hans Schilling (German, active 1459 - 1467), from the Workshop of Diebold Lauber (German, active 1427 - 1467); Hagenau, Alsace, France (formerly Germany); 1469; Ink, colored washes, and tempera colors on paper; Leaf: 28.6 x 20.3 cm (11 1,4 x 8 in.)

RETABLO DE SANTA LUCIA - HACIA 1357-1385 - TEMPLE/TABLA - 161 x 97 cm - GOTICO ESPAÑOL - NP 2535. Author: MAESTRO DE ESTIMARIU SIGLO XIV. Location: MUSEO DEL PRADO-PINTURA. MADRID. SPAIN.

CODICE ALBENDENSE - MOZARABE - FOL 214 V - SIGLO X. Location: MONASTERIO-BIBLIOTECA-COLECCION. SAN LORENZO DEL ESCORIAL. MADRID. SPAIN.

CODICE ALBENDENSE - MOZARABE - FOL 186 V - SIGLO X. Location: MONASTERIO-BIBLIOTECA-COLECCION. SAN LORENZO DEL ESCORIAL. MADRID. SPAIN.

TUMBO A(1125 A 1255)-PEDRO I DE ARAGON-FOL 38 V-CARTULARIO. Location: CATEDRAL-BIBLIOTECA. SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA. A CORUÑA. SPAIN.

'Doctrine Chretienne'. French school. 13th century. Page 64. Scene divided into squares: Hope (woman and Agnus Dei); Treachery (a man beheading with an axe another one), Noah's Ark and Equity (Moses bringing apart two kids that were fighting). Gothic art. Miniature Painting. SPAIN. Valencia. Valencia University Library.

Harold killed by chance arrow, detail of Queen Mathilda's Tapestry or Bayeux Tapestry depicting Norman conquest of England in 1066, France, 11th century.

Threatened with attack by the Turks, King Sigismund helds a conference at Buda with the French and other allies Date: 1396

France, Normandy, Basse-Normandie, Calvados, Bayeux, the tapestry

MATFRE ERMENGAU of BEZIERS (-1322). Br_viaire d'amour (Breviary of Love). 13th c. The Month of April. Provenal School. Romanesque art. Miniature Painting. SPAIN. MADRID (AUTONOMOUS COMMUNITY). San Lorenzo de El Escorial. Royal Library of the Monastery of El Escorial.

TUMBO A (1125 A 1255) - FERNANDO II REY DE LEON (1145-1188) - FOL 44 V. Location: CATEDRAL-BIBLIOTECA. SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA. A CORUÑA. SPAIN.

Story of Noah: The building of the Ark (Detail of Interior Mosaics in the St. Mark's Basilica) by Byzantine Master / Saint Mark's Basilica, Venice/ 11th century/ Byzantium/ Mosaic/ Gothic/ Bible

Medieval city, miniature from the History of Tito Livio, medieval manuscript.

Macabre dance, 1539, fresco by Simon II Baschenis (circa 1490-1555), church of Saint Vigilius in Pinzolo, Trentino-Alto Adige, Italy, 16th century.

Iseult on horseback accompanied by knights, miniature from Roman de Tristan folio 39, manuscript, France 15th Century.

MANUSCRITO-VIRGILIO ENEAS Y DIDO. Location: BIBLIOTECA APOSTOLICA-COLECCION, VATICANO.

King Arthur and the Knight of the Round Table. Miniature painting by Maitre Jacques de Besanon of the book 'Lancelot du Lac', by Antoine Verard (1494), fol.3 o A2. Gothic art. Miniature Painting. FRANCE. ‘LE-DE-FRANCE. Paris. National Library.

The conquest of England by the Normans. Death of the Brothers of King Harold. A detail from the Bayeux tapestry, Caen, c 1070. Treasury of the Cathedral, Bayeux.

Manuscript, Germany, 16th century. Herzog Wilhelm des Vierten von Bayern (William IV, Duke of Bavaria, 1493-1550). Turnier Buch. Scene depicting Wilhelm von Bayern clashing in the tournament with Johannes von Pern, 1512. Facsimile, printed in Munich by Friedrich Schlichtegroll, 1817.

Beato de Liébana / Castigo de Nabucodonosor a los que no adoran su estatua, Comentario al Apocalipsis de San Juan (Commentarium in Apocalypsin). Museum: Archivo Capitular, Girona.

Marco Polo's caravan on the Silk Road, 1380

Fight by Coetivy Master, Watercolor on parchment, 1450-1499, active circa 1450-1485, Usa, California, The Huntington,

Spain, Seville. The Spanish Square (aka Plaza de Espana). Built in 1929 for Ibero-American Exhibition, traditional hand-painted tile detail.

LIBRO DE LOS CASTIGOS DEL REY SANCHO IV DE CASTILLA - "JUICIO DE SALOMON" - FOL 14 - SIGLO XIII. Author: Sancho IV of Castile the Brave (1258-1295). Location: BIBLIOTECA NACIONAL-COLECCION, MADRID, SPAIN.

CANTIGA STA Mª Nº292-F12R-REY FERNANDO SE APARECE AL TESORERO DE SEVILLA PARA DAR ANILLO A LA VIRGEN. Author: Alfonso X of Castile. Location: BIBLIOTECA NACIONAL COLECCIÓN. Florenz. ITALIA. FERNANDO III EL SANTO CASTILLA / LEON. SAN FERNANDO (REY). MAESE JORGE.

COMENTARIOS AL APOCALIPSIS, EL SEGUNDO ANGEL DERRAMA SU COPA SOBRE EL MAR - BEATO DEL ESCORIAL - SIGLO X. Author: BEATO DE LIEBANA (730-798). Location: MONASTERIO-BIBLIOTECA-COLECCION. SAN LORENZO DEL ESCORIAL. MADRID. SPAIN. RAPHAEL (ARCHANGEL).

Attributed to an unknown author identified only as Pseudo-Callisthenes, 'The Romance of Alexander' was first produced in Greek between 200-300 CE from written accounts and stories derived from the oral tradition. Although notionally a history of Alexander the Great (d. 323 BC), it is really a mixture of legend and fact that raised the already remarkable accomplishments of Alexander's thirty two years of life to mythological status. The original Greek manuscript (of which there were actually three editions) is now lost, but it was subsequently translated into the Syriac, Armenian and Pahlavi languages, -- each introducing its own variations -- contributing stories to the Qur'an, inspiring Persian poetry and giving rise to its retranslation and dissemination throughout the Middle East. An early Latin version was the basis for translation into the vernacular languages of Europe where it became established as a popular Medieval tradition.

Garden with the love fountain, detail of 15th century German tapestry, 1450-60.

Colored pen drawing by an anonymous artist depicting the construction of a tower, created between 1420-1430.

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