Ashburnham Pentateuch - camels, donkeys, mules, and horses

 Salvete Omnes,

Ukraine must become peaceful again - war of aggression must stop.

...

Today a bit of a late Antiquity and early Christian art from.. well, could have been Italy,  North Africa or Western Asia, then still under the Eastern Roman empire -  late VI or perhaps early VII century treasure of beauty and spirituality.

Because what a treasure this manuscript - Ashburnham Pentateuch (the first five books of the Old Testament) - French national Library  Gallica page -  still is, and it has some turbulent story to it too. 

Nota bene fre/libre/gratis  book from the Metropolitan Museum of Arts  - Age of Spirituality: Late Antique and Early Christian Art, Third to Seventh Century.

some details

Valete!

Spring has come - J. Chelmonski

 Salvete Omnes,

War in Ukraine must stop - 

and so our northern Hemisphere has entered the season of la Primavera aka Spring (Wiosna in Polish). But Spring can be also cold, and some late snow storms could make sleigh ride possible or desirable, especially during the two or three previous centuries (the so called cold period started at the beginning of the XVII century and stayed on until recently, where some warming can be seen - but in the XV-XVI centuries there was much warmer in the Polish Kingdom lands)

let us take a look at some canvasses by of of the greatest Polish painters of the Partitions period - Jozef Chelmonski ( Józef Chełmoński 1849-1914AD) .

Valete

Apocalypse 7

 Salvete Omnes,

War in Ukraine continues - many media outlets bring news of potential ceasefire talks between the Russian invaders-  Putin government and  Ukrainian defenders - Zelensky government et al.
We all hope and pray for the peace sooner than later, while the number of refugees - women and children from Ukraine - is currently close to 3 million people. Human catastrophe in making.

***

another  Four Horsemen of Apocalypse image - deeply religious painter Victor Vasnetstov who many works  have been painted for the St Volodymyr's Cathedral, Kiev, the besieged capital of Ukraine.

..

Valete

Apocalypse 6

 Salvete Omnes,

war in Ukraine (Wojna na Ukrainie) continues - peace must prevail!

***

Apocalypse of the Chateau d'Angers - commissioned by Duke de Anjou circa 1375AD this monumental tapestry - originally 140 meters long and 850 square meters of total surface - is housed in the castle of Angers.  

_
three out of Four Horsemen survived - 

1st

3rd

4th

and horsemen of the fire-breathing horses

..

Valete

Apocalypse 5

 Salvete Omnes,

war in Ukraine must end - peace is so dear!!

more of the XV century Apocalypse images: 

this time:
De Vier Reiter - Cologne Bible circa 1479AD

and Apocalipsis in dietsche- circa 1400AD from Gallica - BN de France

our present day would require one more Horseman - the Disinformation Horseman, perhaps I will draw one this weekend... Medieval style?

Valete

Bairactar or Bairaktar

 Salvete omnes,

peace in Ukraine must prevail! 

long time ago there was a famous Arabian horse sire - stallion Bairaktar written also as Bairactar.
Supposedly his name Bairaktar was a Turkish word for standard bearer. Born in the desert (Syrian?) circa 1813, he was imported to Europe after the Napoleonic Wars and would become one of the most influential sires in the history of the American and European Arabian horse breeding history.

And there was a German king, Wilhelm I of Wurttemberg, who bought this stallion in 1817, rode him  and also had him used as a sire for this studs , including Weil, where our Bairaktar died in 1838 or 39AD. 

Nota bene, supposedly the oldest existing German stud is the Marbach Stud, near Gomadingen, in Baden-Wurttemberg, established more than 540 years ago by  Eberhard I of Wurttemberg as a private stud, elevated during the reign of Christoph of Wurttember to the official state stud.   
Below two monuments to Wilhelm I of Wurttemberg and of Bairaktar.

His skeleton still exists today. 

Incidentally, there is military aerial vehicle (UCAV) alias combat drone produced by the Turkish military, and this unmanned aerial vehicle is called Bayraktar. 

Valete

Apocalypse 4

 Salvete Omnes,

war in Ukraine continues 

Four Horsemen again - from 1420AD manuscript - Wellcome Apocalypsis (Apocalypse)

and according to Hurriyet here will be truce negotiations between Russian minister Lavrov and Ukrainian minister Kuleba in Antalya, Turkey on March 10th. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu will be presiding, God willing they will get the war in Ukraine stopped

Valete