De revelatione facta ab angelo Beato Methodio in carcere dete[n]to

De revelatione facta ab angelo Beato Methodio in carcere dete[n]to

Incunabula

Woodcuts (prints)

Antichrist

Cesarean section

Pseudo-Methodius

This book of prophecies attributed to the fourth-century martyr, Methodius, was probably composed by a fifteenth century monk, Wolfgang Aytinger, to arouse animosity between Christians and Muslims. Although not specifically medical, the De revelatione contains a number of unusual woodcuts, among them this image of the birth of the Antichrist—which is also one of the earliest printed depictions of a Caesarian section birth. There is a long iconographic tradition of linking the Antichrist with a Caesarian birth, hinting at the suspicion and distrust surrounding this "unnatural" procedure.

Woodcut print of the birth of the Antichrist, one of the earliest printed depictions of a Caesarian section birth, in (Basel, [5] January 1498)

Pseudo-Methodius

Michael Furter

1498 January [05]

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Boston Medical Library Rare Books Collection (Ballard 473)

image

1 woodcut print

Latin

still image

DigID0002512

Purchased for the Boston Medical Library, 1932