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Commentary on the Apocalypse (Commentaria In Apocalypsin) was originally an eighth century work by the Asturian monk and theologian Beatus of Liébana. Today, it refers to any of the extant manuscript copies of this work, especially any of the 26 illuminated copies that have survived. It is often referred to simply as the Beatus. The historical significance of the Commentary is made even more pronounced since it included a world map, which offers a rare insight into the geographical understanding of the post-Roman world. Well-known copies include the Morgan, the Saint-Sever, the Osma and the Madrid (Vitr 14-1) Beatus.

Considered together, the Beatus are among the most important Spanish medieval manuscripts and have been the subject of extensive scholarly and antiquarian enquiry.

References

1. Martin Kauffmann, "Review of THE ILLUSTRATED BEATUS: A corpus of the illustrations of the commentary on the Apocalypse, volume five: The Twelfth and Thirteenth Centuries," TLS 5281 (6/18/2004) 35-37.
2. Suzanne Lewis, "Review of The Illustrated Beatus: A Corpus of the Illustrations of the Commentary on the Apocalypse, 3: The Tenth and Eleventh Centuries," Speculum 78.3 (Jul2003): 1014-1016.
3. Majal Kominko argues that "the cartographic tradition to which the two maps" (The Map of Cosmas and the Albi Map) "belong influenced the maps accompanying the Commentary on the Apocalypse of Beatus of Liébana, written and illustrated in eighth-century Spain." See Majal Kominko, "The Map of Cosmas, the Albi Map, and the Tradition of Ancient Geography," Mediterranean Historical Review 20.2 (Dec2005): 163-186.
4. John Williams, "Isidore, Orosius and the Beatus Map," Imago Mundi 49 (1997): 7-32.

• Eschatology
• Manuscripts