MS M.461, fols. 31v–32r

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Livre des merveilles du monde

France, probably Angers
ca. 1460
281 x 220 mm

Purchased by J. Pierpont Morgan (1837–1913) in 1911

MS M.461, fols. 31v–32r
Description: 

Europe (left)

This explicitly comparative image sums up the ideological position of the manuscript, with European and African rulers meeting, their armies arrayed behind them; the text takes a strongly prejudiced position, claiming that the men of Europe are handsomer and stronger than those of Africa.



Frisia (right)

Litigants plead their cases before the purportedly incorruptible judges of Frisia.