Livre des merveilles du monde
ca. 1460
France, probably Angers
281 x 220 mm
MS M.461, fols. 31v–32r
Purchased by J. Pierpont Morgan (1837–1913) in 1911
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.