Mohammed and the Monk Sergius

Lucas van Leyden

1508 · Engraving · Drawings and Prints

Mohammed and the Monk Sergius — Lucas van Leyden

The subject of this print is a rarely illustrated episode from the popular medieval book The Travels of Sir John Mandeville. One night, while Mohammed, the monk's student, was asleep, his men killed the hermit with Mohammed's own sword and put it back into its sheath. As Mohammed awoke, they persuaded him that he was the killer. Master storyteller Lucas van Leyden takes great delight in describing every detail, from the Mohammed's distinctive clothing to individual leaves on the tree in the middle ground and further to the castles in the background.

Artist
Lucas van Leyden
Date
1508
Medium
Engraving
Department
Drawings and Prints
Credit line
Rogers Fund, 1921

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