3-039-765 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

The Wall of Metals and Jewels Surrounding Angels and Saints; Les Visions du chevalier Tondal, 1475. Additional Info:In this last miniature in the manuscript, the angel brings Tondal's soul to a beautiful wall in heaven, designed to give consolation and joy to the most deserving. The wall, according to the author "shimmered as if aflame [with] crystal, jasper, chrysolite, hyacinth, sapphire, emerald, onyx, topaz, sardonyx, chrysoprase, amethyst, and garnet." Tondal's soul is so inspired by the sight that he asks the angel if he can stay forever. The angel explains that he must return to his body and bids him to heed the lessons learned from the sights he has seen. At the conclusion of his mystical journey, Tondal's soul is reunited with his body. Awakening from his illness, Tondal promptly asks for Communion and "donate[s] all his worldly good to the poor and order[s] the sign of the Cross put upon all his garments."