Passional Christi vnnd Antichristi , an annotated digital edition

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Instead of a peaceful crowd and a humble donkey, the corresponding Antichrist panel shows the pope, bishops, and cardinals riding decorated horses and accompanied by armed soldiers. And instead of a blessed rest in the heavenly city, the papal procession’s destination will be the fires of hell. The corresponding text cites a canon about the tonsure—the monastic practice of shaving the top of the head—representing the spiritual kingship and crown of those who had taken religious vows. Another canon affirms the pope’s right to ride in a royal possession like an emperor. The final sentence of the text refers to the pope as the leader of the unrighteous ones condemned in chapter 22 of the Apocalypse of John, more commonly known as Revelation.