in the 13th century and preserved within
Llyfr Coch Hergest at
Jesus College, Oxford MS 111 (1385-1420) An apocalyptic pseudo-prophecy exists among the
Sibylline Oracles, which was attributed to the Tiburtine Sibyl. Its earliest version may date from the 4th century, but in the form that survives today, it was written in the early 11th century and was influenced by the
Apocalypse of Pseudo-Methodius. Its first version in Latin dates from the 10th century and may have come from Lombardy though it was quickly picked up (and rewritten) by the
Salian dynasty and the
Hohenstaufens. It proved a useful rhetorical tool, valuable for many a ruler; the lists that it contains of emperors and kings were revised to fit the circumstances, and hundreds of versions remain from the Middle Ages. Its conclusion purports to prophesy the advent in the world's ninth age of a
final Emperor vanquishing the foes of Christianity (heavily dependent on the Apocalypse of Pseudo-Methodius): This Emperor's reign is characterized by great wealth, victory over the foes of Christianity, an end of paganism and the conversion of the Jews. The Emperor having vanquished
Gog and Magog, In doing so, he will give way to the
Antichrist: The prophecy relates that Antichrist would be opposed by the
Two Witnesses from the
Book of Revelation, identified with
Elijah and
Enoch; after having killed the witnesses and started a final persecution of the Christians, ==Frescoes at the Villa d'Este==