The Adventures of Alexander the Great, Medieval-Style

The most recent addition to the Getty Museum’s manuscripts collection is an illuminated copy of the Roman d’Alexander (Romance of Alexander), a captivating combination of historical epic, travel tale, and fantastical legend.

The text’s hero is Alexander the Great (356–323 BCE), ruler of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia, whose military prowess led him to create one of the largest empires the world had ever seen. As the most successful and popular medieval account of his life, the Romance of Alexander combines his real exploits with mythical episodes, particularly those recounting his deeds in lands distant from Europe, where he encounters all manner of strange creatures.

Deriving from a biography originally composed in ancient Greek, the legend was supplemented and expanded as it was translated first into Latin in the early Middle Ages and then into French in the 12th century. The copy entering the Museum’s collection is a high-end luxury manuscript created in the 1290s for the edification and entertainment of members of the nobility, with the images playing a key role in conveying a sense of wonder and excitement.

The Greatest Leader of All Time

In the romance, Alexander takes on the role of history’s greatest military leader. Born of the union between Queen Olympias and a dragon, he becomes master of the twin-horned stallion Bucephalus and conqueror of lands across the Mediterranean, Egypt, Persia, and India. Originally illustrated with about 100 miniatures, the Getty manuscript has unfortunately lost some of its folios, with only 60 images remaining today. Each of these colorful and action-packed pictures vividly brings Alexander’s exploits to life. He is presented in these depictions not as a hero of the Classical world but as the ideal medieval knight, complete with 13th-century armor. He represents a worldview imbued by the tenets of chivalry, and the manuscript captures a sense of the tumult of battle, the dangers of Alexander’s daring quest to conquer the known world, and the thrill of his discoveries in faraway lands (whether true or not).

A Master of Conquest

Much of the narrative focuses on Alexander confronting and defeating the many bizarre and outlandish animals and peoples he discovers during his journeys. In one captivating example, the diminutive figures of Alexander and his men rush headlong into battle against the giants of the land of Atrea, who are said in the text to be as tall as trees. The artist has cleverly used the placement of the accompanying miniature as an opportunity to extend the giants into the upper margin, emphasizing both their enormous size and Alexander’s skill in defeating these seemingly uncontainable colossal beings.

In another episode, Alexander and his troops charge into a group of bloodthirsty unicorns with serrated horns. According to the text, these vicious animals lived along the banks of the Red Sea and attacked in large packs. The tale recounts that Alexander and his men were forced to kill 8,450 of the beasts before the battle ended in victory.

One of the most compelling stories of Alexander’s success revolves around mechanized warriors he deployed in battle against a legion of enemies in India who were mounted atop elephants. Confronted for once with superior forces, Alexander came up with a clever stratagem to tip the balance in his favor: he designed robot soldiers out of bronze who breathed fire as they proceeded implacably on wheels toward the pachyderm-riding foes. The artist depicted the helmeted metal figures with flames leaping off their heads while the Indian combatants at far right look on with visible consternation.

These kinds of images reveal how Europeans saw and interacted with the world around them. The consistently combative approach Alexander and his troops take toward any and all creatures and situations they encounter in foreign lands is representative of an insistent need to conquer that underpins the text’s main narrative thrust. In scene after scene, Alexander and his mounted soldiers gallop in from the left to confront and subdue whatever they happen to find, from dragons to six-handed men to giant crabs to albino lions. In addition, the depiction of peoples far from Europe with nonnormative features played a role in dehumanizing them for medieval audiences. These images expose the centering of the European experience against all others, a form of medieval colonialism.

Visual Effects

Perhaps the most astonishing picture in the entire manuscript features Alexander’s undersea journey. According to the text, he was not only a great military leader but also an intrepid explorer. His inquisitive mind led him to the depths of the ocean, where he saw fish of every variety, as well as sea people, a sea dog, and an enormous whale. His medieval submarine consisted of a transparent barrel, helpfully lit by torches. And of course, he wouldn’t go anywhere without his crown!

Like this image of Alexander’s marine adventure, the style of the rest of the manuscript’s illuminations, executed by an unknown group of artists, is characterized by crowded compositions that convey a sense of energy and movement. The pictures are essentially graphic in nature, relying on a vivid color palette and heavy outlines with little shading to capture the narrative drama. Rearing horses, drawn swords, and expressive hand gestures enliven scenes set against simple architectural environments or patterned backgrounds. The large number of images (60 illuminations in 110 pages) means that there is scarcely an opening that does not feature at least one illumination, which helps build the visual rhythm as the reader/viewer moves through the manuscript, eagerly anticipating what the next turn of the page will reveal of Alexander’s thrilling adventures.

You can explore the manuscript online, and it will make its debut in the galleries in the exhibition Going Places: Travel in the Middle Ages (September 2–November 30, 2025).