Skip to main content

Secondary sourceArtifactc. 1460

Tapestries of Alexander the Great

Tournai tapestry workshops · c. 1460

A pair of 15th-century Burgundian tapestries showing legendary deeds of Alexander the Great, made for a noble court.

Made centuries after his death, this tapestry shows how Alexander's legend was celebrated and embellished in medieval European court culture.

Ask Alexander the Great about this sourceView the original(opens in new tab)
Large medieval tapestry displayed behind red velvet rope barriers. It shows crowded scenes of armored horsemen, soldiers with banners, a crowned figure, richly dressed courtiers, towers, and a city, with a kneeling figure at lower right.
Tapestry depicting the youth of Alexander the Great, Tournai workshops, c. 1460. Villa del Principe, Genoa.

About this source

What it is

These are large woven tapestries made around 1460 in the Tournai workshops, a major center of tapestry production for the Burgundian court. They depict legendary episodes from Alexander's life, including a scene of him flying in a chariot pulled by griffins. They are now held at the Villa del Principe in Genoa.

Why it matters

Tapestries like these were luxury objects commissioned by wealthy patrons to display their status and link themselves to the glory of ancient conquerors. They show how Alexander's story was retold and embellished with fantastical legend long after his death, becoming part of the visual culture of medieval European courts.

Look closer

  • What details in the tapestry suggest it mixes real history with legend?
  • Why might a noble court in 15th-century Burgundy want tapestries celebrating Alexander?
  • What does the scale and craftsmanship of the tapestry tell you about who could afford to commission it?

This artifact is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Alexander the Great on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

More Alexander the Great sources

Meet the AI Alexander the Great →
Detail of the Alexander Mosaic: a large ancient mosaic of a battle scene, with riders on horseback, spears raised, and fallen figures, in warm earth tones with a decorative border.Artifact

Secondary source

Alexander Mosaic

Philoxenus of Eretria · c. 120-100 BCE (copy of an earlier Hellenistic painting)

Medieval manuscript page with a pen-and-ink drawing in a blue and red border of a crowned rider on a horse, holding a raised sword, with Latin text above, beside and below the image.Painting

Secondary source

Alexander the Great riding Bucephalus

1460

Reverse side of a silver coin showing a seated Zeus holding an eagle on his outstretched left hand and a scepter in his right, with the inscription ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΥ on the right and ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ below.Artifact

Primary source

Silver Tetradrachm of Alexander the Great

Royal mints of Alexander III · c. 336-323 BCE

Oil painting of a reclining young man in a white tunic and red blanket, drinking from a gold cup held by an attendant. An older bearded man in a yellow cloak reads a scroll at left, and two standing men, one shirtless with a blue cloak, one in an orange tunic, look on. A spear, shield and helmet hang on the wall.Painting

Secondary source

Alexander the Great on his Sickbed

1806

Title page of a 1575 printed edition of Arrian's Anabasis of Alexander, in Greek and Latin. Title lines read Arrianou peri anabaseos Alexandrou, with Arriani De expedit. Alex. Magni, Historiarum Libri VIII. Woodcut of a man beneath a tree with a banner reading Nolo Altum Sapere.Book

Secondary source

Anabasis of Alexander

Arrian · c. 150 AD

Ready when you are

Start chatting with Alexander the Great now.

20 messages free · No credit card · Available in 50+ languages.

Trial Humy for freeGet a quote for institutions