There is a high level of illustration, with 72 half or full-page miniatures, as well as coats of arms and decorated initials in red & blue.

It was thought in the Middle Ages to be authored by John the Evangelist, and contains visions of the end of the world and apocalyptic revelations.

It has been claimed that the manuscript was probably influenced by the Commentary on the Apocalypse (c. 776) by the Spanish abbot Beatus of Liébana, who collected earlier commentators on Revelation for an early medieval context,[5]: 39  when the end of the world was anticipated.

[10] The book opens with God and the Seven Angels instructing and prophesying the bishops of Seven churches of Asia to conquer and spread the word of the Holy Spirit.

[8]: 18  The book contains 72 half or full page miniature illustrations,[8] most of which are courtly in the early 14th century style, although the borders of the leaves are richly detailed.

[8]: 13  These depictions include fragments of altar tables and doves, with the Souls of the Dead, martyrs, and crucifixion trees.

The fourth horseman, Death, rides a pale horse, traditionally "the color of decay", according to art historian Helmut Nickel.

[13]: 179 A coat of arms illustrated on one of the leaves suggests it was commissioned by a member of the de Montigny family of Coutances, Normandy.