Pope Alexander III stands with his right foot pressed down upon the emperor's neck. A serpentine tongue extends from his mouth, while a bishop and cardinal look on. A cartouche in the lower right displays a conversation between the emperor ("Non tibi, sed Petro." ["Not to you, but to Peter"]) and the pope ("Et mihi, & Petro." ["Both to me and to Peter"]). A second cartouche sarcastically records the comments of the observers ("Super aspidem & basiliscum ambulabis, & conculcabis leonem & draconem." ["You will walk over the asp and basilisk and trample the lion and the dragon."]). This statement, which derives from Psalm 91:13, functions as a key to Foxe's text. The woodcut appears in the first through fourth editions (1563, 1570, 1576, and 1583) and is based on an illustration from Robert Barnes, Bapsttrew Hadriani iiii. und Alexanders iii. gegen keyser Friderichen Barbarossa geübt (Wittenberg, 1545). It appears in the first edition (1563) as a paste-in. Luborsky and Ingram 11222/2, 11223/2. JPEG file (3.52 MB).
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