The article studies the distribution of the manuscript Chronicles, self-written by Giovanni Sercambi from Luca, Italy, and its subsequent printing. Special emphasis is placed on five chapters of this urban chronicle. They describe the crusade of Nicopolis (1396) in accordance with the oral account of Giglio Sercambi, who was not only the chronicler’s uncle but also an eyewitness to the events. Danova furthermore deals with the illustrations to these chapters and more precisely with the images of both bombard and flags in the Turkish camp. On the flags there were a profile of a talking black head on a white background and black scorpion on a yellow background. Assumptions are made about the sources of these images and their symbolic meaning.