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Time in the Medieval World
Occupations of the Months and Signs of the Zodiac in the Index of Christian Art
328 pages | 656 illustrations | 6.5 x 10 | 2006
ISBN 978-0-9768202-2-2 | cloth: $85.00 sh
ISBN 978-0-9768202-3-9 | paper: $35.00 sh
“We are conscious of the effort needed to publish the volume and the amount of information contined in it for the benefit of the reader. For this reason, we must congratulate the editor and encourage him to continue this valuable and irreplaceable collection.” —Manuel Antonio Castineiras Gonzalez, The Medieval Review (TMR)
“Through this accessible and attractive volume, we are brought closer to appreciating the variety and creativity with which medieval artists represented the passing of the year.” —Elizabeth I. Wade-Sirabian, Journal of English and Germanic Philology
This volume is a rich resource for the study of time as represented by the signs of the zodiac and occupations of the months, documented in the comprehensive files of the Index of Christian Art at Princeton University. The measurement and documentation of time has been a universal issue since the dawn of civilization—and no more so than in the medieval period, when images representing the signs of the zodiac and occupations of the months were commonly used. Nature and the occupations or labors that each month brought are reflected in earthly calendars, while the movements of the heavens and their impact on mankind were recorded in the signs of the zodiac. The changing compositions that were used to represent these twin calendars in several hundred works of art are documented in this volume, which provides an unrivaled visual record for the student and scholar.
Colum Hourihane is Director of the Index of Christian Art, Princeton. His most recent publication is The Processional Cross in Late Medieval England: The “Dallye Cross” (2005).