Time in the Medieval World – Occupations of the Months and Signs of the Zodiac in the Index of Christian Art

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 were 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).