Jahresdarstellung - il anno e il ciclo dei 12 mesi - about 1145 CE
The personification of the year (regens temporum) in the centre. The year holds in his hands the moon and the sun, and below the moon is represented the night, below the sun the day.
In the second circle are the twelve signs of the zodiac. In the outer circle are the labours of the twelve months. January is to be found at "nine o'clock" the order of the months follows the sense of the clock. In January - quite unusual - a hare (rabbit) hunting is going on. In may the man holds a bird's nest and a hollow device. The meaning is not completely clear.
In the inner corners are the four seasons, beginning on the top left with spring, then clockwise the summer, but on the bottom right follows the winter and finally bottom left the autumn.
Outside the frame on top left is "Aurora" = morning;
bottom left "meridies" = noon,
bottom right "vespera" = evening and on top right "Pruina" = rime or hoarfrost (which means northern and cold region). These four persons are the personifications of the four points of the compass. Who observes very accurately finds the half heads of twelve winds.
Source:
digital.wlb-stuttgart.de/sammlungen/sammlungsliste/werksa...[id]=5438&tx_dlf[page]=40
The zodiac as a circle can be found for example on a late roman mosaic from
Sentinum near Ancona (Italy):
Jahresdarstellung - il anno e il ciclo dei 12 mesi - about 1145 CE
The personification of the year (regens temporum) in the centre. The year holds in his hands the moon and the sun, and below the moon is represented the night, below the sun the day.
In the second circle are the twelve signs of the zodiac. In the outer circle are the labours of the twelve months. January is to be found at "nine o'clock" the order of the months follows the sense of the clock. In January - quite unusual - a hare (rabbit) hunting is going on. In may the man holds a bird's nest and a hollow device. The meaning is not completely clear.
In the inner corners are the four seasons, beginning on the top left with spring, then clockwise the summer, but on the bottom right follows the winter and finally bottom left the autumn.
Outside the frame on top left is "Aurora" = morning;
bottom left "meridies" = noon,
bottom right "vespera" = evening and on top right "Pruina" = rime or hoarfrost (which means northern and cold region). These four persons are the personifications of the four points of the compass. Who observes very accurately finds the half heads of twelve winds.
Source:
digital.wlb-stuttgart.de/sammlungen/sammlungsliste/werksa...[id]=5438&tx_dlf[page]=40
The zodiac as a circle can be found for example on a late roman mosaic from
Sentinum near Ancona (Italy):