Manuscript Leaf with June Calendar, from a Royal Psalter

Manuscript Leaf with June Calendar, from a Royal Psalter

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This manuscript page from a psalter uses the same format as calendar pages found in a typical book of hours. June is written at the top; the text includes the names of saints and feasts to be celebrated during that month. The roundels in the right margin depict both the labor associated with June (scything grain) and the sign of the zodiac, Cancer (here represented with 8 legs). In the lower margin is a tinted drawing of the martyrdoms of Saints Peter and Paul, celebrated on June 29th; the corresponding holy day is listed in gold letters.

Medieval Art and The Cloisters

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Manuscript Leaf with June Calendar, from a Royal PsalterManuscript Leaf with June Calendar, from a Royal PsalterManuscript Leaf with June Calendar, from a Royal PsalterManuscript Leaf with June Calendar, from a Royal PsalterManuscript Leaf with June Calendar, from a Royal Psalter

The Museum's collection of medieval and Byzantine art is among the most comprehensive in the world. Displayed in both The Met Fifth Avenue and in the Museum's branch in northern Manhattan, The Met Cloisters, the collection encompasses the art of the Mediterranean and Europe from the fall of Rome in the fourth century to the beginning of the Renaissance in the early sixteenth century. It also includes pre-medieval European works of art created during the Bronze Age and early Iron Age.