Which star sign are you?

Learn about just how seriously astrology was taken in the Middle Ages.

23 August 2016

Blog series Medieval Manuscripts

Are you one of those people who reads their star charts religiously? Does it matter whether you were born a Taurus or under the sign of Aries? Do Leos rub you up the wrong way or Capricorns get your goat?

If you've answered yes to any of these questions, it might warm your heart to realise that astrology was taken very seriously in the Middle Ages. Take, for example, the Psalter of Lambert le Bègue (Add MS 21114), which contains this cycle of calendar pages, each adorned with its own zodiac sign. For January we have an image of a hooded man drinking from a bowl, below which is the sign of Aquarius; February is represented by a man lopping branches from a tree, with the sign of Pisces; while December depicts a man about to slaughter a bull, supported by the sign of Capricorn. Lambert (died around 1177) had founded the Béguine monastery of St Christophe in Liège, and his portrait is found on f. 7v of this Psalter, made sometime between 1255 and 1265.

Whoever illustrated this calendar clearly wished to supply the star signs for their readers, supplemented by drawings of typical activities for each month of the year, from hawking (May) to harvesting (August) and making wine (October). The vaguely optimistic bull on the calendar page for December is contrasted with the indignant boar for November and the proud hawk for May.

Meanwhile, the star signs all resemble their modern forms, with that for Sagittarius firing its arrow into the distance off the right-hand edge of the page. So, which star sign are you?

A man eaing food and below a woman holding a jug — January (Aquarius): Add MS 21114, f. 1r

A man standing above two fish — February (Pisces): Add MS 21114, f. 1v

A man with an axe standing over a ram — March (Aries): Add MS 21114, f. 2r

A man riding a pony, clasping a bird standing above twins — May (Gemini): Add MS 21114, f. 3r

A man in a field over a crab — June (Cancer): Add MS 21114, f. 3v

A man with a scythe standing above a woman — August (Virgo): Add MS 21114, f. 4v

A man standing above scales — September (Libra): Add MS 21114, f. 5r

A man standing above a scorpion — October (Scorpio): Add MS 21114, f. 5v

November (Sagittarius): Add MS 21114, f. 6r

A man holding an axe to a goat — December (Capricorn): Add MS 21114, f. 6v

A page from a 13th-century bestiary, showing illustrations of cats and mice.

Medieval manuscripts series

This blog is part of our Medieval manuscripts series, exploring the British Library's world-class collections of manuscripts – including papyri, medieval illuminated manuscripts and early modern state papers.

Our Ancient, Medieval and Early Modern Manuscripts series promotes the work of our curators, who are responsible for these items and thousands more.

Discover medieval historical and literary manuscripts, charters and seals, and early modern manuscripts, from Homer to the Codex Sinaiticus, from Beowulf to Chaucer, and from Magna Carta to the papers of Henry VIII and Elizabeth I.

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