Megan McNamee: Light and Labour in Late Medieval Concertina-Fold Almanacs

Light and labour were linked by custom and law in the Middle Ages, when, for example, statutes dictated that agricultural workers were to leave their tasks while there was sufficient light to make their way home. We see the connection in medieval calendars. The average hours of daylight and darkness for each month were often recorded on pages along with lively images of seasonal activities, known as the Labours of the Months. Both elements take pride of place in late medieval concertina-fold almanacs—tiny, mass-produced books, made to be worn on the body.

Within their folds, one encounters brightly painted pictures of people busily turning earth, trimming vines, sowing, slaughtering, baking and so on. Beside them are circular diagrams depicting the hours of daylight and darkness. Whereas the Labours were a standard feature of calendars, the diagrams are uncommon; and the tight juxtaposition of the two, near unique. This paper considers what this unusual pairing tells us about the experience of time and work—manual and devotional—in late medieval Europe.

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