Getty Museum

June Calendar Page with Junius Brutus (?) and Zodiacal Sign of Gemini

Date

probably 1170s

Medium

Tempera colors, gold leaf, silver leaf, and ink

Culture

German

Department

Manuscripts

Institution

Getty Museum

The calendar page for June opens with a figure that contemporary scholars are unable to identify with certainty. The bust-length figure may represent Junius Brutus, the Roman leader who assassinated dictator Julius Caesar; his inclusion here may have been stimulated by the similarity of his name to the name of the month. As with the references to Roman historical figures such as Numa Pompilius and to the Roman gods, this kind of allusion to classical culture provides evidence about the sophistication of the intellectual life at the abbey of Saint Michael at Hildesheim. The calendar page also features the zodiacal sign of Gemini.

The authoritative record is held by Getty Museum. LinkedCulture surfaces this object and its connections; it does not alter institutional metadata.