« Back to Works and Days: The Medieval Year
Here, the month of January is represented by two richly dressed men, one young and one old, seated back to back. The image evokes the double-headed divinity Janus, the god of beginnings and endings who gave his name to the first month of the year in the Roman calendar. The young man on the left drinks from a full bowl, while the old man on the right reaches for a jug to fill his empty one. Calendar scenes were conventionalized, but variations occur. One of the most common motifs for the month of January was feasting, sometimes before a fire.