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The Illustrations to The Shepheardes Calender
Journal article   Peer reviewed

The Illustrations to The Shepheardes Calender

Ruth Samson Luborsky
Spenser studies, v 40(1), pp 3-53
01 Jan 2026
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1086/738552

Abstract

The results of this investigation, the first to include all the woodcuts and to analyze them from the perspective of art history, show that the blocks were made especially for the Calender and are not restrikes as has frequently been assumed. While the designs are in the Flemish tradition, the cutting is English; at least three hands can be distinguished. We see elements from the calendrical-pastoral genre combined with features relating to the specific eclogue. This means that the designer(s) must have been given a set of directions to follow. The critical problem is to deduce this program. Although we find variation among the cuts both in the way each relates to its eclogue and in the level of detail, we see consistency in the way the poetic subject and the calendrical theme are stressed. This consistency means that the elements were prescribed. When the eclogue concerns the making or not-making of poetry, the subject is illustrated (seven cuts). The calendrical theme is shown obviously by the astrological signs, the labors of the month, and the quotations from previous calendrical illustrations; and subtly, through allusion to the meaning of the month’s name or its characteristic activity. We see also direct quotation from fable books, and references to cuts in Barclay’s Egloges and an emblem book. The manner of illustration is usually direct: what is depicted is what is described. While this manner is common in books aimed at a wide audience, it is surprising for a book of new poetry at the time. The depictive manner probably was chosen to refer back to the way Vergil’s eclogues were illustrated from 1502 to the middle of the century. Originally published in Spenser Studies, Volume 2, 1981, 10.1086/SPSv2p3

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