A plowman’s lunch

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Detail from the January folio of the Trés Riche Heures du Duc de Berry

As I looked to the east right into the sun,
I saw a tower on a toft, worthily built;
A deep dale beneath, a dungeon therein,
With deep ditches and dark and dreadful of sight.

William Langland, Piers Plowman

So why has Pol Limbourg portrayed the poet Geoffrey Chaucer looking West and turning away from the (Yeast)? Could it be that Chaucer’s choice is for the yeast that has risen to the head of the figure below him – Richard Fitzalan, 4th earl of Arundel – who in political terms could be described as a ‘Sadducee’ or maybe even a ‘seducer’?

“Keep your eyes open, and be on your guard aganst the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” – Matthew 16 : 6

Other posts on the January folio of Très Riche Heures:
A plowman’s lunch
Richard the Redeless
Checking the guest list
There’s a book in this…
Identifying Pol Limbourg
Thoughts on the “wise men”
Telling tales about Chaucer
Happy New Year!
We’re going on a boar hunt!
The Pearl Poet… another sighting
A very rich duke and his bear
Playing hide and seek
A who’s who, what’s what list