12-02-2025, 06:22 PM
Mary D'Imperio was also, I believe, the first person to see that some of the female figures in Quire 13 carried spindles or spindle-like objects. This is a matter that has been discussed in the forum but without any results in order to a correct interpretation.
In my opinion, the first step to clarify this point is to identify the female figures of Quire 13 with those we see in the zodiacal pages holding stars. Obviously these female figures with a star each represent the fixed stars of the firmament. What else could they be? It's a simple personification.
In Quire 13 only a few figures have spindles but in reality the artist wanted to show that they all have them even though the spindles are not painted on each and every one of them. The only plausible interpretation is that the artist wanted to suggest that the stars spin over and over like spindles do when spinning thread. The stars spin day and night without rest.
It is curious that in English they do not say spindles when talking about time zones. In Spanish the word spindle is used, which directly refers to the fact of spinning.
In my opinion, the first step to clarify this point is to identify the female figures of Quire 13 with those we see in the zodiacal pages holding stars. Obviously these female figures with a star each represent the fixed stars of the firmament. What else could they be? It's a simple personification.
In Quire 13 only a few figures have spindles but in reality the artist wanted to show that they all have them even though the spindles are not painted on each and every one of them. The only plausible interpretation is that the artist wanted to suggest that the stars spin over and over like spindles do when spinning thread. The stars spin day and night without rest.
It is curious that in English they do not say spindles when talking about time zones. In Spanish the word spindle is used, which directly refers to the fact of spinning.