October from the Hours of Henry VIII

This October labor from the Morgan Library’s Hours of Henry the VIII is actually two labors; on the left, a nattily dressed man in a hat, vest, stockings and shoes is sowing seeds, while on the right another man is ploughing the filed with a team of horses. The crop being sowed is almost certainly a variety of winter wheat, destined to be harvested in summer. The wheat sprouts before the snow falls, and continues, somewhat somnolently, to grow under its winter blanket of snow.

The man with with the seeds is scatteringly, rather than planting in rows. You can see a sack with additional seeds on the ground behind him. He has folded his apron to hold the seeds he scatters. This is strikingly similar to the October calendar image from Très Riches Heures. Both images show the dual labors of sowing winter grain and plowing; both feature a man sowing grain from his apron while a sack with additional seed waits in readiness on the ground nearby. Technically the Très Riches Heures for October show a harrow, but the effect is much the same.