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Kitzinger, Ernst. The Art of Byzantium and the Medieval West. Bloomington: Indiana, 1976. p. 351 |
Wheel of Fortune from the Hortus Deliciarum (Garden of delights), written in the late 12th century by Herrad of Hohenbourg, Abbess of Mont-Sainte-Odile. |
Munich Staatsbibliothek CMG 5185
| The wheel, because it can turn, has often been associated with chance and fortune. In this picture, Fortuna is shown turning the crank on the wheel of fortune. Such depictions sometimes contained the legend "Regnabo - Regno - Regnavi - Sum sine regno" - "I shall reign" - "I reign" - "I reigned" - "I am without a realm." |
Dürer, Fortune, 1495, (Das Kleine Glück), Dürer, Albrecht. The Complete Engravings, Etchings and Drypoints. Ed. By Walter Strauss. NY: Dover, 1972. p. 14
| The sphere, with its inherent instability, is also used to illustrate chance or fortune, as in this etching by Dürer. |