Hortus Deliciarum, Der Sämann

The figure is shown mid-stride, carrying a large supply of grain in the gathered fold of his draped green cloak. He extends his right hand to cast seeds onto a strip of earth below him. This image is a reproduction of a 12th-century manuscript illumination, characterized by the bold outlines and stylized drapery of the Romanesque period.

This image originates from the Hortus Deliciarum, an encyclopedic compendium of knowledge that synthesized medieval theology with the liberal arts. The sowing of seeds serves as an allegory for the dissemination of divine wisdom and the cultivation of the 'inner garden' of the soul, a central theme in medieval Neoplatonic pedagogy.