The Wheel of Fortune found throughout the Middle Ages and
beyond was a direct legacy of the second book of Boethius's Consolation of Philosophy. The
Wheel appears in many renditions from tiny miniatures in manuscripts to huge
stained glass windows in cathedrals, such as at Amiens. Lady Fortune is usually
represented as larger than life to underscore her importance. The wheel
characteristically has four shelves, or stages of life, with four human
figures, usually labeled on the left regnabo (I shall reign), on the top regno
(I reign) and is usually crowned, decending on the right regnavi (I have
reigned) and the lowly figure on the bottom is marked sum sine regno (I have no
kingdom). Medieval representations of Fortune emphasize her duality and
instability, such as two faces side by side like Janus; one face smiling the
other frowning; half the face white the other black; she may be blindfolded but
without scales, blind to justice. Occasionally her vivid clothing and bold
demeanor suggest the prostitute. She was associated with the cornucopia, ship's
rudder, the ball and the wheel. Fors as Fortune had a very complex definition for Ruskin as he spanned the world of classical scholarship to being one of the first of the wealthy middle class to become a gentleman commoner at Christ Church, Oxford.
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