Nuremberg chronicles - Dance of Death (CCLXIIIIv)

The ''Danse Macabre'' (; ) (from the

French language French ( or ) is a Romance language of the Indo-European family. It descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire, as did all Romance languages. French evolved from Gallo-Romance, the Latin spoken in Gaul, and more specifically in Nor ...

), also called the Dance of Death, is an artistic genre of

allegory As a literary device or artistic form, an allegory is a narrative or visual representation in which a character, place, or event can be interpreted to represent a hidden meaning with moral or political significance. Authors have used allegory th ...

of the

Late Middle Ages The Late Middle Ages or Late Medieval Period was the Periodization, period of European history lasting from AD 1300 to 1500. The Late Middle Ages followed the High Middle Ages and preceded the onset of the early modern period (and in much of Eur ...

on the universality of

death Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...

. The ''Danse Macabre'' consists of the dead, or a

personification of death Death is frequently imagined as a personified force. In some mythologies, a character known as the Grim Reaper (usually depicted as a berobed skeleton wielding a scythe) causes the victim's death by coming to collect that person's soul. Other b ...

, summoning representatives from all walks of life to dance along to the

grave A grave is a location where a dead body (typically that of a human, although sometimes that of an animal) is buried or interred after a funeral. Graves are usually located in special areas set aside for the purpose of burial, such as grave ...

, typically with a

pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...

king King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

child A child ( : children) is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty, or between the developmental period of infancy and puberty. The legal definition of ''child'' generally refers to a minor, otherwise known as a person younger ...

, and

laborer A laborer (or labourer) is a person who works in manual labor types in the construction industry workforce. Laborers are in a working class of wage-earners in which their only possession of significant material value is their labor. Industries e ...

. The effect was both frivolous, and terrifying; beseeching its audience to react emotionally. It was produced as ''

memento mori ''Memento mori'' (Latin for 'remember that you ave todie'Holy Innocents' Cemetery in Paris dating from 1424 to 1425.

Background

Historian Francis Rapp (1926–2020) writes that "''Christians were moved by the sight of the

Infant Jesus The Christ Child, also known as Divine Infant, Baby Jesus, Infant Jesus, the Divine Child, Child Jesus, the Holy Child, Santo Niño, and to some as Señor Noemi refers to Jesus Christ from his nativity to age 12. The four canonical gospels, a ...

playing on his mother's knee; their hearts were touched by the

Pietà The Pietà (; meaning "pity", "compassion") is a subject in Christian art depicting the Virgin Mary cradling the dead body of Jesus after his body was removed from the cross. It is most often found in sculpture. The Pietà is a specific form o ...

; and

patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, or Eastern Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or perso ...

s reassured them by their presence. But, all the while, the danse macabre urged them not to forget the end of all earthly things.''" This ''Danse Macabre'' was enacted at village pageants and at court masques, with people "''dressing up as corpses from various strata of society''", and may have been the origin of costumes worn during

Allhallowtide Allhallowtide, Hallowtide, Allsaintstide, or the Hallowmas season, is the Western Christian season encompassing the triduum of All Saints' Eve (Halloween), All Saints' Day (All Hallows') and All Souls' Day, as well as the International Day of Pra ...

. In her thesis, ''The Black Death and its Effect on 14th and 15th Century Art'' Anna Louise Des Ormeaux describes the effect of the Black Death on art, mentioning the ''Danse Macabre'' as she does so:

''Some plague art contains gruesome imagery that was directly influenced by the mortality of the plague or by the medieval fascination with the macabre and awareness of death that were augmented by the plague. Some plague art documents psychosocial responses to the fear that plague aroused in its victims. Other plague art is of a subject that directly responds to people's reliance on religion to give them hope.''

The cultural impact of mass outbreaks of disease, of pandemics, are not fleeting or temporary. The effect can endure past the initial stages of outbreak, in its deep etching upon the culture and society. This can be seen in the artworks and motifs of ''Danse Macabre'' as people attempted to cope with the death surrounding them.

Paintings

The earliest recorded visual example is the lost mural on the South wall of the Cemetery of the Holy Innocents in Paris. It was painted in 1424–25 during the regency of

John, Duke of Bedford John of Lancaster, Duke of Bedford KG (20 June 138914 September 1435) was a medieval English prince, general and statesman who commanded England's armies in France during a critical phase of the Hundred Years' War. Bedford was the third son of ...

(1389–1435). It features an emphatic inclusion of a dead crowned king at a time when France did not have a crowned king. The mural may well have had a political subtext. There were also painted schemes in

Basel , french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese , neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS ...

(the earliest dating from ); a series of paintings on canvas by

Bernt Notke Bernt Notke (; – before May 1509) was a late Gothic artist, working in the Baltic region. He has been described as one of the foremost artists of his time in northern Europe. Life Very little is known about the life of Bernt Notke. The No ...

(1440–1509) in

Lübeck Lübeck (; Low German also ), officially the Hanseatic City of Lübeck (german: Hansestadt Lübeck), is a city in Northern Germany. With around 217,000 inhabitants, Lübeck is the second-largest city on the German Baltic coast and in the stat ...

(1463); the initial fragment of the original Bernt Notke painting ''

Danse Macabre The ''Danse Macabre'' (; ) (from the French language), also called the Dance of Death, is an artistic genre of allegory of the Late Middle Ages on the universality of death. The ''Danse Macabre'' consists of the dead, or a personification of ...

'' (accomplished at the end of the 15th century) in the St Nicholas' Church,

Tallinn Tallinn () is the most populous and capital city of Estonia. Situated on a bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, Tallinn has a population of 437,811 (as of 2022) and administratively lies in the Harju ' ...

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...

; the painting at the back wall of the chapel of Sv. Marija na Škrilinama in the

Istria Istria ( ; Croatian language, Croatian and Slovene language, Slovene: ; ist, Eîstria; Istro-Romanian language, Istro-Romanian, Italian language, Italian and Venetian language, Venetian: ; formerly in Latin and in Ancient Greek) is the larges ...

n town of Beram (1474), painted by Vincent of

Kastav Kastav (Italian: Castua) is a town in Primorje-Gorski Kotar County, Croatia, built on a 365 m high hill overlooking the Kvarner Gulf in the northern part of the Adriatic coast. It is in close vicinity of Rijeka, the largest port in Croatia, an ...

; the painting in the Holy Trinity Church of Hrastovlje, Istria by

John of Kastav John of Kastav ( la, Johannes de Castua; hr, Ivan iz Kastva; sl, Janez iz Kastva) was a 15th-century Istrian artist, a native of Kastav (Croatia). He painted the frescoes in the Church of the Holy Trinity, Hrastovlje, which included a famous ' ...

(1490).

Danse Macabre - Guyot Marchand9 (Abbot and Bailiff)

A notable example was painted on the cemetery walls of the Dominican Abbey, in

Bern german: Berner(in)french: Bernois(e) it, bernese , neighboring_municipalities = Bremgarten bei Bern, Frauenkappelen, Ittigen, Kirchlindach, Köniz, Mühleberg, Muri bei Bern, Neuenegg, Ostermundigen, Wohlen bei Bern, Zollikofen , website ...

, by

Niklaus Manuel Deutsch Niklaus Manuel Deutsch (''Niklaus Manuel'', c. 1484 – 28 April 1530), of Bern, was a Swiss artist, writer, mercenary and Reformed politician. Biography Niklaus was most likely the son of Emanuel Aleman (or Alleman), a pharmacist whose own fat ...

(1484–1530) in 1516/7. This work of art was destroyed when the wall was torn down in 1660, but a 1649 copy by

Albrecht Kauw Albrecht Kauw (1621–1681) was a Swiss still-life painter, cartographer and a painter of Veduta, vedute. Biography Kauw was born in Strasbourg, then moved to Bern in 1640. He painted a large number of works for public buildings and for variou ...

(1621–1681) is extant. There was also a ''Dance of Death'' painted around 1430 and displayed on the walls of Pardon Churchyard at Old

St Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in London and is the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London. It is on Ludgate Hill at the highest point of the City of London and is a Grad ...

, London, with texts by

John Lydgate John Lydgate of Bury (c. 1370 – c. 1451) was an English monk and poet, born in Lidgate, near Haverhill, Suffolk, England. Lydgate's poetic output is prodigious, amounting, at a conservative count, to about 145,000 lines. He explored and est ...

(1370–1451) known as the 'Dance of (St) Poulys', which was destroyed in 1549. The deathly horrors of the 14th century such as recurring

famine A famine is a widespread scarcity of food, caused by several factors including war, natural disasters, crop failure, Demographic trap, population imbalance, widespread poverty, an Financial crisis, economic catastrophe or government policies. Th ...

s, the

Hundred Years' War The Hundred Years' War (; 1337–1453) was a series of armed conflicts between the kingdoms of Kingdom of England, England and Kingdom of France, France during the Late Middle Ages. It originated from disputed claims to the French Crown, ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, and, most of all, the

Black Death The Black Death (also known as the Pestilence, the Great Mortality or the Plague) was a bubonic plague pandemic occurring in Western Eurasia and North Africa from 1346 to 1353. It is the most fatal pandemic recorded in human history, causi ...

, were culturally assimilated throughout Europe. The omnipresent possibility of sudden and painful death increased the religious desire for

penance Penance is any act or a set of actions done out of Repentance (theology), repentance for Christian views on sin, sins committed, as well as an alternate name for the Catholic Church, Catholic, Lutheran, Eastern Orthodox, and Oriental Orthodox s ...

, but it also evoked a hysterical desire for amusement while still possible; a last dance as cold comfort. The ''Danse Macabre'' combines both desires: in many ways similar to the medieval

mystery play Mystery plays and miracle plays (they are distinguished as two different forms although the terms are often used interchangeably) are among the earliest formally developed plays in medieval Europe. Medieval mystery plays focused on the represen ...

s, the dance-with-death allegory was originally a

didactic Didacticism is a philosophy that emphasizes instructional and informative qualities in literature, art, and design. In art, design, architecture, and landscape, didacticism is an emerging conceptual approach that is driven by the urgent need to ...

dialogue poem to remind people of the inevitability of death and to advise them strongly to be prepared at all times for death (see ''

memento mori ''Memento mori'' (Latin for 'remember that you ave todie'Ars moriendi The ''Ars moriendi'' ("The Art of Dying") are two related Latin texts dating from about 1415 and 1450 which offer advice on the protocols and procedures of a good death, explaining how to "die well" according to Christian precepts of the late Mi ...

''). Short verse dialogues between Death and each of its victims, which could have been performed as plays, can be found in the direct aftermath of the Black Death in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

and in

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

(where it was known as the ''Totentanz'' and ''la Danza de la Muerte'', respectively). The French term ''Danse Macabre'' may derive from the Latin ''Chorea Machabæorum'', literally "dance of the Maccabees." In 2 Maccabees, a deuterocanonical book of the

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...

, the grim

martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an externa ...

dom of a mother and her seven sons is described and was a well-known medieval subject. It is possible that the Maccabean Martyrs were commemorated in some early French plays, or that people just associated the book's vivid descriptions of the martyrdom with the interaction between Death and its prey. An alternative explanation is that the term entered France via Spain, the ar , مقابر, ''maqabir'' (pl., "cemeteries") being the root of the word. Both the dialogues and the evolving paintings were ostensive penitential lessons that even illiterate people (who were the overwhelming majority) could understand.

Mural paintings

Fresco Fresco (plural ''frescos'' or ''frescoes'') is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaste ...

es and murals dealing with death had a long tradition, and were widespread. For example, the legend of the ''Three Living and the Three Dead.'' On a ride or hunt, three young gentlemen meet three cadavers (sometimes described as their ancestors) who warn them, ''Quod fuimus, estis; quod sumus, vos eritis'' ("What we were, you are; what we are, you will be"). Numerous mural versions of that legend from the 13th century onwards have survived (for instance, in the Hospital Church of

Wismar Wismar (; Low German: ''Wismer''), officially the Hanseatic City of Wismar (''Hansestadt Wismar'') is, with around 43,000 inhabitants, the sixth-largest city of the northeastern German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, and the fourth-largest city ...

or the residential

Longthorpe Tower Longthorpe Tower is a 14th-century three-storey tower in the village of Longthorpe, famous for its well-preserved set of medieval murals. Details Longthorpe tower is located in the village of Longthorpe, now a residential area of Peterborough ...

outside

Peterborough Peterborough () is a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, east of England. It is the largest part of the City of Peterborough unitary authority district (which covers a larger area than Peterborough itself). It was part of Northamptonshire until ...

). Since they showed pictorial sequences of men and corpses covered with shrouds, those paintings are sometimes regarded as cultural precursors of the new genre. A ''Danse Macabre'' painting may show a round dance headed by Death or, more usually, a chain of alternating dead and live dancers. From the highest ranks of the mediaeval hierarchy (usually

and

) descending to its lowest (beggar, peasant, and child), each mortal's hand is taken by an animated skeleton or cadaver. The famous ''Totentanz'' by Bernt Notke in St. Mary's Church, Lübeck (destroyed during the Allied

bombing of Lübeck in World War II During World War II, the city of Lübeck was the first German city to be attacked in substantial numbers by the Royal Air Force. The attack on the night of 28 March 1942 created a firestorm that caused severe damage to the historic centre, with ...

), presented the dead dancers as very lively and agile, making the impression that they were actually dancing, whereas their living dancing partners looked clumsy and passive. The apparent class distinction in almost all of these paintings is completely neutralized by Death as the ultimate equalizer, so that a sociocritical element is subtly inherent to the whole genre. The ''Totentanz'' of

Metnitz Metnitz ( sl, Metnica ) is a town in the district of Sankt Veit an der Glan in the Austrian state of Carinthia. Geography Metnitz lies in the north of Carinthia and includes most of the Metnitz valley and the surrounding Gurktal Alps The Gurkta ...

, for example, shows how a pope crowned with his

tiara A tiara (from la, tiara, from grc, τιάρα) is a jeweled head ornament. Its origins date back to ancient Greece and Rome. In the late 18th century, the tiara came into fashion in Europe as a prestigious piece of jewelry to be worn by women ...

is being led into Hell by Death. Usually, a short dialogue is attached to each pair of dancers, in which Death is summoning him (or, more rarely, her) to dance and the summoned is moaning about impending death. In the first printed ''Totentanz'' textbook (Anon.: ''Vierzeiliger oberdeutscher Totentanz'', Heidelberger Blockbuch, ), Death addresses, for example, the emperor: At the lower end of the ''Totentanz'', Death calls, for example, the peasant to dance, who answers: Various examples of ''Danse Macabre'' in Slovenia and Croatia below: File:Totentanz Maria im Fels Beram.JPG, The fresco at the back wall of the chapel of Sv. Marija na Škrilinama in the Istrian town of Beram (1474), painted by Vincent of

, Croatia File:Hrastovlje Dans3.jpg, Johannes de Castua: Detail of the ''Dance Macabre fresco'' (1490) in the Holy Trinity Church in Hrastovlje,

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...

File:Dance of Death (replica of 15th century fresco; National Gallery of Slovenia).jpg, ''Dance of Death'' (replica of 15th century fresco; National Gallery of Slovenia) File:Totentanz in Hrastovlje.JPG, The famous ''Danse Macabre'' in Hrastovlje in the Holy Trinity Church File:Trionfo della morte - Chiesa S. Maria Annunciata - Bienno (ph Luca Giarelli).jpg, ''Danse Macabre'' in St Maria in

Bienno Bienno ( Camunian: ) is an Italian ''comune'' in Val Camonica, province of Brescia, Lombardy, classed as one of the five most beautiful villages of Italy by the Council of Tourism of the Association of Italian Municipalities (ANCI). Geography ...

, 16th century

Hans Holbein's woodcuts

Renowned for his ''Dance of Death'' series, the famous designs by

Hans Holbein the Younger Hans Holbein the Younger ( , ; german: Hans Holbein der Jüngere; – between 7 October and 29 November 1543) was a Germans, German-Swiss people, Swiss painter and printmaker who worked in a Northern Renaissance style, and is considered o ...

(1497–1543) were drawn in 1526 while he was in

. They were cut in wood by the accomplished

Formschneider Woodcut is a relief printing Relief printing is a family of printing methods where a printing block, plate or matrix, which has had ink applied to its non-recessed surface, is brought into contact with paper. The non-recessed surface will ...

(block cutter)

Hans Lützelburger Hans Lützelburger (died June 1526), also known as Hans Franck, was a German blockcutter ("formschneider") for woodcuts, regarded as one of the finest of his day. He cut the blocks but as far as is known was not an artist himself. He is best known ...

. William Ivins (quoting W. J. Linton) writes of Lützelburger's work wrote: "''Nothing indeed, by knife or by graver, is of higher quality than this man's doing.' For by common acclaim the originals are technically the most marvelous woodcuts ever made''." These woodcuts soon appeared in proofs with titles in German. The first book edition, containing forty-one woodcuts, was published at Lyons by the Treschsel brothers in 1538. The popularity of the work, and the currency of its message, are underscored by the fact that there were eleven editions before 1562, and over the sixteenth century perhaps as many as a hundred unauthorized editions and imitations. Ten further designs were added in later editions. The ''Dance of Death'' (1523–26) refashions the late-medieval

of the ''Danse Macabre'' as a reformist satire, and one can see the beginnings of a gradual shift from traditional to reformed Christianity. That shift had many permutations however, and in a study Natalie Zemon Davis has shown that the contemporary reception and afterlife of Holbein's designs lent themselves to neither purely Catholic or Protestant doctrine, but could be outfitted with different surrounding prefaces and sermons as printers and writers of different political and religious leanings took them up. Most importantly, "''The pictures and the Bible quotations above them were the main attractions ��Both Catholics and Protestants wished, through the pictures, to turn men's thoughts to a Christian preparation for death.''". The 1538 edition which contained Latin quotations from the Bible above Holbein's designs, and a French quatrain below composed by

Gilles Corrozet Gilles Corrozet (1510 - 1568, Paris) was a French writer and printer-bookseller. Life and works Corrozet’s printer’s mark was a rose enclosed in a heart, punning on his name (''Coeur rosier''), and accompanied by the Biblical motto ''In corde ...

(1510–1568) actually did not credit Holbein as the artist. It bore the title: Les simulachres & / HISTORIEES FACES / DE LA MORT, AUTANT ELE/gammēt pourtraictes, que artifi/ciellement imaginées. / A Lyon. / Soubz l'escu de COLOIGNE. / M.D. XXXVIII. ("Images and Illustrated facets of Death, as elegantly depicted as they are artfully conceived.") These images and workings of death as captured in the phrase "histories faces" of the title "are the particular exemplification of the way death works, the individual scenes in which the lessons of mortality are brought home to people of every station." Holbein Danse Macabre 5

In his preface to the work Jean de Vauzèle, the Prior of Montrosier, addresses Jehanne de Tourzelle, the Abbess of the Convent at St. Peter at Lyons, and names Holbein's attempts to capture the ever-present, but never directly seen, abstract images of death "simulachres." He writes: "'' ��simulachres les dis ie vrayement, pour ce que simulachre vient de simuler, & faindre ce que n'est point.''" ("Simulachres they are most correctly called, for simulachre derives from the verb to simulate and to feign that which is not really there.") He next employs a trope from the

memento mori ''Memento mori'' (Latin for 'remember that you ave todie' Holbein Danse Macabre 37

Holbein's series shows the figure of "Death" in many disguises, confronting individuals from all walks of life. None escape Death's skeletal clutches, not even the pious. As Davis writes, "Holbein's pictures are independent dramas in which Death comes upon his victim in the midst of the latter's own surroundings and activities. This is perhaps nowhere more strikingly captured than in the wonderful blocks showing the plowman earning his bread by the sweat of his brow only to have his horses speed him to his end by Death. The Latin from the 1549 Italian edition pictured here reads: "In sudore vultus tui, vesceris pane tuo." ("Through the sweat of thy brow you shall eat your bread"), quoting Genesis 3.19. The Italian verses below translate: ("Miserable in the sweat of your brow,/ It is necessary that you acquire the bread you need eat,/ But, may it not displease you to come with me,/ If you are desirous of rest."). Or there is the nice balance in composition Holbein achieves between the heavy-laden traveling salesman insisting that he must still go to market while Death tugs at his sleeve to put down his wares once and for all: "Venite ad me, qui onerati estis." ("Come to me, all ye who abor andare heavy laden"), quoting Matthew 11.28. The Italian here translates: ("Come with me, wretch, who are weighed down,/ Since I am the dame who rules the whole world:/ Come and hear my advice,/ Because I wish to lighten you of this load."). Vilnius - St

Musical settings

Musical settings of the motif include: * ''Mattasin oder Toden Tanz'', 1598, by

August Nörmiger August Nörmiger (ca. 15601613) was a German composer and court organist in Dresden. He was born and died in Dresden. The main source for Nörmiger's compositions is the manuscript Organ tabulature "Tabulaturbuch auff dem Instrumente", which he c ...

* '' Totentanz. Paraphrase on "Dies irae."'' by

Franz Liszt Franz Liszt, in modern usage ''Liszt Ferenc'' . Liszt's Hungarian passport spelled his given name as "Ferencz". An orthographic reform of the Hungarian language in 1922 (which was 36 years after Liszt's death) changed the letter "cz" to simpl ...

, 1849, a set of variations based on the

plainsong Plainsong or plainchant (calque from the French ''plain-chant''; la, cantus planus) is a body of chants used in the liturgy, liturgies of the Western Church. When referring to the term plainsong, it is those sacred pieces that are composed in La ...

melody " Dies Irae". * ''

'' by

Camille Saint-Saëns Charles-Camille Saint-Saëns (; 9 October 183516 December 1921) was a French composer, organist, conductor and pianist of the Romantic music, Romantic era. His best-known works include Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso (1863), the Piano C ...

, 1874 * ''

Songs and Dances of Death ''Songs and Dances of Death'' (russian: Песни и пляски смерти, ''Pesni i plyaski smerti'') is a song cycle for voice (usually bass or bass-baritone) and piano by Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky, written in the mid-1870s, to poems b ...

'', 1875–77, by

Modest Mussorgsky Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky ( rus, link=no, Модест Петрович Мусоргский, Modest Petrovich Musorgsky , mɐˈdɛst pʲɪˈtrovʲɪtɕ ˈmusərkskʲɪj, Ru-Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky version.ogg; – ) was a Russian compo ...

* '' Symphony No. 4'', 2nd Movement, 1901, by

Gustav Mahler Gustav Mahler (; 7 July 1860 – 18 May 1911) was an Austro-Bohemian Romantic composer, and one of the leading conductors of his generation. As a composer he acted as a bridge between the 19th-century Austro-German tradition and the modernism ...

* ''Totentanz der Prinzipien'', 1914, by

Arnold Schönberg Arnold Schoenberg or Schönberg (, ; ; 13 September 187413 July 1951) was an Austrian-American composer, music theorist, teacher, writer, and painter. He is widely considered one of the most influential composers of the 20th century. He was as ...

* ''

The Green Table ''The Green Table'' is a ballet by the German choreographer Kurt Jooss. His most popular work, it depicts the futility of peace negotiations of the 1930s. It was the first work to be fully notated using kinetography Laban (Labanotation). It is in ...

'', 1932, ballet by

Kurt Jooss Kurt Jooss (12 January 1901 – 22 May 1979)Kurt Jooss
Internationales Biographisches Archi ...

* ''

Totentanz The ''Danse Macabre'' (; ) (from the French language), also called the Dance of Death, is an artistic genre of allegory of the Late Middle Ages on the universality of death. The ''Danse Macabre'' consists of the dead, or a personification of ...

'', 1934, by

Hugo Distler August Hugo Distler (24 June 1908 – 1 November 1942)Slonimsky & Kuhn, ''Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians'', v. 2, p. 889 was a German organist, choral conductor, teacher and composer. Life and career Born in Nuremberg, Distler at ...

, inspired by the ''Lübecker Totentanz'' * "Scherzo (Dance of Death)," in Op. 14 ''Ballad of Heroes'', 1939, by

Benjamin Britten Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976, aged 63) was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He was a central figure of 20th-century British music, with a range of works including opera, other ...

* '' Piano Trio No. 2 in E minor'', Op. 67, 4th movement, "Dance of Death," 1944, by

Dmitri Shostakovich Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich, , group=n (9 August 1975) was a Soviet-era Russian composer and pianist who became internationally known after the premiere of his Symphony No. 1 (Shostakovich), First Symphony in 1926 and was regarded throug ...

* '' Der Kaiser von Atlantis, oder Die Tod-Verweigerung'', 1944, by

Viktor Ullmann Viktor Ullmann (1 January 1898, in Český Těšín, Teschen – 18 October 1944, in KZ Auschwitz-Birkenau) was a Silesia-born Austrians, Austrian composer, conductor and pianist. Biography Viktor Ullmann was born on 1 January 1898 in Český ...

and Peter Kien * ''

Le Grand Macabre ''Le Grand Macabre'' (1974–1977, revised version 1996) is the only opera by Hungarian composer György Ligeti. The opera has two acts, and its libretto—based on the 1934 play ''La balade du grand macabre'' by Michel de Ghelderode—was wr ...

'', opera written by

György Ligeti György Sándor Ligeti (; ; 28 May 1923 – 12 June 2006) was a Hungarian-Austrian composer of contemporary classical music. He has been described as "one of the most important avant-garde composers in the latter half of the twentieth century" ...

(Stockholm 1978) * ''Danse Macabre'', song, 1984, by

Celtic Frost Celtic Frost () was a Swiss extreme metal band from Zürich. They are known for their strong influence on the development of extreme metalBukszpan, Daniel. ''The Encyclopedia of Heavy Metal''. Barnes & Noble Publishing, 2003. p.43 and avant-ga ...

, Swiss

extreme metal Extreme metal is a loosely defined umbrella term for a number of related heavy metal music subgenres that have developed since the early 1980s. It has been defined as a "cluster of metal subgenres characterized by sonic, verbal, and visual tran ...

band * ''

Dance Macabre The ''Danse Macabre'' (; ) (from the French language), also called the Dance of Death, is an artistic genre of allegory of the Late Middle Ages on the universality of death. The ''Danse Macabre'' consists of the dead, or a personification ...

'', 2001, album by

The Faint The Faint is an American indie rock band. Formed in Omaha, Nebraska, the band consists of Todd Fink, Graham Ulicny, Dapose and Clark Baechle. The Faint was originally known as Norman Bailer and included Conor Oberst (of Bright Eyes, with whom T ...

* '' Dance of Death'', 2003, an album and a song by

Iron Maiden Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band formed in Leyton, East London, in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. While fluid in the early years of the band, the lineup for most of the band's history has consisted of Harri ...

, heavy metal band * ''Cortège & Danse Macabre'' from the symphonic suite ''Cantabile'', 2009, by

Frederik Magle Frederik Reesen Magle (; born 17 April 1977) is a Danish composer, concert organist, and pianist. He writes contemporary classical music as well as fusion of classical music and other genres. His compositions include orchestral works, cantatas, ...

* '' Totentanz (Adès)'' by

Thomas Adès Thomas Joseph Edmund Adès (born 1 March 1971) is a British composer, pianist and conductor. Five compositions by Adès received votes in the 2017 Classic Voice poll of the greatest works of art music since 2000: '' The Tempest'' (2004), ''V ...

, 2013, a piece for voices and orchestra based on the 15th century text. * ''La Danse Macabre'', song on the

Shovel Knight ''Shovel Knight'' is a platform game, platform video game developed and published by Yacht Club Games. Development was crowdfunded and the game was released for Nintendo 3DS, Wii U, and Windows in June 2014. It was ported to OS X and Linux in Se ...

soundtrack, 2014, by

Jake Kaufman Jake Kaufman (born 1981; also known as virt or virtjk) is an American video game music composer. After starting out creating arrangements and remixes of video game soundtracks, he began his commercial composing career in 2000 with the score t ...

* ''Dance Macabre'', 2018, by

Ghost (Swedish band) Ghost is a Swedish rock band that was formed in Linköping in 2006. In 2010, they released a three-track demo followed by a 7-inch vinyl titled "Elizabeth", and later their debut full-length album ''Opus Eponymous''. The song "Ritual" was chose ...

, Swedish heavy metal band * La danse macabre, song, 2019, by Clément Belio, French multi-instrumentalist

Textual examples of the Danse Macabre

The ''Danse Macabre'' was a frequent motif in poetry, drama and other written literature in the Middle Ages in several areas of western Europe. There is a Spanish , a French , and a German with various Latin manuscripts written during the 14th century. Printed editions of books began appearing in the 15th century, such as the ones produced by

Guy Marchant Guy Marchant (also ''Gui'' or ''Guyot''; in Latin ''Guido Mercator'') was a printer of books, active in Paris from 1483 to 1505/1506. He had received a university education as a Master of Arts and is recorded as being a priest.Philippe Renouard, '' ...

of Paris. Similarly to the musical or artistic representations, the texts describe living and dead persons being called to dance or form a procession with Death. ''Danse Macabre'' texts were often, though not always, illustrated with illuminations and woodcuts. There is one danse macabre text devoted entirely to women: ''The Danse Macabre of Women''. This work survives in five manuscripts, and two printed editions. In it, 36 women of various ages, in Paris, are called from their daily lives and occupations to join the Dance with Death. An English translation of the French manuscript was published by Ann Tukey Harrison in 1994.

Literary influence

The " Death and the Maiden motif", known from paintings since the early 16th century, is related to, and may have been derived from, the ''Danse Macabre''. It has received numerous treatments in various mediamost prominently Schubert's

lied In Western classical music tradition, (, plural ; , plural , ) is a term for setting poetry to classical music to create a piece of polyphonic music. The term is used for any kind of song in contemporary German, but among English and French s ...

Der Tod und das Mädchen "" (, "Death and the Maiden"), 531; Op. 7, No. 3, is a lied composed by Franz Schubert in February 1817. It was published by Cappi Diabelli in Vienna in November 1821. The text is derived from a poem written by German poet Matthias Claudius ...

" (1817) and the String Quartet No. 14 ''Death and the Maiden'', partly derived from its musical material. Further developments of the ''Danse Macabre'' motif include: * ''

Godfather Death "Godfather Death" (German: ''Der Gevatter Tod'') is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm and first published in 1812 (KHM 44). It is a tale of Aarne–Thompson–Uther Index, Aarne-Thompson type 332. Origin The tale was published ...

'', a fairy tale, collected by the

Brothers Grimm The Brothers Grimm ( or ), Jacob (1785–1863) and Wilhelm (1786–1859), were a brother duo of German academics, philologists, cultural researchers, lexicographers, and authors who together collected and published folklore. They are among the ...

(first published in 1812). * "After Holbein" (1928), short story by

Edith Wharton Edith Wharton (; born Edith Newbold Jones; January 24, 1862 – August 11, 1937) was an American novelist, short story writer, and interior designer. Wharton drew upon her insider's knowledge of the upper-class New York "aristocracy" to portray ...

, first published in the ''

Saturday Evening Post ''The Saturday Evening Post'' is an American magazine, currently published six times a year. It was issued weekly under this title from 1897 until 1963, then every two weeks until 1969. From the 1920s to the 1960s, it was one of the most widely c ...

'' in May 1928; republished in ''Certain People'' (1930) and in ''The New York Stories of Edith Wharton'', ed. Roxana Robinson (

New York Review Books New York Review Books (NYRB) is the publishing division of ''The New York Review of Books''. Its imprints are New York Review Books Classics, New York Review Books Collections, The New York Review Children's Collection, New York Review Comics, N ...

, 2007). * "

Death and the Compass "Death and the Compass" (original Spanish title: "La muerte y la brújula") is a short story by Argentine writer and poet Jorge Luis Borges (1899–1986). Published in '' Sur'' in May 1942, it was included in the 1944 collection ''Ficciones''. ...

" (original title: "La muerte y la brújula", 1942), short story by

Jorge Luis Borges Jorge Francisco Isidoro Luis Borges Acevedo (; ; 24 August 1899 – 14 June 1986) was an Argentine short-story writer, essayist, poet and translator, as well as a key figure in Spanish-language and international literature. His best-known bo ...

. * A Danse Macabre scene is depicted near the end of

Ingmar Bergman Ernst Ingmar Bergman (14 July 1918 – 30 July 2007) was a Swedish film director, screenwriter, Film producer, producer and playwright. Widely considered one of the greatest and most influential filmmakers of all time, his films are known ...

's 1957 film ''

The Seventh Seal ''The Seventh Seal'' ( sv, Det sjunde inseglet) is a 1957 Swedish historical fantasy film written and directed by Ingmar Bergman. Set in Sweden during the Black Death, it tells of the journey of a medieval knight (Max von Sydow) and a game of ch ...

''. * " Death and the Senator", short story (1961) by Arthur C. Clarke. * " Dance Cadaverous" is a song written and performed by

Wayne Shorter Wayne Shorter (born August 25, 1933) is an American jazz saxophonist and composer. Shorter came to prominence in the late 1950s as a member of, and eventually primary composer for, Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers. In the 1960s, he joined Miles Davi ...

(released 1966). * ''

Death and the King's Horseman ''Death and the King's Horseman'' is a play by Wole Soyinka based on a real incident that took place in Nigeria during the colonial era: the horseman of a Yoruba King was prevented from committing ritual suicide by the colonial authorities. In ...

'', play by

Wole Soyinka Akinwande Oluwole Babatunde Soyinka (Yoruba: ''Akínwándé Olúwọlé Babátúndé Ṣóyíinká''; born 13 July 1934), known as Wole Soyinka (), is a Nigerian playwright, novelist, poet, and essayist in the English language. He was awarded t ...

(premiered 1975). * '' Dance with Death'', a jazz album released in 1980 by Andrew Hill. * ''

'', a 1981 non-fiction work by

Stephen King Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American author of horror, supernatural fiction, suspense, crime, science-fiction, and fantasy novels. Described as the "King of Horror", a play on his surname and a reference to his high s ...

. * ''

The Graveyard Book ''The Graveyard Book'' is a young adult novel by the English author Neil Gaiman, simultaneously published in Britain and America in 2008. ''The Graveyard Book'' traces the story of the boy Nobody "Bod" Owens who is adopted and reared by the s ...

'', a 2008 novel by

Neil Gaiman Neil Richard MacKinnon GaimanBorn as Neil Richard Gaiman, with "MacKinnon" added on the occasion of his marriage to Amanda Palmer. ; ( Neil Richard Gaiman; born 10 November 1960) is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, gr ...

. Chapter five, "Danse Macabre", depicts the ghosts of the Graveyard dancing with the inhabitants of the Old Town. * "

Death Dance "Death Dance" is the second single from American rock band Sevendust's eleventh studio album, '' Kill the Flaw''. The single was released to digital music outlets on March 22, 2016. It peaked at number twenty-nine on the ''Billboard'' Mainstrea ...

" (2016), a song written and performed by American rock band,

Sevendust Sevendust is an American rock band from Atlanta, Georgia, formed in 1994 by bassist Vince Hornsby, drummer Morgan Rose and rhythm guitarist John Connolly. After their first demo, lead vocalist Lajon Witherspoon and lead guitarist Clint Lowery ...

. * "

", a song written and performed by Swedish metal or hard rock band

Ghost A ghost is the soul or spirit of a dead person or animal that is believed to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to rea ...

on their 2018 album ''

Prequelle ''Prequelle'' is the fourth studio album by the Swedish rock band Ghost. It was released on 1 June 2018 and produced by Tom Dalgety. The album's first single, "Rats", was released ahead of the album on 13 April, and as of 28 July, had peaked at ...

'', concentrating on the

plague of the 14th century.

Notes

References

*Bätschmann, Oskar, & Pascal Griener (1997), ''Hans Holbein.'' London: Reaktion Books. * Israil Bercovici (1998) ''O sută de ani de teatru evriesc în România'' ("One hundred years of Yiddish/Jewish theater in Romania"), 2nd Romanian-language edition, revised and augmented by Constantin Măciucă. Editura Integral (an imprint of Editurile Universala), Bucharest. . * James M. Clark (1947), ''The Dance of Death by Hans Holbein'', London. * James M. Clark (1950) ''The Dance of Death in the Middle Ages and Renaissance''. * André Corvisier (1998) ''Les danses macabres'', Presses Universitaires de France. . * Natalie Zemon Davis (1956), "Holbein's Pictures of Death and the Reformation at Lyons," ''Studies in the Renaissance'', vol. 3 (1956), pp. 97–130. * Rolf Paul Dreier (2010) ''Der Totentanz - ein Motiv der kirchlichen Kunst als Projektionsfläche für profane Botschaften (1425–1650)'', Leiden, with CD-ROM: Verzeichnis der Totentänze * Werner L. Gundersheimer (1971), ''The Dance of Death by Hans Holbein the Younger: A Complete Facsimile of the Original 1538 Edition of Les simulachres et histoirees faces de la Mort''. New york: Dover Publications, Inc. * William M. Ivins Jr. (1919), "Hans Holbein's Dance of Death," ''The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin'', vol. 14, no. 11 (Nov., 1919). pp. 231–235. * Landau, David, & Peter Parshall (1996), ''The Renaissance Print'', New Haven (CT): Yale, 1996. * Francesc Massip & Lenke Kovács (2004), ''El baile: conjuro ante la muerte. Presencia de lo macabro en la danza y la fiesta popular''. Ciudad Real, CIOFF-INAEM, 2004. * Sophie Oosterwijk (2008), 'Of dead kings, dukes and constables. The historical context of the Danse Macabre in late-medieval Paris', ''Journal of the British Archaeological Association'', 161, 131–62. * Sophie Oosterwijk and Stefanie Knoell (2011), ''Mixed Metaphors. The Danse Macabre in Medieval and Early Modern Europe'', Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing. . * Romania, National Library of ... - Illustrated Latin translation of the'' Danse Macabre'', late 15th century
treasure 4
* Meinolf Schumacher (2001), "Ein Kranz für den Tanz und ein Strich durch die Rechnung. Zu Oswald von Wolkenstein 'Ich spür ain tier' (Kl 6)", ''Beiträge zur Geschichte der deutschen Sprache und Literatur'', vol. 123 (2001), pp. 253–273. * Ann Tukey Harrison (1994), with a chapter by Sandra L. Hindman, ''The Danse Macabre of Women: Ms.fr. 995 of the Bibliothèque Nationale'', Kent State University Press. . *Wilson, Derek (2006) ''Hans Holbein: Portrait of an Unknown Man.'' London: Pimlico, Revised Edition.

External links

A collection of historical images of the Danse Macabre
at Cornell's ''The Fantastic in Art and Fiction''
The Danse Macabre of Hrastovlje, Slovenia

''Les simulachres & historiees faces de la mort: commonly called "The dance of death'
- 1869 photographic reproduction of original by Holbein Society with woodcuts, plus English translations and a biography of Holbein.

Sophie Oosterwijk (2009), '"Fro Paris to Inglond"? The danse macabre in text and image in late-medieval England', Doctoral thesis Leiden University available online.
Images of ''Danse Macabre'' (2001)
Conceptual performance by Antonia Svobodová and Mirek Vodrážka in Čajovna Pod Stromem Čajovým in Prague 22 May 2001'. *
Dance of Death, Chorea, ab eximio Macabro versibus Alemanicis edita et a Petro Desrey ... nuper emendata.
Paris, Gui Marchand, for Geoffroy de Marnef, 15 Oct. (Id. Oct.) 1490. From th
Rare Book and Special Collections Division
at the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...

An introduction to the Dance of Death
Art & Design Library,

Central Library, Edinburgh Central Library in Edinburgh, Scotland, opened in 1890, was the first public library building in the city. Edinburgh Central library comprises six libraries: Lending, Reference, Music, Art and Design, Edinburgh and Scottish and the Children's Li ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dance Of Death Visual arts genres Caricature Dance in arts Death customs Fantastic art Horror fiction Iconography Medieval art Medieval drama Memento mori Skulls in art Epidemics in art