The Dance of Death
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document in english
arts and art history
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date published 01/05/2008
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SummaryThe robed, skeletal figure of Death interacting with the living has become an iconic image in contemporary culture, adorning Tarot cards, album covers and T-shirts; appearing in film, books and artistic prints. Our fascination with and fear of mortality has existed since humans first walked upon the earth. It wasn’t until the early 1500s, however, that the most famous imagery of Death began to proliferate across Europe, due in large part to the catastrophe of the bubonic plague less than two hundred years earlier. In this paper we will explore the history of the Dance of Death, its influence on medieval society and art, and the ways in which it has inspired artists throughout the centuries.The Dance of Death is perhaps better known by the French phrase danse macabre. The first known appearance of the word macabre dates back to the 14th century—that of the Black Death—in a poem by Jean Le Fevre, Je fis de Macabre la danse. Yet the word’s etymology, according to some sources, stems from the Maccabees, the Christian martyrs from whom the Purgatorial prayer of intercession originated
Table of Contents- The Dance of Death is perhaps better known by the French phrase danse macabre.
- Medieval Europeans had no science to explain that plagues were a natural occurrence.
- The medieval danse macabre reminded people of 'the frailty and vanity of earthly things'.
- The arts have almost always been receptive to representations of the macabre.
- The two most common forms of the danse macabre were mural paintings with texts beneath them in churches or cemeteries.
- In music the Dance of Death theme still survives in the German totentanz.
- Only one contemporary event truly captures the spirit of the Dance of Death in its original form.
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