#dance of death
Death and death’s victims make an alphabet that spells out book’s title on its title page. La grande danse macabre des hommes et des femmes. 1862.
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“Holbein’s dance of death alphabet was first used in August 1524. The alphabet was originally published as sheets with Bible quotes.” This is a video of what the alphabet may have looked like with the letters removed and paired with their respective Bible quote.
Hans Holbein’s Dance of Death alphabet (Part 3). There are 24 letters since i,j and u,v are the same:
V. The Rider
W. The Hermit
X. The Gamblers
Y. The Baby
Z. Judgement Day
© The Trustees of the British Museum
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Hans Holbein’s Dance of Death alphabet (Part 2). There are 24 letters since i,j and u,v are the same:
K. The Nobleman
L. The Canon
M. The Physician
N. The Rich Man/Miser
O. The Monk
P. The Soldier
Q. The Nun
R. The Fool
S. The Young Girl
© The Trustees of the British Museum
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Hans Holbein’s Dance of Death alphabet (Part 1). There are 24 letters since i,j and u,v are the same:
A. Bones of All Men
B. The Pope
C. The Emperor
D. The King
E. The Cardinal
F. The Empress
G. The Queen
H. The Bishop
I. The Duke
© The Trustees of the British Museum
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The remainder of a Rood Screen (circa 14th C) shows the dance of death with the Latin inscriptions:
“I should have been as though I had not been born, I should have been carried from the womb to the grave”. A female skeleton offers a male skeleton a flower, and the Latin inscription reads “Man that is born of woman hath but a few days and is full of trouble. He comes forth like a flower and is cut down.”- Sparham, England
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Dance of Death, detail, St Mary’s parish church, Sparham, Norfolk, UK
about 1490
Photo: Simon Knott
Totentanz von Bleibach / Danse Macabre of Bleibach, Gutach-Bleibach, Germany, 1723
oil painitng on wood
Photo: joergens.mi/wikimedia commons
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Danse Macabre, Abby La Chaise-Dieu / Abbaye de la Chaise-Dieu, France, second half of the 15th cenury (abby dates back to 1043)
Fragment of the fresco of the danse macabre, where are represented the theologian clerk, the ploughman flanked by two humans who are perished and the Cistercian monk
Photos: Jean-Pol GRANDMONT (photo at the bottom) / MirandaAdramin (all other photos) (CC BY-SA 3.0) / wikimedia commons
More danse macabre: x
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Dance of Death: The Bride(1651 / Etching) - Wenceslaus Hollar
After Hans Holbein the Younger
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Danse Macabre: Ceux qui ne craignent pas [Those Who’ve No Fear] (1904 / Engraving) - Marcel Roux
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Iron Maiden, 1980.
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