The Dance of Death / Exhibited in Elegant Engravings on Wood with a Dissertation on the Several Representations of that Subject but More Particularly on Those Ascribed to Macaber and Hans Holbein

by Francis Douce

23. “La grande Danse des Morts, &c. Rouen, Morron.” No date, 8vo. cuts.

24. “Les lxviii huictains ci-devant appellés la Danse Machabrey, par lesquels les Chrestiens de tous estats tout stimulés et invités de penser à la mort. Paris, Jacques Varangue, 1589,” 8vo. In Roman letter, without cuts.

25. “La grande Danse Macabre des hommes et des femmes, &c. Troyes, Oudot,” 1641, 4to. cuts. One of the bibliothèque bleue books.

26. “La grande Danse Macabre des hommes et des femmes, renouvellée de vieux Gaulois en langage le plus poli de notre temps, &c. Troyes, Pierre Garnier rue du Temple.” No date, but the privilege is in 1728, 4to. cuts. The polished language is, of course, for the worse, and Macaber is called “des Machabées,” no doubt, the editor’s improvement.

27. “La grande Danse Macabre des hommes et des femmes, renouvellée, &c. Troyes, chez la veuve Oudot, et Jean Oudot fils, rue du Temple, 1729,” 4to. cuts. Nearly the same as No. 25.

These inferior editions continued, till very lately, to be occasionally reprinted for the use of the common people, and at the trifling expense of a very few sous. They are, nevertheless, of some value to those who feel interested in the subject, as containing tolerable copies of all the fine cuts in the preceding edition, No. 11.

Dr. Dibdin saw in the public library at Munich a very old series of a Macaber Dance, that had been inserted, by way of illustration, into a German manuscript of the Dance of Death. Of these he has given two subjects in his “Bibliographical Tour,” vol. iii. p. 278.

But it was not only in the above volumes that the very popular subject of the Macaber Dance was particularly exhibited. It found its way into many of the beautiful service books, usually denominated Horæ, or hours of the Virgin. These principally belong to France, and their margins are frequently decorated with the above Dance, with occasional variety of design. In most of them Death is accompanied with a single figure only, characters from both sexes being introduced. It would be impossible to furnish a complete list of them; but it is presumed that the mention of several, and of the printers who introduced them, will not be unacceptable.

No. I. “Las Horas de nuestra Senora con muchos otros oficios y oraçiones.” Printed in Paris by Nicolas Higman for Simon Vostre, 1495, 8vo. It has two Dances of Death, the first of which is the usual Macaber Dance, with the following figures: “Le Pape, l’Empereur, le Cardinal, l’Archevesque, le Chevalier, l’Evesque, l’Escuyer, l’Abè, le Prevost, le Roy, le Patriarche, le Connestable, l’Astrologien, le Bourgoys, le Chanoine, le Moyne, l’Usurier, le Medesin, l’Amoureux, l’Advocat, le Menestrier, le Marchant, le Chartreux, le Sergent, le Cure, le Laboureur, le Cordelier.” Then the women: “La Royne, la Duchesse, la Regente, la Chevaliere, l’Abbesse, la Femme descine, la Prieure, la Damoissele, la Bourgoise, la Cordeliere, la Femme daceul, la Nourice, la Theologienne, la nouvelle mariee, la Femme grosse, la Veufve, la Marchande, la Ballive, la Chamberiere, la Recommanderese, la vielle Damoise, l’Espousée, la Mignote, la Fille pucelle, la Garde d’accouchée, la jeune fille, la Religieuse, la Vielle, la Revenderesse, l’Amoureuse, la Sorciere, la Bigote, la Sote, la Bergere, la Femme aux Potences, la Femme de Village; to which are added, l’Enfant, le Clerc, l’Ermite.”

The second Dance of Death is very different from the preceding, and consists of groupes of figures. The subjects, which have never yet been described, are the following: