Skip to main content

D is for...

...Danse Macabre



The boundaries which divide Life from Death are at best shadowy and vague. Who shall say where the one ends, and where the other begins?
---Edgar Allan Poe



The King
Source: dodedans.com




Please to enjoy a little light music with your readings...




The Danse Macabre---The Dance of Death--- what morbidly themed A-Z blog would be complete without it? Of course this ties in neatly with my "A" post, A is for Alphabet, as Herr Hans Holbein was gracious enough to gift us with The Dance of Death Alphabet (which I am unashamedly using daily to decorate each post. Danke, Herr Holbein). 

The ultimate meaning behind this medieval art genre is the universality of death. We are all equal in the grave or something like that. Some of the earliest known painted scenes of The Danse Macabre date back to the
early 1400s-- in Paris' Church of the Holy Innocents cemetery. The horrors of life during this time, famines, the Hundred Years War, the Black Plague, all served as a stark reminder that death is ever-present and wholly unforgiving.

Popular frescoes spread through Europe, with scenes including images of Death heading a round dance, or with lines of dancers alternating living and dead figures. There were also variations of the legend of The Three Living and The Three Dead---- where three young men, whether out on a hunt or walking, come across three corpses who stop the young men to warn them---- (Quod fuimus, estis; quod sumus, vos eritis....What we were, you are; what we are, you will be).

Such constant awareness that death was literally at your shoulder caused not only a desire for penitence but also a need for an entertaining relief---thus the birth of the morbid allegory, the last dance. 

Short dialogue plays, alternating lines between Death and his victims cropped up throughout Germany and Spain shortly after the Black Plague's decimation. With so many people falling victim everyday, is it any wonder that those remaining would seek solace? relief? amusement? in the very thing that they were most afraid of?

I personally find that a little amusement in the face of daily tragedies is the only way to stay sane, sometimes---or, at least, to appear sane. 

And, as solemn and morbid as the idea of death is, it hasn't stopped us from creating even more entertaining Danse Macabre art and I rather doubt it ever will. 

                                 



Comments

  1. love the skeleton dance at the end awesome!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Visiting you on the the 4th day of the #challenge. Looking for fellow writers and here you are.I know you don't want to read this, but this beautiful blog presentation is hard to read.The font color on black is difficult. We're all hoping to make new blogging friends so if you have time or interest, I'm writing about gardening and related things this month. I would love your feedback too. Come and see me. Have fun.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ah, yes, I wondered if the contrast would be difficult for some to read--- luckily my blog changes quite frequently...
      Thanks for stopping by :-)

      Delete
  3. Great post and glad you're keeping up with the alphabetical challenge! Particularly enjoyed the music while I was reading.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks! And, yes, Saint-Saens' Danse Macabre is a wonderful piece of music...glad you liked it :-)

      Delete
  4. A morbid A to Z theme? I'm in the right place. Awesome post! :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks much!! And, yep, the morbid-er the better--- :-)

      Delete

Post a Comment

Share your thoughts!

Popular posts from this blog

A to Z reflections....

Another A to Z challenge comes to an end--- another collection of posts and poetry have been written, another deep breath of relief is released. For my fellow bloggers that survived as well, it's another 'challenge-completed' notch carved into the writing desk. I've come to enjoy my yearly foray into the world of all things alphabetical. This was my third year, though it was only the second year I had a workable theme (which made the challenge substantially easier than the first year I attempted this challenge.) And, though my first year was difficult because my focus was so scattered, I found this year was more  difficult because I lost the enthusiasm that came with the first year excitement----excitement which helped me plug along until the end of the challenge. Year 3 was a success in the sense that I completed the challenge, though, this was the year that almost wasn't---- Somewhere about a third of the way through the challenge, I seriously considered

A-Z Reflections, year 4....

A-Z blogging challenge for 2014 has come and gone, seemingly without my realizing it. And, though I fell behind once or twice toward the end, I finished this year's challenge right on time. Really, I can't believe it's already over. I feel like I just finished my post for letter A... Year 4, for this blogger, was a far cry from the tortured state of despondency that was most of  Year 3 -- I'll not mention the irony of this year's focus on death being easier to blog about than last year's foray into supernatural creatures, we'll leave that for my therapy sessions *ahem* As always, A-Z brought with it, not only 26 days of unbridled and far-reaching knowledge (disguised as entertaining and thought-provoking blog-posts), but a chance to connect with new faces while reconnecting with familiar faces--who had perhaps drifted away--from A-Z's past.  I am always amazed by the ingenuity and inspiration that comes from lumping a couple thousand folk

Remember and Return.....

I've settled my heart in the memory of your sigh, the subtle caress of your lips. I've eased my mind's worry in the warmth of your smile, the soft embrace of your kiss. But, the time of our parting has been of a length, that I scarce can recall your words' sound. And, I fear in the depths of this consuming absence, your passions withheld, your spirit's now bound. I have not the strength to fight such a foe, as wild and untamed as the sea. I have not the will to stand at your door, and demand your decision to be, As one or the other, the sea or my love, I know I would fail to win thee. My only request, when you've ventured enough, Remember! And, return unto me.