The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Dance of Death, by Hans Holbein.

Of this edition Seven hundred and fifty copies have been printed, of which this is Number …71…

The
Dance of Death

by Hans Holbein, with an
introductory note by
Austin Dobson

THE DANCE OF DEATH

The Book

"Les Simulachres & Historiées Faces de la Mort avtant elegamtment pourtraictes, que artificiellement imaginées." This may be Englished as follows: The Images and Storied Aspects of Death, as elegantly delineated as [they are] ingeniously imagined. Such is the literal title of the earliest edition of the famous book now familiarly known as "Holbein's Dance of Death." It is a small quarto, bearing on its title-page, below the French words above [6] quoted, a nondescript emblem with the legend Vsus me Genuit, and on an open book, Gnothe seauton. Below this comes again, "A Lyon, Soubz l'escu de Coloigne: M. D. XXXVIII," while at the end of the volume is the imprint "Excvdebant Lvgdvni Melchoir et Gaspar Trechsel fratres: 1538,"—the Trechsels being printers of German origin, who had long been established at Lyons. There is a verbose "Epistre" or Preface in French to the "moult reuerende Abbesse du religieux conuent S. Pierre de Lyon, Madame Iehanne de Touszele," otherwise the Abbess of Saint Pierre les Nonnains, a religious house containing many noble and wealthy ladies, and the [7] words, "Salut d'un vray Zèle," which conclude the dedicatory heading, are supposed to reveal indirectly the author of the "Epistre" itself, namely, Jean de Vauzelles, Pastor of St. Romain and Prior of Monrottier, one of three famous literary brothers in the city on the Rhone, whose motto was "D'un vray Zelle." After the Preface comes "Diuerses Tables de Mort, non painctes, mais extraictes de l'escripture saincte, colorées par Docteurs Ecclesiastiques, & umbragées par Philosophes." Then follow the cuts, forty-one in number, each having its text from the Latin Bible above it, and below, its quatrain in French, this latter being [8] understood to be from the pen of one Gilles Corozet. To the cuts succeed various makeweight Appendices of a didactic and hortatory character, the whole being wound up by a profitable discourse, De la Necessite de la Mort qui ne laisse riens estre pardurable. Various editions ensued to this first one of 1538, the next or second of 1542 (in which Corozet's verses were translated into Latin by Luther's brother-in-law, George Oemmel or Aemilius), being put forth by Jean and François Frellon, into whose hands the establishment of the Trechsels had fallen. There were subsequent issues in 1545, 1547, 1549, 1554, and 1562. To the [9] issues of 1545 and 1562 a few supplementary designs were added, some of which have no special bearing upon the general theme, although attempts, more or less ingenious, have been made to connect them with the text. After 1562 no addition was made to the plates.

The Artist

From the date of the editio princeps it might be supposed that the designs were executed at or about 1538—the year of its publication. But this is not the case; and there is good evidence that they were not only designed but actually cut on the wood some eleven years before [10] the book itself was published. There are, in fact, several sets of impressions in the British Museum, the Berlin Museum, the Basle Museum, the Imperial Library at Paris, and the Grand Ducal Cabinet at Carlsruhe, all of which correspond with each other, and are believed to be engraver's proofs from the original blocks. These, which include every cut in the edition of 1538, except "The Astrologer," would prove little of themselves as to the date of execution. But, luckily, there exists in the Cabinet at Berlin a set of coarse enlarged drawings in Indian ink, on brownish paper, of twenty-three of the series. These are in circular form; and were [11] apparently intended as sketches for glass painting. That they are copied from the woodcuts is demonstrable, first, because they are not reversed as they would have been if they were the originals; and, secondly, because one of them, No. 36 ("The Duchess"), repeats the conjoined "H.L." on the bed, which initials are held to be the monogram of the woodcutter, and not to be part of the original design. The Berlin drawings must therefore have been executed subsequently to the woodcuts; and as one of them, that representing the Emperor, is dated "1527," we get a date before which both the woodcuts, and the designs for the woodcuts, [12] must have been prepared. It is generally held that they were so prepared circa 1524 and 1525, the date of the Peasants' War, of the state of feeling excited by which they exhibit evident traces. In the Preface to this first edition, certain ambiguous expressions, to which we shall presently refer, led some of the earlier writers on the subject to doubt as to the designer of the series. But the later researches of Wornum and Woltmann, of M. Paul Mantz and, more recently, of Mr. W. J. Linton leave no doubt that they were really drawn by the artist to whom they have always been traditionally assigned, to wit, Hans Holbein the younger. He [13] was resident in Basle up to the autumn of 1526, before which time, according to the above argument, the drawings must have been produced; he had already designed an Alphabet of Death; and, moreover, on the walls of the cemetery of the Dominican monastery at Basle there was a famous wall-painting of the Dance of Death, which would be a perpetual stimulus to any resident artist. Finally, and this is perhaps the most important consideration of all, the designs are in Holbein's manner.

The Woodcutter

But besides revealing an inventor of the highest order, the Dance [14] of Death also discloses an interpreter in wood of signal, and even superlative, ability. The designs are cut—to use the word which implies the employment of the knife as opposed to that of the graver—in a manner which has never yet been excelled. In this matter there could be no better judge than Mr. W. J. Linton; and he says that nothing, either by knife or by graver, is of higher quality than these woodcuts. Yet the woodcutter's very name was for a long time doubtful, and even now the particulars which we possess with regard to him are scanty and inconclusive. That he was dead when the Trechsels published the book in 1538, must [15] be inferred from the "Epistre" of Jean de Vauzelles, since that "Epistre" expressly refers to "la mort de celluy, qui nous en a icy imaginé si elegantes figures"; and without entering into elaborate enquiry as to the exact meaning of "imaginer" in sixteenth-century French, it is obvious that, although the deceased is elsewhere loosely called "painctre," this title cannot refer to Holbein, who was so far from being dead that he survived until 1543. The only indication of the woodcutter's name is supplied by the monogram, "HL" upon the bedstead in No. 36 ("The Duchess"); and these initials have been supposed to indicate one Hans Lutzelburger, or [16] Hans of Luxemburg, "otherwise Franck," a form-cutter ("formschneider"), whose full name is to be found attached to the so-called "Little Dance of Death," an alphabet by Holbein, impressions of which are in the British Museum. His signature ("H. L. F. 1522") is also found appended to another alphabet; to a cut of a fight in a forest, dated also 1522; and to an engraved title-page in a German New Testament of the year following. This is all we know with certainty concerning his work, though the investigations of Dr. Édouard His have established the fact that a "formschneider" named Hans, who had business transactions [17] with the Trechsels of Lyons, had died at Basle before June, 1526; and it is conjectured, though absolute proof is not forthcoming, that this must have been the "H. L.," or Hans of Luxemburg, who cut Holbein's designs upon the wood. In any case, unless we must assume another woodcutter of equal merit, it is probable that the same man cut the signed Alphabet in the British Museum and the initialed Dance of Death. But why the cuts of the latter, which, as we have shown above, were printed circa 1526, were not published at Lyons until 1538; and why Holbein's name was withheld in the Preface to the book of that year, are still unexplained. [18] The generally accepted supposition is that motives of timidity, arising from the satirical and fearlessly unsparing character of the designs, may be answerable both for delay in the publication and mystification in the "Preface." And if intentional mystification be admitted, the doors of enquiry, after three hundred and fifty years, are practically sealed to the critical picklock.

Other Reproductions

The Dance of Death has been frequently copied. Mr. W. J. Linton enumerates a Venice reproduction of 1545; and a set (enlarged) by Jobst Dienecker of Augsburg in 1554. Then there [19] is the free copy, once popular with our great grandfathers, by Bewick's younger brother John, which Hodgson of Newcastle published in 1789 under the title of Emblems of Mortality. Wenceslaus Hollar etched thirty of the designs in 1651, and in 1788 forty-six of them were etched by David Deuchar. In 1832 they were reproduced upon stone with great care by Joseph Schlotthauer, Professor in the Academy of Fine Arts at Munich; and these were reissued in this country in 1849 by John Russell Smith. They have also been rendered in photo-lithography for an edition issued by H. Noel Humphreys, in 1868; and for the [20] Holbein Society in 1879. In 1886, Dr. F. Lippmann edited for Mr. Quaritch a set of reproductions of the engraver's proofs in the Berlin Museum; and the editio princeps has been facsimiled by one of the modern processes for Hirth of Munich, as vol. x. of the Liebhaber-Bibliothek, 1884.

The Present Issue

The copies given in the present issue are impressions from the blocks engraved in 1833 for Douce's Holbein's Dance of Death. They are the best imitations in wood, says Mr. Linton. It is of course true, as he also points out, that a copy with the graver can never quite faithfully follow [21] an original which has been cut with the knife,—more especially, it may be added, when the cutter is a supreme craftsman like him of Luxemburg. But against etched, lithographed, phototyped and otherwise-processed copies, these of Messrs. Bonner and John Byfield have one incontestable advantage: they are honest attempts to repeat by the same method,—that is, in wood,—the original and incomparable woodcuts of Hans Lutzelburger.

THE DANCE OF DEATH

(CHANT ROYAL, AFTER HOLBEIN)1

He is the despots' Despot. All must bide,

Later or soon, the message of his might;

Princes and potentates their heads must hide,

[24]

Touched by the awful sigil of his right;

Beside the Kaiser he at eve doth wait

And pours a potion in his cup of state;

The stately Queen his bidding must obey;

No keen-eyed Cardinal shall him affray;

And to the Dame that wantoneth he saith—

"Let be, Sweet-heart, to junket and to play."

There is no king more terrible than Death.

The lusty Lord, rejoicing in his pride,

[25]

He draweth down; before the armèd Knight

With jingling bridle-rein he still doth ride;

He crosseth the strong Captain in the fight;

The Burgher grave he beckons from debate;

He hales the Abbot by his shaven pate,

Nor for the Abbess' wailing will delay;

No bawling Mendicant shall say him nay;

E'en to the pyx the Priest he followeth,

Nor can the Leech his chilling finger stay ...

There is no king more terrible than Death.

[26]

All things must bow to him. And woe betide

The Wine-bibber,—the Roisterer by night;

Him the feast-master, many bouts defied,

Him 'twixt the pledging and the cup shall smite;

Woe to the Lender at usurious rate,

The hard Rich Man, the hireling Advocate;

Woe to the Judge that selleth right for pay;

Woe to the Thief that like a beast of prey

With creeping tread the traveller harryeth:—

These, in their sin, the sudden sword shall slay ...

[27]

There is no king more terrible than Death.

He hath no pity,—nor will be denied.

When the low hearth is garnishèd and bright,

Grimly he flingeth the dim portal wide,

And steals the Infant in the Mother's sight;

He hath no pity for the scorned of fate:—

He spares not Lazarus lying at the gate,

Nay, nor the Blind that stumbleth as he may;

Nay, the tired Ploughman,—at the sinking ray,—

[28]

In the last furrow,—feels an icy breath,

And knows a hand hath turned the team astray ...

There is no king more terrible than Death.

He hath no pity. For the new-made Bride,

Blithe with the promise of her life's delight,

That wanders gladly by her Husband's side,

He with the clatter of his drum doth fright;

He scares the Virgin at the convent grate;

The Maid half-won, the lover passionate;

[29]

He hath no grace for weakness and decay:

The tender Wife, the Widow bent and gray,

The feeble Sire whose footstep faltereth,—

All these he leadeth by the lonely way ...

There is no king more terrible than Death.

ENVOY.

Youth, for whose ear and monishing of late,

I sang of Prodigals and lost estate,

Have thou thy joy of living and be gay;

But know not less that there must come a day,—

[30]

Aye, and perchance e'en now it hasteneth,—

When thine own heart shall speak to thee and say,—

There is no king more terrible than Death.

¹ (return)
This Chant Royal of the King of Terrors is—with Mr. Austin Dobson's consent—here reprinted from his Collected Poems, 1896.

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

N.B.—The German titles are in general modernized from those which appear above the engraver's proofs. The numerals are those of the cuts.

Formauit Dominvs Devs hominem de limo terræ, ad imaginē suam creauit illum, masculum & fœminam creauit eos.

DIEV, Ciel, Mer, Terre, procrea

De rien demonstrant sa puissance

Et puis de la terre crea

L'homme, & la femme a sa semblance.

II.

Quia audisti vocem vxoris tuæ, & comedisti de ligno ex quo preceperam tibi ne comederes, &c.

ADAM fut par EVE deceu

Et contre DIEV mangea la pomme,

Dont tous deux ont la Mort receu,

Et depuis fut mortel tout homme.

III.

Emisit eum Dominvs Devs de Paradiso voluptatis, vt operaretur terram de qua sumptus est.

DIEV chassa l'homme de plaisir

Pour uiure au labeur de ses mains:

Alors la Mort le uint saisir,

Et consequemment tous humains.

IV.

Maledicta terra in opere tuo, in laboribus comedes cunctis diebus vitæ tuæ, donec reuertaris, &c.

Mauldicte en ton labeur la terre.

En labeur ta uie useras,

Iusques que la Mort te soubterre.

Toy pouldre en pouldre tourneras.

Malheureux qui uiuez au monde

Tousiours remplis d'aduersitez,

Pour quelque bien qui uous abonde,

Serez tous de Mort uisitez.

VI.

Qui te cuydes immortel estre

Par Mort seras tost depesché,

Et combien que tu soys grand prebstre,

Vng aultre aura ton Euesché.

VII.

De ta maison disposeras

Comme de ton bien transitoire,

Car là ou mort reposeras,

Seront les chariotz de ta gloire.

VIII.

Ainsi qu'auiourdhuy il est Roy,

Demain sera en tombe close.

Car Roy aulcun de son arroy

N'a sceu emporter aultre chose.

IX.

Mal pour uous qui iustifiez

L'inhumain, & plain de malice

Et par dons le sanctifiez,

Ostant au iuste sa iustice.

Qui marchez en pompe superbe

La Mort vng iour uous pliera.

Cõme soubz uoz piedz ployez l'herbe

Ainsi uous humiliera.

XI.

Mulieres opulentæ surgite, & audite vocem meam. Post dies, & annum, & vos conturbemini.

Leuez uous dames opulentes.

Ouyez la uoix des trespassez.

Apres maintz ans & iours passez,

Serez troublées & doulentes.

XII.

Le pasteur aussi frapperay,

Mitres & crosses renuersées.

Et lors quand ie l'attrapperay,

Seront ses brebis dispersées.

XIII.

Vien, prince, auec moy, & delaisse

Honneurs mondains tost finissantz.

Seule suis qui, certes, abaisse

L'orgueil & pompe des puissantz.

XIV.

Ipse morietur. Quia nõ habuit disciplinam, & in multitudine stultitiæ suæ decipietur.

Il mourra. Car il n'a receu

En soy aulcune discipline,

Et au nombre sera deceu

De folie qui le domine.

XV.

I'ay tousiours les mortz plus loué

Que les uisz, esquelz mal abonde,

Toucesfoys la Mort ma noué

Au ranc de ceulx qui sont au monde.

XVI.

Quis est homo qui viuet, & non videbit mortem, eruet animã suam de manu inferi?

Qui est celluy, tant soit grande homme,

Qui puisse uiure sans mourir?

Et de la Mort, qui tout assomme,

Puisse son Ame recourir?

XVII.

Tu uas au choeur dire tes heures

Paiant Dieu pour toy, & ton proche.

Mais il fault ores que tu meures.

Voy tu pas l'heure qui approche?

XVIII.

Du mylieu d'eulx uous osteray

Iuges corrumpus par presentz.

Point ne serez de Mort exemptz.

Car ailleurs uous transporteray.

XIX.

Callidus vidit malum, & abscõdit se innocens, pertransijt, & afflictus est damno.

L'homme cault a ueu la malice

Pour l'innocent faire obliger,

Et puis par uoye de iustice

Est uenu le pauure affliger.

XX.

Les riches conseillez tousiours,

Et aux pauures clouez l'oreille.

Vous crierez aux derniers iours,

Mais Dieu uous fera la pareille.

XXI.

Væ qui dicitis malum bonum, & bonum malū, ponentes tenebras lucem, & lucem tenebras, ponentes amarum dulce, & dulce in amarum.

Mal pour uous qui ainsi osez

Le mal pour le bien nous blasmer,

Et le bien pour mal exposez,

Mettant auec le doulx l'amer.

XXII.

Ie porte le sainct sacrement

Cuidant le mourant secourir,

Qui mortel suis pareillement.

Et comme luy me fault mourir.

XXIII.

Toy qui n'as soucy, ny remord

Sinon de ta mendicité,

Tu fierras a l'umbre de Mort

Pour t'ouster de necessité.

XXIV.

Est via quæ videtur homini iusta: nouissima autem eius deducunt hominem ad mortem.

Telle uoye aux humains est bonne,

Et a l'homme tresiuste semble.

Mais la fin d'elle a l'homme donne,

La Mort, qui tous pecheurs assemble.

XXV.

En peine ay uescu longuement

Tant que nay plus de uiure enuie,

Mais bien ie croy certainement,

Meilleure la Mort que la uie.

XXVI.

Tu congnoys bien la maladie

Pour le patient secourir,

Et si ne scais teste estourdie,

Le mal dont tu deburas mourir.

XXVII.

Indica mihi si nosti omnia. Sciebas quòd nasciturus esses, & numerum dierum tuorum noueras?

Tu dis par Amphibologie

Ce qu'aux aultres doibt aduenir.

Dy moy donc par Astrologie

Quand tu deburas a moy uenir?

XXVIII.

Ceste nuict la Mort te prendra,

Et demain seras enchassé.

Mais dy moy, fol, a qui uiendra

Le bien que tu as amassé?

XXIX.

Qui congregat thesauros mendacij vanus & excors est, & impingetur ad laqueos mortis.

Vain est cil qui amassera

Grandz biens, & tresors pour mentir,

La Mort l'en fera repentir.

Car en ses lacz surpris sera.

XXX.

Qui volunt diuites fieri incidunt in laqueum diaboli, & desideria multa, & nociua, quæ mergunt homines in interitum.

Pour acquerir des biens mondains

Vous entrez en tentation,

Qui uous met es perilz soubdains,

Et uous maine a perdition.

XXXI.

Subito morientur, & in media nocte turbabuntur populi, & auferent violentum absq_e manu.

Peuples soubdain s'esleuront

A lencontre de l'inhumain,

Et le uiolent osteront

D'auec eulx sans force de main.

XXXII.

Quoniam cùm interiet non sumet secum omnia, neq_e cum eo descẽdet gloria eius.

Auec soy rien n'emportera,

Mais qu'une foys la Mort le tombe,

Rien de sa gloire n'ostera,

Pour mettre auec soy en sa tombe.

XXXIII.

Spiritus meus attenuabitur, dies mei breuiabuntur, & solum mihi superest sepulchrum.

Mes esperitz sont attendriz,

Et ma uie s'en ua tout beau.

Las mes longziours sont amoindriz,

Plus ne me reste qu'un tombeau.

XXXIV.

En biens mõdains leurs iours despendẽt

En uoluptez, & en tristesse,

Puis soubdain aux Enfers descendent

Ou leur ioye passe en tristesse.

XXXV.

Amour qui unyz nous faict uiure,

En foy noz cueurs preparera,

Qui long temps ne nous pourra suyure,

Car la Mort nous separera.

XXXVI.

Du lict sus lequel as monté

Ne descendras a ton plaisir.

Car Mort t'aura tantost dompté,

Et en brief te uiendra saisir.

XXXVII.

Venez, & apres moy marchez

Vous qui estes par trop charge.

Cest assez suiuy les marchez:

Vous serez par moy decharge.

XXXVIII.

A la sueur de ton uisaige

Tu gaigneras ta pauure uie.

Apres long trauail, & usaige,

Voicy la Mort qui te conuie.

XXXIX.

Homo natus de muliere, breui viuens tempore repletur multis miserijs, qui quasi flos egreditur, & conteritur, & fugit velut vmbra.

Tout homme de la femme yssant

Remply de misere, & d'encombre,

Ainsi que fleur tost finissant.

Sort & puis fuyt comme faict l'umbre.

XL.

Deuante le trosne du grand iuge

Chascun de soy compte rendra

Pourtant ueillez, qu'il ne uous iuge.

Car ne scauez quand il uiendra.

XLI.

Si tu ueulx uiure sans peché

Voy ceste imaige a tous propos,

Et point ne seras empesché,

Quand tu t'en iras a repos.

[ADDED IN LATER EDITIONS]

XLII.

Cum fortis armatus custodit atriũ suũ, &c. Si autem fortior eo superueniens vicerit eum, uniuersa eius arma aufert, in quibus confidebat.

Le sort armé en jeune corps

Pense auoir seure garnison;

Mais Mort plus forte, le met hors

De sa corporelle maison.

XLIII.

Quid prodest homini, si vniuersum Mundum lucretur, animæ autem suæ detrimentum patiatur?

Que vault à l'homme tout le Monde

Gaigner d'hazard, & chance experte,

S'il recoit de sa uie immonde

Par Mort, irreparable perte?

XLIV.

De vin (auquel est tout exces)

Ne vous enyurez pour dormir

Sommeil de Mort qui au deces

Vous face l'ame, & sang vomir.

XLV.

Le Fol vit en ioye, & deduict

San scavoir qu'il s'en va mourant,

Tant qu'à sa fin il est conduict

Ainsi que l'agneau ignorant.

XLVI.

La foible femme brigandée

Crie, O seigneur on me fait force.

Lors de Dieu la mort est mandée,

Qui les estrangle à dure estorce.

XLVII.

L'aueugle un autre aueugle guide,

L'un par l'autre en la fosse tombe:

Car quand plus oultre aller il cuide,

La Mort l'homme iecte en la tombe.

XLVIII.

Au passage de Mort peruerse

Raison, chartier tout esperdu,

Du corps le char, & cheuaux verse,

Le vin (sang de vie) espandu.

XLIX.

Qui hors la chair veult en Christ viure

Ne craint mort, mais dit un mortel,

Helas, qui me rendra deliure

Pouure homme de ce corps mortel?

Of this edition of Holbein's "The Dance of Death," seven hundred and fifty copies have been printed on Japan vellum, for the Scott-Thaw Co., by the Heintzemann Press, July, MCMIII.

Transcriber's Note: In the work used for this digitization, each pair of facing pages has the Latin biblical quotation at the top of the left page printed in red, the French quatrain at the bottom of the left page printed in black, and the illustration (numbered above, and captioned below) on the right page, opposite the text. For clarity in the text-only version, the plate numbers and captions have been moved to precede their corresponding verses.

*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE DANCE OF DEATH ***

Updated editions will replace the previous one—the old editions will be renamed.

Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project Gutenberg™ electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG™ concept and trademark. Project Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you charge for an eBook, except by following the terms of the trademark license, including paying royalties for use of the Project Gutenberg trademark. If you do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the trademark license is very easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and research. Project Gutenberg eBooks may be modified and printed and given away—you may do practically ANYTHING in the United States with eBooks not protected by U.S. copyright law. Redistribution is subject to the trademark license, especially commercial redistribution.

START: FULL LICENSE

PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK

To protect the Project Gutenberg™ mission of promoting the free distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work (or any other work associated in any way with the phrase “Project Gutenberg”), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project Gutenberg™ License available with this file or online at www.gutenberg.org/license.

Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg™ electronic works

1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg™ electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property (trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy all copies of Project Gutenberg™ electronic works in your possession. If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project Gutenberg™ electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8.

1.B. “Project Gutenberg” is a registered trademark. It may only be used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg™ electronic works even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project Gutenberg™ electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg™ electronic works. See paragraph 1.E below.

1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation (“the Foundation” or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project Gutenberg™ electronic works. Nearly all the individual works in the collection are in the public domain in the United States. If an individual work is unprotected by copyright law in the United States and you are located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg are removed. Of course, we hope that you will support the Project Gutenberg™ mission of promoting free access to electronic works by freely sharing Project Gutenberg™ works in compliance with the terms of this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg™ name associated with the work. You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project Gutenberg™ License when you share it without charge with others.

1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are in a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, check the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project Gutenberg™ work. The Foundation makes no representations concerning the copyright status of any work in any country other than the United States.

1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg:

1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate access to, the full Project Gutenberg™ License must appear prominently whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg™ work (any work on which the phrase “Project Gutenberg” appears, or with which the phrase “Project Gutenberg” is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed, copied or distributed:

This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this eBook.

1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg™ electronic work is derived from texts not protected by U.S. copyright law (does not contain a notice indicating that it is posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees or charges. If you are redistributing or providing access to a work with the phrase “Project Gutenberg” associated with or appearing on the work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the Project Gutenberg™ trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.

1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg™ electronic work is posted with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms will be linked to the Project Gutenberg™ License for all works posted with the permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work.

1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg™ License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg™.

1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project Gutenberg™ License.

1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access to or distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg™ work in a format other than “Plain Vanilla ASCII” or other format used in the official version posted on the official Project Gutenberg™ website (www.gutenberg.org), you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon request, of the work in its original “Plain Vanilla ASCII” or other form. Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg™ License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1.

1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg™ works unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.

1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing access to or distributing Project Gutenberg™ electronic works provided that:

• You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from the use of Project Gutenberg™ works calculated using the method you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg™ trademark, but he has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax returns. Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the address specified in Section 4, “Information about donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation.”
• You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg™ License. You must require such a user to return or destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of Project Gutenberg™ works.
• You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days of receipt of the work.
• You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free distribution of Project Gutenberg™ works.

1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg™ electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the manager of the Project Gutenberg™ trademark. Contact the Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below.

1.F.

1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread works not protected by U.S. copyright law in creating the Project Gutenberg™ collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg™ electronic works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain “Defects,” such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by your equipment.

1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the “Right of Replacement or Refund” described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project Gutenberg™ trademark, and any other party distributing a Project Gutenberg™ electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.

1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you with the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a refund. If you received the work electronically, the person or entity providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If the second copy is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further opportunities to fix the problem.

1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you ‘AS-IS’, WITH NO OTHER WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE.

1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages. If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by the applicable state law. The invalidity or unenforceability of any provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions.

1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone providing copies of Project Gutenberg™ electronic works in accordance with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production, promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg™ electronic works, harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees, that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg™ work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any Project Gutenberg™ work, and (c) any Defect you cause.

Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg™

Project Gutenberg™ is synonymous with the free distribution of electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It exists because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from people in all walks of life.

Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg™’s goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg™ collection will remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure and permanent future for Project Gutenberg™ and future generations. To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4 and the Foundation information page at www.gutenberg.org.

Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation

The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non-profit 501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal Revenue Service. The Foundation’s EIN or federal tax identification number is 64-6221541. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state’s laws.

The Foundation’s business office is located at 809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887. Email contact links and up to date contact information can be found at the Foundation’s website and official page at www.gutenberg.org/contact

Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation

Project Gutenberg™ depends upon and cannot survive without widespread public support and donations to carry out its mission of increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be freely distributed in machine-readable form accessible by the widest array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations ($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt status with the IRS.

The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any particular state visit www.gutenberg.org/donate.

While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who approach us with offers to donate.

International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff.

Please check the Project Gutenberg web pages for current donation methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. To donate, please visit: www.gutenberg.org/donate.

Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg™ electronic works

Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project Gutenberg™ concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared with anyone. For forty years, he produced and distributed Project Gutenberg™ eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support.

Project Gutenberg™ eBooks are often created from several printed editions, all of which are confirmed as not protected by copyright in the U.S. unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not necessarily keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition.

Most people start at our website which has the main PG search facility: www.gutenberg.org.

This website includes information about Project Gutenberg™, including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks.

The Creation	I
Die Schöpfung aller Ding.
Eve is taken from the side of Adam.
The Temptation	II
"Adam Eua im Paradyss."
Eve, having received an apple from the serpent, prompts Adam to gather more.
The Expulsion	III
"Vsstribung Ade Eue."
Adam and Eve, preceded by Death, playing on a beggar's lyre or hurdy-gurdy, are driven by the angel from Eden.
[32] The Consequences of the Fall	IV
Adam baut die Erden.
Adam, aided by Death, tills the earth. Eve, with a distaff, suckles Cain in the background.
A Cemetery	V
Gebein aller Menschen.
A crowd of skeletons, playing on horns, trumpets, and the like, summon mankind to the grave.
The Pope	VI
Der Päpst.
The Pope (Leo X.) with Death at his side, crowns an Emperor, who kisses his foot. Another Death, in a cardinal's hat, is among the assistants.
[33] The Emperor	VII
Der Kaiser.
The Emperor (Maximilian I.) rates his minister for injustice to a suitor. But even in the act Death discrowns him.
The King	VIII
Der König.
The King (Francis I.) sits at feast under a baldachin sprinkled with fleurs-de-lis. Death, as a cup-bearer, pours his last draught.
The Cardinal	IX
Der Cardinal.
Death lifts off the Cardinal's hat as he is handing a letter of indulgence to a rich man. Luther's opponent, Cardinal Cajetan, is supposed to be represented.
[34] The Empress	X
Die Kaiserinn.
The Empress, walking with her women, is intercepted by a female Death, who conducts her to an open grave.
The Queen	XI
Die Königinn.
Death, in the guise of a court-jester, drags away the Queen as she is leaving her palace.
The Bishop	XII
Der Bischof.
The sun is setting, and Death leads the aged Bishop from the sorrowing shepherds of his flock.
The Duke	XIII
Der Herzog.
The Duke turns pitilessly from a beggar-woman and her child. Meanwhile Death, fantastically crowned, lays hands on him.
[35] The Abbot	XIV
Der Abt.
Death, having despoiled the Abbot of mitre and crozier, hales him along unwilling, and threatening his enemy with his breviary.
The Abbess	XV
Die Abtissin.
Death, in a wreath of flags, pulls away the Abbess by her scapulary in sight of a shrieking nun.
The Nobleman	XVI
Der Edelmann.
Death drags the resisting Nobleman towards a bier in the background.
The Canon, or Prebendary	XVII
Der Domherr.
The Canon, with his falconer, page, and jester, enters the church door. Death shows him that his sands have run.
[36] The Judge	XVIII
Der Richter.
Death withdraws the Judge's staff as he takes a bribe from a rich suitor.
The Advocate	XIX
Der Fürsprach.
Death comes upon him in the street while he is being feed by a rich client.
The Counsellor, or Senator	XX
Der Rathsherr.
The Counsellor, prompted by a devil, is absorbed by a nobleman, and turns unheeding from a poor suppliant. But Death, with glass and spade, is waiting at his feet.
The Preacher	XXI
Der Predicant.
Death, in a stole, stands in the pulpit behind the fluent [37] Preacher, and prepares to strike him down with a jaw-bone.
The Priest, or Pastor	XXII
Der Pfarrherr.
He carries the host to a sick person. But Death precedes him as his sacristan.
The Mendicant Friar	XXIII
Der Mönch.
Death seizes him just as his begging box and bag are filled.
The Nun	XXIV
Die Nonne.
The young Nun kneels at the altar, but turns to her lover who plays upon a lute. Death meantime, as a hideous old hag, extinguishes the altar candles.
[38] The Old Woman	XXV
Das Altweib.
"Melior est mors quam vita" to the aged woman who crawls gravewards with her bone rosary while Death makes music in the van.
The Physician	XXVI
Der Arzt.
Death brings him a hopeless patient, and bids him cure himself.
The Astrologer	XXVII
(See p. 10, l. 12.)
He contemplates a pendent sphere. But Death thrusts a skull before his eyes.
The Rich Man	XXVIII
Der Reichmann.
Death finds him at his pay-table and seizes the money.
[39] The Merchant	XXIX
Der Kaufmann.
Death arrests him among his newly-arrived bales.
The Shipman	XXX
Der Schiffmann.
Death breaks the mast of the ship, and the crew are in extremity.
The Knight	XXXI
Der Ritter.
Death, in cuirass and chain-mail, runs him through the body.
The Count	XXXII
Der Graf.
Death, as a peasant with a flail, lifts away his back-piece.
[40] The Old Man	XXXIII
Der Altmann.
Death, playing on a dulcimer, leads him into his grave.
The Countess	XXXIV
Die Grafinn.
Death helps her at her tiring by decorating her with a necklet of dead men's bones.
The Noble Lady, or Bride	XXXV
Die Edelfrau.
"Me et te sola mors separabit"—says the motto. And Death already dances before her.
The Duchess	XXXVI
Die Herzoginn.
Death seizes her in bed, while his fellow plays the fiddle.
[41] The Pedlar	XXXVII
Der Kramer.
Death stops him on the road with his wares at his back.
The Ploughman	XXXVIII
Der Ackermann.
Death runs at the horses' sides as the sun sinks, and the furrows are completed.
The Young Child	XXXIX
Das Junge Kind.
As the meagre cottage meal is preparing, Death steals the youngest child.
The Last Judgment	XL
Das jüngste Gericht.
"Omnes stabimus ante tribunal Domini."
The Escutcheon of Death	XLI
Die Wappen des Todes.
The supporters represent Holbein and his wife.
[42] [Added in later editions]
The Soldier	XLII
Death, armed only with a bone and shield, fights with the Soldier on the field of battle.
The Gamester	XLIII
Death and the Devil seize upon the Gambler at his cards.
The Drunkard	XLIV
Men and women carouse: down the throat of one bloated fellow Death pours the wine.
The Fool	XLV
The Fool dances along the highway with Death, who plays the bagpipes.
The Robber	XLVI
Death seizes the Robber in the act of pillage.
[43] The Blind Man	XLVII
Death leads the Blind Man by his staff.
The Waggoner	XLVIII
The waggon is overturned; one Death carries off a wheel, the other loosens the fastening of a cask.
The Beggar	XLIX
The Beggar, lying on straw outside the city, cries in vain for Death.
[Two others, not found in the earlier editions, "The Young Wife," and "The Young Husband," are not included in the Douce reprint for which the foregoing blocks were engraved.]