Editing Danse Macabre (section)

==Textual examples of the Danse Macabre==
The ''Danse Macabre'' was a frequent motif in poetry, drama and other written literature in the Middle Ages in several areas of western Europe. There is a Spanish {{lang|es|Danza de la Muerte}}, a French {{lang|fr|Danse Macabre}}, and a German {{lang|de|Totentanz}} with various Latin manuscripts written during the 14th century.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Clark|first=James M.|date=1950|title=The Dance of Death in Medieval Literature: Some Recent Theories of Its Origin|journal=The Modern Language Review|volume=45|issue=3|pages=336–345|doi=10.2307/3718509| jstor=3718509 |issn=0026-7937}}</ref> Printed editions of books began appearing in the 15th century, such as the ones produced by [[Guy Marchant]] of Paris. Similarly to the musical or artistic representations, the texts describe living and dead persons being called to dance or form a procession with Death.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Encyclopaedia Britannica|date=n.d.|title=Dance of Death: Allegorical Concept|url=https://www.britannica.com/art/dance-of-death-art-motif|access-date=29 January 2022|website=www.britannica.com}}</ref>

''Danse Macabre'' texts were often, though not always, illustrated with illuminations and woodcuts.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Wildridge|first=T. Tindall|url=https://wellcomecollection.org/works/ur4a75fh|title=The dance of death in painting and in print|publisher=G. Redway|year=1887|location=London}}</ref>

There is one danse macabre text devoted entirely to women: ''The Danse Macabre of Women''. This work survives in five manuscripts, and two printed editions. In it, 36 women of various ages, in Paris, are called from their daily lives and occupations to join the Dance with Death. An English translation of the French manuscript was published by [[Ann Tukey Harrison]] in 1994.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The danse macabre of women: ms. fr. 995 of the Bibliothèque nationale|date=1994|publisher=The Kent State University Press|editor=Ann Tukey Harrison |isbn=978-0-87338-473-5|location=Kent, Ohio|oclc=27382819}}</ref>

John Lydgate's ''Dance of Death'' is a Middle English poem written in the early 15th century. It is a translation of a French poem of the same name, and it is one of the most popular examples of the Danse Macabre genre.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Dance of Death |url=https://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/display/document/obo-9780195396584/obo-9780195396584-0020.xml |access-date=24 September 2023 |website=obo |language=en}}</ref>

The poem is a moral allegory in which Death leads a procession of people from all walks of life to their graves. The poem includes a variety of characters, including the emperor, the pope, the cardinal, the bishop, the abbot, the prioress, the monk, the nun, the doctor, the lawyer, the merchant, the knight, the plowman, the beggar, and the child.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Dance of Death virtual exhibition |url=https://www.gla.ac.uk/myglasgow/library/files/special/exhibns/death/origins.html#:~:text=But%20was%20the%20Dance%20of,to%20live%20in%20the%20moment. |access-date=24 September 2023 |website=www.gla.ac.uk}}</ref>
The poem is written in rhyme royal, a seven-line stanzaic form that was popular in the Middle Ages.<ref>{{Cite web |title=British Library |url=https://www.bl.uk/medieval-literature/collection-items?related_themes=language+and+voice&page=2#:~:text='Translacion'%20is%20one%20of%20the,and%20the%20Second%20Nun's%20Tale. |access-date=24 September 2023 |website=www.bl.uk}}</ref>