memento mori (English spelling)

Japanese: memento mori（英語表記）mementomori

…In the ancient world, where Confucius, Buddha, and Christ were active, the idea that death was an inevitable fate, like the movement of celestial bodies, was dominant. In contrast, the medieval world was an era in which something that could be called the idea of death developed through reflection on the consciousness of death. For example, according to J. Huizinga's The Autumn of the Middle Ages, the idea of death that characterizes the European Middle Ages is symbolized by the admonition to "remember death (memento mori)," a major theme in the sermons of mendicant orders that became popular after the 13th century, and by woodblock prints with the theme of the "Dance of Death," which was popular in the 14th and 15th centuries. The idea of death, which the Christian church repeatedly promoted in its daily sermons at that time, resonated with the representation of the decay of the body. …

From "Dance of Death"

…Also, a recreational dance called “danse macabre” became popular, in which a pair of men and women would alternately fall to the ground and laugh in mourning their “death.” Eventually, the “dance of death” became a major artistic motif expressing the view of the end of the world in the late Middle Ages, which was based on “memento mori (remember death).” Images of the living and the “dead,” represented by skeletons, holding hands adorned the frescoes and stained glass of churches, and were also engraved on the “plague towers” built in city squares. …

*Some of the terminology that refers to "memento mori" is listed below.

Source | Heibonsha World Encyclopedia 2nd Edition | Information

Japanese:

…孔子や仏陀やキリストなどの活躍した古代世界においては，死をいわば天体の運行にも似た不可避の運命とする観念が優勢であったが，これにたいして中世世界は死の意識の反省を通して〈死の思想〉とでもいうべきものの発展をみた時代であった。例えばJ.ホイジンガの《中世の秋》によれば，ヨーロッパの中世を特色づける死の思想は，13世紀以降に盛んになった托鉢修道会の説教における主要なテーマ――〈死を想え(メメント･モリmemento mori)〉の訓戒と，14～15世紀に流行した〈死の舞踏〉を主題とする木版画によって象徴されるという。当時のキリスト教会が日常の説教で繰り返し宣伝していた死の思想は，肉体の腐敗という表象と呼応していた。…

【死の舞踏】より

…また，男女のペアが交互に地上に倒れ，その〈死〉を悼み笑う〈ダンス･マカブルdanse macabre〉という娯楽的な踊りが流行した。　やがて〈死の舞踏〉は，〈メメント･モリmemento mori(死を想え)〉を基調とする中世末期の終末観を表現する主要な芸術的モティーフとなる。生者と骸骨で表された〈死者〉とが手をとり合っている図像が，聖堂のフレスコやステンド･グラスを飾り，また都市の広場に建てられた〈ペスト塔〉にも刻まれた。…

※「memento mori」について言及している用語解説の一部を掲載しています。

出典｜株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典第２版について | 情報

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