danse macabre (English spelling) danse macabre

For example, in Florence in 1433, Death stood on a cart with a scythe, and the dead, dressed in all-black clothing and painted white skeletons, emerged from their graves, singing, "Suffer, lament, regret," while attendants in front and behind the cart held up black flags with skulls and crosses, and marched around chanting, "Lord, have mercy." In addition, an entertainment dance called the Danse Macabre became popular, in which a pair of men and women would fall to the ground alternately, laughing and lamenting the deaths of the dead. Eventually, the Dance of Death became a major artistic motif expressing the view of the end of the world in the late Middle Ages, based on the theme of memento mori (remember death).

*Some of the terminology explanations that mention "danse macabre" are listed below.

Source | Heibonsha World Encyclopedia 2nd Edition | Information

…たとえば1433年のフィレンツェでは車の上に大鎌を持った〈死〉が立ち，まっ黒な衣装に骸骨を白く描いた〈死者〉が墓からあらわれ，〈苦しみ，嘆き，悔いよ〉と歌い，車の前後の従者はしゃれこうべを描いた黒い旗と十字架をかざし，〈主よ，憐れみたまえ〉と唱和しながら練り歩いたという。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。…

※「danse macabre」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