Anonyme - La grande Danse Macabre - 1862

The Great Danse Macabre of men and women. Preceded by the dialogue of the three deaths and the three living, by the debate of the body and the soul, and by the complicity of the damned soul.

The Great Danse Macabre of men and women, in its 1862 reissue, restores to prominence a text emblematic of the European medieval tradition. This anonymous work, inspired by the macabre dances that appeared in the 15th century, stages a symbolic procession in which Death successively leads people of all social ranks, from the pope to the peasant. The dialogue between Death and the living emphasizes the equality of all in the face of fate and recalls the fragility of existence.

The 19th-century reedition is part of a renewed interest in the Middle Ages, characteristic of Romanticism and historical studies of the time. It allows a rediscovery of the moral and satirical scope of the text, as well as its didactic dimension. Through a tone that is at once grave and imagistic, the work illustrates the pedagogical function of medieval literature, inviting reflection on the vanity of honors and the brevity of life.

S.d. (1862), 20,7 x 26 cm, 67 pages. black-and-white illustrations in the text; worn cover (creases, tears and missing pieces), otherwise interior well preserved, as is. Sporadic foxing, a few creases and tears on the pages of the half-title, title, and the following page. Front and back free endpapers detached.