De iunckfrou. |
De doet. |
Click the small pictures to see the original pages.
The maiden recounts a nightmare she had: »Ik sach den doet riden vp eynem lauwen / Myt eynem swerde beghunde he my tho drawen« ("I saw Death riding on a lion / with a sword he began to threaten me").
Strangely, the printer has not selected that woodcut. In her book "Memento mori: Bild und Text in Totentänzen des Spätmittelalters", pp. 96-97, Susanne Warda points out that the sentence is in the past tense: The maid saw Death, who began to threaten her. Thus the maid may refer to the woodcut on the previous page.
This makes good sense if you imagine the dance as a long continuous row. On the previous page, Death attacks the rider, who sees Death coming rushing, here and now: »He kumpt iagende«. There's one more person, who sees Death riding on a grim lion, namely the knight: »Alse eyn de dar rydende kumpt vp eynem grymmighen lauwen«. Here, the printer has again chosen the woodcut with the lion.
Note that the choice of the four different images of Death is not always the same everywhere in the 1489- and 1496-editions, but in both editions the lion-image accompanies the rider and the knight.
Death reminds Maid "Giseltrūt" (or "Ghysseltrud") that she usually loves dancing - and then he goes on to list the names of 70 other young women who are now joining the dance. The call ends: »Komet altomalen dantzet myt desser junkfrowen ghyseltrud« ("come all together, dance with this maid Ghyseltrud").
Baethcke's transcription LV. DE JUNKVROWE. LVI. DE DOT. |
