Lübeck's Dance of Death

The Nun and the Merchant

De klosternonne

Eya, help Maria, my
is övel to mode,
Schal ik alrede sterven,
dat do ik node.
Ick hadde ghehopet
noch meer to leren,
Wo ick scholde denen
Gode, mynem heren,
Dem ik myne sele heb-
be vortruwet gantz,
Unde also mochte erlan-
gen der junckfrouwen krantz.

De kopman.

Ach yd is yo war,
hadde ik myne tyd
Gode ghedenet myt
so grotem flyd,
Also ick na gelde heb-
be ghyret
Unde weynich hilge da-
ge rechte fyret,
So krege ik wysz ewy-
ghe salicheyt.
Dem gelde to denen is
al vorloren arbeyt.

De dot to der nonnen

Klosternonneken, vor
vere dy nicht to sere,
Desses dantzes hefstu
grothe ere.
Wente de syk Gode heft
ghegeven
Unde de wyl voren
eyn geystlik leven,
De moth syk gantz van
der werlde keren
Unde schal by tyden
sterven leren.

De dot tom kopman

Kopman, to stervende
bystu gantz bedrovet,
De werlt heft dy men
sere gheovet.
Umme gelt deystu ar-
beyt unde flyd,
Men Gode to denen
hefstu neene tyd.
Nu mostu myt in eyn
ander lant,
Wat is nu dath vele
ghyrent bewant!

Death to the nun

Little cloister-nun, don't be too terrified.
You have great honour of this dance
because those who have given themselves to God
and who will lead an ecclesiastical life -
they shall turn themselves fully [away] from the world
and shall in [good] time learn to die.(1)

Death to the merchant

Merchant, you are quite sad to die.
But the world has long been hard on you.
For money you make work and diligence,
but you have no time to serve God.
Now you must [go] along into another country.
What is all the avarice now worth?

The nun

Eya(2), Mary help me, I'm ill at ease,
shall I already die - this I do reluctanly.
I had hoped to learn even more
how I should serve God - my Lord,
whom I have totally entrusted my soul
and so I might obtain the virgin crants.(3)

The merchant

Alas, it is true - had I in my time
served God with so great diligence
as I have desired money
and [as I] have kept the Sabbath day [too] little holy -
then I would certainly get eternal salvation.
To earn money is all forfeited work.(4)

(1) A special medieval genre of books was the "ars moriendi" or "artes [bene] moriendi" = the art of dying [well] - books telling Christians how to prepare for death.

(2) Eya...: Exclamation of surprise

(3) Virgin crants...: In the Middle Ages virgins were buried with a chaplet / garland as a symbol of their purity (later on this was only done for young girls). Shakespeare introduced the word into English: "Yet here she is allow'd her virgin crants, her maiden strewments...".

(4) Work for the sake of money...: It appears the the merchant has found out the moral of the story.