Lübeck's Dance of death, Dodendantz, Part 15, The Journeyman and the Wet Nurse with Child

Journeyman and Wet Nurse with Child

De dot to der ammen

Amme, kum heer myt
deme kynde,
Ik neme den werd
myt deme ghesynde,
De suster, den broder,
myt alle den gesten,
Olth, yunck, quaden
unde ock de besten.
God, dede wonet in
den hogesten tronen,
Wyl yslyken recht na
den werken lonen.

De amme unde kynt

Ach, greselyke doet,
schone dessem kynde,
Dat ick hir in de döke
wynde,
Ach ick behelde dyt
kynt gantz gerne.
Ach schone ok my ar-
men derne,
Ach wyl my noch le-
ven laten,
Wat kan dy dat scha-
den efte baten?

De dot to dem amptghesellen unde ander yungelyngen

God sprickt myt synem hilgen munde:
Waket unde bedet to aller stunde!
De dot sendet jw nenen breff,
He kumpt slyken recht so eyn deff.
Hir umme, amptgheselle, holt an de hanth,
Du most myt in eyn ander lanth.

De amptgheselle

Wat lanth, wat lanth schal ick nu wanderen?
Ik quam nu kortes van westen uth Flanderen.
Nu kumpstu, dot, vort yagen myt macht,
Up dy hebbe ik noch nicht ghedacht.
Ik gynge lever to kroge myt mynen kumpanen
To der Wytten Ulen ette to deme Roden Hanen.

Int besluth sprickt de dot alsus

Tredet alle heer,
papen,ock gy leyen,
Ick wyl jw alle umme
meyen
Myt desser setzen, grot
unde kleyne.
Myt rechtem ernste
ik jw alle meyne.
Myn anslach is myt
groter hast,
So wene ik fate, den
holde ick fast.
Dantzet mede, ick syn-
ge vorhen,

There's no picture of the journeyman. In Des dodes dantz the picture of the journeyman was the same as that of the nobleman.

Notice the jumbled page layout. It is difficult to determine whether the journeyman comes before or after the nurse. The author of Copenhagen's Dance of Death apparently thought that the journeyman came last.

Death to the journeyman and other young men(1)

God speaks with His holy mouth:
Watch and pray - at all times!
Death does not send you any letter
he comes sneaking just like a thief.(2)
Therefore journeyman, hold on to the hand,
you must along into another country.

Death to the wet nurse

Nurse! come here with the child;
I take the host [together] with the servants
the sister, the brother with all the guests;
old, young, bad and also the best.
God, who lives in the highest throne
will reward everybody justly [according to their] labour.

The journeyman

What country? What country shall I now wander [to]?
I came straight from the west from Flanders.(3)
Now you come, Death, rushing forth with force;
I had not thought of you yet.
I would rather go to inns with my companions -
to The White Owl or to The Red Rooster.(4)

The wet nurse and child

Alas, terrible Death - spare this child
whom I here wrap in the sheet.
Alas, I would quite well like to keep the child.
Alas, spare me too - I poor girl.
Alas, let me live still,
what could it hurt or benefit you?

Finally Death speaks thus:

Step all here, popes, also you laymen;
I will mow you all down
with this scythe - great and small -
with right earnest I mean you all.
My strike is with great haste
so whom I get hold of, I hold on to.
Dance along - I'll lead the song....

(1) You may wonder why Death speaks to "the journeyman and other young men" i.e. several people, but this goes to show that the dance of death is a mirror, in which as many as possible should be able to reflect themselves.

(2) Death is quoting from the book "Zwiegespräch zwischen Leben und Tod" from ca. 1484:

God sprack mit synem hilgen munde:
Waket unde bedet to aller stunde,
De dod sendet ju neynnen breff,
Mer he kummet slikende alse eyn deff.

(3) It appears the journeyman is widely travelled. In Scandinavia it was common for young men - who had finished their apprenticeship - to walk around in Europe - working along the trip.

The word journeyman has nothing to do with travelling. A journey is an obsolete term for "a day's work".

(4) In spite of many visits to Lübeck I have never succeeded in finding these two pubs. They seem to have been closed down :(