Lübeck's Dance of death, Dodendantz, Part 16, In the End Death Speaks Thus

In the End Death Speaks Thus

Alsus heth de sanck, den ick meen:
Bytterlyken sterven is de erste sanck,
De ander is der klocken klanck,
Der drydde is, in korter stunden
Werstu vorgetten van dynen frunden,
Umme dyn tydlyke gud ghan se to deele,
De worme umme dat flesz, de düvel umme de sele.
Wan denne dyt sus wert entricht,
Dat eyn yslyk syn eyne part kricht,
Dat holth he so fast ane alle feyl,
He geve dat nicht vor de anderen twey deyl.
Krygen de worme dat flesz to deele,
Se achten nicht des gudes edder der sele.
Wan de frunde ock krygen dat gud,
Achten kleyn, wat lyff unde sele doet.
Kricht de düvel de sele in beholth,
Ja, he geve se nicht vor alle golth.
Up dat syn wylle jo nicht en schee,
Eyn yslyk syk wol vore see.
Leret wol sterven unde syd bereyt,
Wol sterven allen kunsten boven geyt,
Wol sterven is so groten kunst,
Dar mede men kumpt in Godes gunst.
O Criste, dorch dynen doth sy wy vorlost,
Wesz du yo unse ewyghe trost Amen.

Anno domini Mccccxx Lübeck.

Finally Death speaks thus: (continued)

Such is the name of the song that I mean:
Bitterly dying is the first song,
the second is the bells ringing,
The third is [that] in short time
you'll be forgotten by your friends,
they go to share your temporal belongings,
the flesh to the worms, the soul to the Devil.(1)
When then this is thus arranged -
that each gets his own part -
this he holds on to without mistake.
He doesn't give it away for the two other parts:
If the worms get the flesh to share
they don't care for the goods or the soul.

When the friends also get the goods
[they] care little about what life and soul do.
If the Devil gets the soul to keep -
yes, he gave it not away for all gold.
In order that his will should not be done
each should take care of himself.
Learn to die well and be prepared(2)
To die well surpasses all arts.
To die well is so great art,
by this you obtain God's favour.
Oh Christ - we are redeemed through your death,
Be you always our eternal consolation Amen.

The year 1520 Lübeck.

The book ends with 4 shields. The first shield shows the double eagle of Lübeck. In the bottom, left corner there's 3 poppy fruits, and it is because of this symbol that the printery today is called Mohnkopf (the High German word for poppy fruit). The last shield is also typical for the Mohnkopf printery and shows the letter T (or Tau) with a cross.

The same 4 shields - in smaller versions - appear on the last page of Des dodes dantz. You might take a look at the little shields in the frame around Christ on the cross.

(1) The description of Death's 3 "songs" is almost verbatim the same in the introduction to Berlin's dance of death.

(2) 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.