The Bishop

Todt zum Bischoff: Euwer Würde hat sich verkehrt, Herr Bischoff weiß und wolgelehrt: Ich wil euch in den Reyen ziehen, Ihr mögen dem Todt nicht entfliehen.	Death to The Bishop Your worthiness has been distorted, Mr. Bishop, wise and well learned; I will pull you into the dance. You cannot flee from Death.

Der Bischoff: ICh bin gar hoch geachtet worden, Dieweil ich lebt in Bischoffs Orden: Nun ziehen mich die Ungeschaffnen An ihren Tantz, alß einen Affen.	The Bishop. I have been very highly esteemed while I lived, in my bishop's office. Now the freaks are pulling me to their dance like a monkey.

Klein-Basel, Archbishop.
Line drawing after Büchel.
Notice similarity to the bishop in Großbasel (top of page).

Klein-Basel, Bishop.
Line drawing after Büchel.
(in Basel replaced by a duchess)

On this position in the dance there originally used to be an archbishop, but after a restoration the archbishop was replaced by an ordinary bishop, after which the old bishop was replaced by a duchess.

This change is presumed to have been made by Hans Kluber in 1568 as a part of the efforts to reduce the number of Catholic clerics.

If you compare the pictures of archbishop and bishop from Klein-Basel (left and right), one can see that Basel's bishop (above) looks more like the old archbishop — and that the change of the picture has mostly consisted of replacing the cross with a bishop's crosier.

Death's speech and the bishop's answer are taken almost verbatim from the bishop in Heidelberg's dance of death.

Fragment of original

At the museum in Basel there's still a fragment of the mural with the bishop (picture to the right).