The Canon(1)
© The Trustees of the British Museum
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JMJ
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Holbein's dance of death. The canon's cape is made of square pieces of fur laced with animals' tails.
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Death is disguised as a server. This may be a device that shows us that
the canon(1) dies while at work.
The canon is dressed in an almuce, a cape of fur, adorned with animals' tails,
just like he is in Holbein's great dance of death
and in Basel's dance of death.
In the same manner, references are made in the text to the canon's almuce of fancy grey fur in
London's dance of death
(»Amys of gris«)
and in Copenhagen's dance of death.
Death carries an iron pot with holy water and sprinkler (aspergillum).
In Holbein's dance of death (picture below to the right), the priest is assisted by Death,
while a human server carries the holy water.
Holbein's dance of death. The priest is followed by a helper with a pot of holy water.
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The accompanying text for this letter goes: »Sy flyssen sich all des geytz von dem minsten bis zu dem mersten /
Sy betriegen all von dem propheten biß zu dem priester«.
This is from Jeremiah 6,13 which in Luther's version sounds:
»Denn sie gieren alle, klein und groß, nach unrechtem Gewinn,
und Propheten und Priester gehen alle mit Lüge um«.
In English:
»For from the least of them even unto the greatest of them every one is given to covetousness;
and from the prophet even unto the priest every one dealeth falsely«.
Various artists
Footnotes:
(1)
Canon...: a priest attached to a cathedral. The canons are so called because they
lead a rule bound life, "vita canonica".
The dance of death
Alphabet
Holbein
L
