Copenhagen's Dance of Death, Part 4, Death to the Congregation

Copenhagen's Dance of Death, Part 4

Death to the congregation.

Hello hello, you may all stand.(1)
would all of you help me
and walk with me along an unknown path.

It doesn't help you to say no.
Be it pope, bishop, and cardinal
canon, priest, monk, or official.
Be it student, or schoolmaster wise
I mean everybody who reads books.
Furthermore both emperor and empress
King, duke and duchess
Knights and swains, maiden and maids
Mayor and those who belongs to the council.
What is necessary now calls more and more,
you must all step forward in this dance
Come here, come here, you must go along
it doesn't help to resist now
be you all prepared in this time
and come all of you here in my fight
I will stretch you all on the ground
and make you all one foot longer(2)
Be it old, young, poor or rich
I mean all of them
Man's life is in the youth
full of sin and is very impious
The youth I give no peace
I dance with him till he drops down

If you want to see the original page, click on the little picture to the left. If you want to read the page in the original medieval Danish, click the red-and-white flag at the top right corner of this page.

(1) Copenhagen's Dance of Death appears, to a far higher degree than the German counterparts, to have been meant to be performed as a play.

(2) One foot longer: Meyer has found several examples from the same period where Death is known to stretch the dying.

Anyway, it's a verbatim translation of Dodendantz from 1520.


	Death to the congregation. Hello hello, you may all stand.(1) would all of you help me and walk with me along an unknown path.		It doesn't help you to say no. Be it pope, bishop, and cardinal canon, priest, monk, or official. Be it student, or schoolmaster wise I mean everybody who reads books. Furthermore both emperor and empress King, duke and duchess Knights and swains, maiden and maids Mayor and those who belongs to the council. What is necessary now calls more and more, you must all step forward in this dance Come here, come here, you must go along it doesn't help to resist now be you all prepared in this time and come all of you here in my fight I will stretch you all on the ground and make you all one foot longer(2) Be it old, young, poor or rich I mean all of them Man's life is in the youth full of sin and is very impious The youth I give no peace I dance with him till he drops down