Lübeck: The child

The child

Jacob von Melle did not write down any verses for the child. Maybe there has never been any? The child did not have a speaking part in the "new" text from 1701.

The oral tradition has two lines:

The child
O Dot, wo schal ik dat vorstan? Ik schal danssen unde kan nicht ghan	Oh Death, how shall I understand this ? I must dance and I cannot walk.

The red area shows the location in the chapel in Lübeck

Death with scythe.

It's hard to see on the photo, but between the maiden and the baby, Death is swinging his scythe. The picture to the right is taken from another angle which makes it easier to see. Compare with Milde's lithographs.

The child who cannot walk is reminiscent of the child in Basel:

O müetterlein wilt du mich Lahn
Muoß tantzen und kan noch kaum gahn

Oh little mother, will you leave me?
I must dance and can still hardly walk.