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At last we get to see Death's mandate: The scroll of parchment that Death received from God along with the three arrows, and which was announced by the two angels on the previous page.
In this "license to kill" God speaks like a sovereign ruler:
| The Mandate God, living forever, without end and without beginning, reigning in holy trinity, 132 makes it known to all humanity in general and by this moral mandate, that we want Death to make 136 [people] appear in court before us. All who are and who will be of Eve and Adam. They will give just account of their deeds 140 at the particular judgment. |
Once again the reference is to the particular judgment right after death, and not to the collective Day of Judgment at resurrection
The interesting thing is that this part of the text is known not only from the two manuscripts, but also from a wall in the cloister of Amiens. Right here we don't have to be content with the two manuscripts, but have a third witness.
In line 129 the Ambrosiana manuscript writes: »le filz eternelement«, but the dance in Amiens backs Français 17001 up in that it is not the eternal son, but the eternally living: »le vif eternelement«.
In line 134, the Amiens text agrees with the Ambrosiana manuscript that it is a moral mandate, »mandement moral« and not a mortal mandat, »mandement mortal«. In line 135 they agree that God wants Death to do something: »volons que la mort fasse«, while Français 17001 thinks that "somebody" should be "just as angry": »voulons que ainsi se fache«.
The Amiens text is the only of the three sources that gives us the Latin quote at the end of each verse. In this case it's: »In sæculum fiat fiat«, which is from Psalm 41.14 (40.14 in the Vulgate): »Blessed be the LORD God of Israel from everlasting, and to everlasting. Amen, and Amen«.
| The mandate |
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Le mandement |
Dances of death
Various
Mors de la Pomme
The mandate