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Article: Danse Macabre
- Article from:
- Macmillan Encyclopedia of Death and Dying
- Author:
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Danse Macabre
The band consists of four skeletons performing on bagpipe, portative organ, harp, and small drum. The dancers move in a low, stately procession. It is clearly a ritualistic rather than a social dance. All the participants are following their leader
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Death.
The Danse Macabre made its first appearance during the plague (Black Death) years of the fourteenth century. In Germany it was the
Todtentanz;
in Italy,
danza della morte;
and in England, the Dance of Death. In the Danse Macabre, the personified figure of Death led dancers in a slow,
stately procession that was clearly a ritualistic rather than a social dance.
Danse Macabre images served several purposes, ...