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Ars moriendi

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: General history

   Pride of the spirit is one of the five temptations of the dying man,
   according to Ars moriendi. Here, Demons tempt the dying man with crowns
   (a medieval allegory to earthly pride) under the disapproving gaze of
   Mary, Christ and God. Woodblock seven (4a) of eleven, Netherlands,
   circa 1460.
   Enlarge
   Pride of the spirit is one of the five temptations of the dying man,
   according to Ars moriendi. Here, Demons tempt the dying man with crowns
   (a medieval allegory to earthly pride) under the disapproving gaze of
   Mary, Christ and God. Woodblock seven (4a) of eleven, Netherlands,
   circa 1460.

   Ars moriendi ("The Art of Dying") is the name of two related Latin
   texts dating from about 1415 and 1450 which offer advice on the
   protocols and procedures of a good death and on how to "die well",
   according to Christian precepts of the late Middle Ages. It was written
   within the historical context of the effects of the macabre horrors of
   the Black Death 60 years earlier and consequent social upheavals of the
   15th century. It was very popular, translated into most West European
   languages, and was the first in a western literary tradition of guides
   to death and dying.

   There was originally a "long version" and then a later "short version"
   containing eleven woodcut pictures as instructive images which could be
   easily explained and memorized.

Long version

   The original "long version", called Tractatus (or Speculum) artis bene
   moriendi, was composed in 1415 by an anonymous Dominican friar,
   probably at the request of the Council of Constance (1414–1418,
   Germany). It was widely read and translated into most West European
   languages, and was very popular in England where a literary tradition
   based on it survived until the 17th century Holy Living and Holy Dying
   which was the "artistic climax" of the consolatory death literature
   tradition that had begun with Ars moriendi. Other works in the English
   tradition include The Waye of Dying Well and The Sick Mannes Salve. Ars
   moriendi was also among the first books printed with movable type and
   was widely circulated in nearly 100 editions before 1500, in particular
   in Germany. The long version survives in about 300 manuscript versions,
   only one illustrated.

   Ars moriendi consists of six chapters:
    1. The first chapter explains that dying has a good side, and serves
       to console the dying man that death is not something to be afraid
       of.
    2. The second chapter outlines the five temptations that beset a dying
       man, and how to avoid them. These are lack of faith, despair,
       impatience, spiritual pride, and avarice.
    3. The third chapter lists the seven questions to ask a dying man,
       along with consolation available to him through the redemptive
       powers of Christ's love.
    4. The fourth chapter expressed the need to imitate Christ's life.
    5. The fifth chapter addresses the friends and family, outlining the
       general rules of behaviour at the deathbed.
    6. The sixth chapter includes appropriate prayers to be said for a
       dying man.

Short version

   The "short version", whose appearance shortly precedes the introduction
   in the 1460's of block books (books printed from carved blocks of wood,
   both text and images on the same block), first dates to around 1450,
   from the Netherlands. It is mostly an adaptation of the second chapter
   of the "long version", and contains eleven woodcut pictures. The first
   ten woodcuts are divided into 5 pairs, with each set showing a picture
   of the devil presenting one of the 5 temptations, and the second
   picture showing the proper remedy for that temptation. The last woodcut
   shows the dying man, presumably having successfully navigated the maze
   of temptations, being accepted into heaven, and the devils going back
   to hell in confusion.

   The "short version" was as popular as the "long version", but there was
   no English translation. There are six extant manuscripts of the short
   version, most not illustrated, and over twenty extant blockbook
   illustrated editions, using 13 different sets of blocks.
   Temptation of lack of Faith; engraving by Master ES c1450
   Enlarge
   Temptation of lack of Faith; engraving by Master ES c1450

The images

   As well as the thirteen different sets of blockbook woodcuts, there is
   a set by Master ES in engraving. The lengthy controversy over their
   respective dating and priority is now resolved by the discovery by
   Fritz Saxl of an earlier illuminated manuscript, of well before 1450,
   from whose tradition all the images in the printed versions clearly
   derive. Studies of the watermarks of the blockbooks by Allen Stevenson
   at the British Museum in the 1960's confirmed that none of them
   predated the 1460's, so Master ES's engravings are the earliest printed
   versions, dating from around 1450. The images remain largely the same
   in all media for the rest of the century.

Significance

   The need to prepare for one's death was well known in Medieval
   literature through death-bed scenes, but before the 15th century there
   was no literary tradition on how to prepare to die, on what a good
   death meant, or on how to die well. The protocols, rituals and
   consolations of the death bed were usually reserved for the services of
   an attending priest. Ars moriendi was an innovative response by the
   Church to changing conditions brought about by the Black Death — the
   ranks of the clergy had been particularly hard hit, and it would take
   generations to replace them in both quantity and quality — the text and
   pictures provided the services of a "virtual priest" to the lay public,
   an idea that just 60 years earlier would have been an unthinkable
   intrusion on the powers of the church. Ars moriendi provided guidance
   to dying for those who experienced the macabre horrors of the 14th and
   15th centuries, in particular the Black Death; and for those who were
   looking for ways to distinguish themselves by doing the "proper" acts
   in a culture increasingly status conscious in a depopulated but
   consequently more prosperous Europe.

Derivative works

     * The Art of Dying is the title of a 1970 song by Beatle George
       Harrison.
     * Ars Moriendi is the name of a 1998 song by the rock band Mr.
       Bungle.
     * Ars moriendi eller de syv dødsmåter (Ars moriendi or the seven ways
       of dying) is a collection of poems by the Norwegian writer Georg
       Johannesen.
     * Ars Moriendi is the title of an oil painting by artist Peter Myer.
     * Ars Moriendi is the title of a song by the black metal band Marduk,
       the first off the album "La Grande Danse Macabre"
     * Ars Moriendi is the title of an album by the industrial band
       Memorandum, released in 1995 on Cold Meat Industry label
     * Ars Moriendi is lithuanian doom metal band.

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