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Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 in 2014 
 
 https://archive.org/details/celebratedhanshoOOholb 
 
THE CELEBRATED 
 
 HANS HOLBEIN 
 
 ALPHABET OF DEATH 
 
 ILLUSTRATED WITH OLD BORDERS ENGRAVED ON WOOD 
 WITH LATIN SENTENCES VND ENGLISH QUATRAINS 
 
 selected by 
 ANATOLI DE MONTAIGLON 
 
 PARIS 
 
 PRINTED FOR EDWIN TROSS 
 28. Rue des Bons - Enfant 
 M DCCC-LVI 
 
 /IS-L 
 
TO 
 
 THOMAS WRIGHT, ESQ., M.A., F.S.A., 
 
 this edition of the AlphabH of Death 
 is respectful v dedicated 
 by 
 
 the Editor 
 
The life and works of the great German painter, 
 Hans Holbein, and the question of the Dance of Death 
 are, for historical inquirers, an admirable subject, 
 on which nothing has yet been said that can be held 
 really satisfactory; but the limits of this note are 
 necessarily so confined as to leave no space even for a 
 view of them. 
 
 For the artist, it is only necessary to refer the 
 reader to Sandrart, to the latin catalogue written 
 by Charles Patin as an introduction to his edition of 
 the Encomium Morioe, to Fuessli, to Walpole's Anec- 
 dotes of Painting in England, and to J. P. Mariette's 
 remarks on this last work, recently printed in his 
 Abcdario. It is said that M r Passavant has been many 
 years occupied in collecting materials for a complete 
 monography of Holbein; so that, as the attempt is 
 worthy of him , and he is fit for the task , we may 
 hope to have the long - wanted life and catalogue 
 
executed in a superior manner. On the Dance of 
 Death, several interesting books have been published, 
 among which it is almost unnecessary to name those 
 of Gabriel Peignot, Francis Douce, and Hyacinthe 
 Langlois. Here we have only to speak of the Alphabet 
 itself. 
 
 Engraved by Hans Lutzelburger, as now thought 
 by the most competent critics, it was first used at 
 Basle about the year 1530 by the famous printers Be- 
 belius and Cratander, and we refer to Douce's re- 
 marks (p. 214-18) on the question for the titles of the 
 books in which it was employed, and for the nume- 
 rous copies and imitations made of it. We will only 
 repeat with him that these initial letters, « in ele- 
 gance of design and delicacy of engraving, have 
 scarcely ever been equalled, and certainly never sur- 
 passed. They may in every point of view be regarded 
 as the chef-d'oeuvre of ancient block engraving. » 
 
 Seven years ago, in 1849, the whole series was 
 anew elegantly copied on wood by Professor H. Lo- 
 del of Gottingen, and published in a little 8 V0 vo- 
 lume, with George Osterwald's lithographed borders, 
 by 1. M. Heberle at Cologne , Bonn and Brussels. 
 Our new edition gives the same letters, real gems 
 of engraving on wood, but, as a worthy illustration, 
 accompanies them with the two Dances of Death, the 
 one more Gothic in form, the other more coarsely 
 engraved, but yet perhaps more artistical, which are 
 
found in the well known Simon Vostre's Horiv. 
 These two Dances, as well as the ornamental borders, 
 all taken from different books , are engraved with a 
 fidelity and elegance on which our readers may pro- 
 nounce, by M r Leon Le Maire, of Paris, who has also 
 copied on the title Holbein's Escutcheon of Death 
 from the Imagines Mortis. 
 
 On these letters we will now add a curious re- 
 mark, which, we believe, has not yet been made. 
 In the eleven first letters we find the subjects in the 
 traditional order without any relation between them. 
 So we see, as in all the series, the Dance begun by the 
 Death the musician , and followed, in order of rank, 
 by the Pope, the Emperor, the King, the Cardinal, 
 the Empress, the Bishop, the Nobleman, the Burgess 
 or Merchant, and the Priest. But, from the letter M 
 to the end, it may be remarked, and I owe this 
 hint to M r Henry Bordier, that each letter is the 
 beginning of the Latin name of the character repre- 
 sented. 
 
 So, at M we see the Medicus ; at N the banker, 
 Numerarius ; at 0 a fat monk, Obesus monachus; 
 at P a fighting soldier, Preellator. The Q is less clear; 
 the obedient nun who quietly follows Death , might 
 however be called in Latin : Quieta, quassata, or 
 queribunda monacha. But the R is quite certain , for 
 we find in it, : Ridens or ridiculus fatuus. In the S 
 we have the luxurious woman, Scortum. The T is 
 
somewhat troublesome; yet in the minstrel driven 
 to the ground and urged to drink by a facetious ske- 
 leton, we may read TUubans homo. At V the galloping 
 horseman is perhaps Velox homo ; at W the ancient 
 hermit is Wetustissimus homo, the superlative being 
 marked by the repetition of the same letter. At X 
 we have deceitful gamesters, Xycophantes , and this 
 change of S into X is not at all inadmissible, since 
 in the subsequent letter the artist has used Ynfans, 
 when the ordinary form is infam. As to Z, it is used 
 like the Greek O to import the idea of the end, and 
 consequently the artist has put in it the last judg- 
 ment, the end of this earthly world, as Z is the end 
 of the Alphabet. Some of these interpretations may 
 certainly be modified and improved, but we hold as 
 undisputable the idea of seeking in the last thirteen 
 letters the beginning of the Latin name of the intended 
 characters. 
 
 One word more, and I close this note. A literary 
 selector of Latin sentences on Death might be able 
 to choose from Greek , Roman and old Christian 
 authors, most magnificent extracts; but such a thing 
 was quite impossible for us. Here we had to give 
 twenty-four sentences , of a limited extent , each be- 
 ginning by a different letter; and only long enough 
 to surround and support the letter in conformity 
 with typographical exigencies.— As to the quatrains, 
 we might reprint the translation written in 1794 by 
 
p 
 
 pud mortem non 
 est acceptio per- 
 sonarum. Necmi- 
 seretur pupillo, 
 nec defert senio- 
 rs nec timet potentem, nec vere- 
 tur nobilem, nec horret pauperem 
 aut ignobilem, nec dimittit divi- 
 tem aut potentem, nec contemnit 
 infirmem aut debilem, nec evitat 
 fortem, nec parcit sapienti, nec 
 insipienti. 
 
 S. ANTONINUS. 
 
 0 creatures, ye that ben resonable, 
 Who alle shalle trace the daunce of Macabre', 
 Ye may here lern doctrine fid notable, 
 How dethe ne spareth high ne low degre. 
 
 ■ 
 
onorum mors non 
 est nisi accele- 
 ratio glorificatio- 
 nis, diruptio car- 
 ceris, finis pere- 
 grinationis, portus navigationis , 
 contritio laquei, depositio vetustae 
 vestis, induitio novae, depositio 
 ponderis, dejectio atrocissimi ho- 
 stis, solutio debiti naturalis. 
 
 HUGO CARD. 
 
 0 thou that of alle estates spiritualle 
 Tn erthe art set moste high in dignite, 
 Upon this daunce firste begynne thou shalle f 
 As moste worthy by thy soverainte'. 
 
ertum est quod 
 morieris , et in- 
 certum quando 
 ant quomodo aut 
 ubi, quoniam u- 
 bique le mors expectat. Tli quo- 
 que, si sapiens fuens, ubique earn 
 expeetabis. 
 
 S. BEKNAUDUS. 
 
 Sir emperour, lorde of alle the grounde, 
 Soverayne prynce and h teste of noblesse, 
 Ye moste forsake of golde your aple rounde, 
 Sceptre and swerde, and alle your high 
 
 [prowesse. 
 
ST mors naturalis 
 et poenalis, natu- 
 ralis per quam a- 
 nima separatur a 
 corpore, poenalis 
 vero est cum anima e virtutis vita 
 emoritur et vivit in vita vitii. 
 
 PHILO JUDiEUS. 
 
 Ye ben abassfied , it semeth, and in drede, 
 Syre cardynalle; me thijnketh by your chere; 
 But ylt forthy ye folowe shale in dede 
 With other e folk, my daunce for to lere. 
 
iNis noster abs- 
 conditus est no- 
 bis; venturi exi- 
 tus ignorantia no- 
 bis incerta est; 
 improvisus occursus , incertus e- 
 ventus et finis omnium. Dum ne- 
 scimus, repente mors venit; dum 
 non sestimamus, improvisi tolli- 
 mur ; dum ignoramus , repente 
 subtrahimur. 
 
 S. ISIDORES H1SPANUS. 
 
 Ye han not lerned here afore to daunce 
 No daunce in .sot he of fotynge so sage, 
 Where for ye see by clere demon sir aunce 
 What pry de is worth 9 force , or h igh lynage. 
 
ermana corruptio- 
 nis mors est, de- 
 sperationis domi- 
 na, incredulitatis 
 mater, inferni pa- 
 rens, diaboli conjimx, omnium 
 malorum regina. 
 
 S. PETRIJS GHRYSOLOGUS. 
 
 Madame, in sot he, ther is non other bote; 
 Dethe hath in erthe no lady ne maistresse , 
 But on this daunce ye moste nedis fote, 
 Al , be ye quene, countesse, or duchesse. 
 
paria sunt.Non 
 eris, nec fuisti, 
 utrumque tempus 
 alienum est. In 
 hoc punctum con- 
 jectus es : quodut extendas, quous- 
 que extendes? Quid fles? Quid 
 optasPPerdis operam. Rata et fixa 
 sunt, atque magna et seterna ne- 
 cessitate ducuntur. Eo ibis quo 
 omnia eunt. 
 
 SENECA. 
 
 My lord, sir bisshope, ye maye not so 
 
 [withdrawe, 
 Se frowardly, as it were by disdeyne, 
 Ye moste approche unto my mortale lawe 
 It to contra ire it were but in veyne . 
 
MPORTUNA mors 
 mille modis quo- 
 tidie miseros ho- 
 mines rapit; himc 
 necat febribus, 
 hunc opprimit doloribus, hunc con- 
 sumit fame, ilium siti extinguit, 
 himc suffocat aquis, ilium interi- 
 mitlaqueo, ilium perimit flammis, 
 hunc trucidat ferro, ilium veneno 
 corrumpit, alteram repentino ter- 
 rore miseram vitam finire com* 
 pellit. 
 
 S. AUGUSTINITS. 
 
 Right nowe, sir prince, for alleyour highnesse, 
 Thepompe of wordely honoure ye shalle lete; 
 Who moste haboundeth here in gret richesse, 
 Shalle here with hijm but a single shete. 
 
ATHERIISA VlTgO 
 
 cum decollata 
 fuisset , de ejus 
 corpore lac ema- 
 navit. Angeli au- 
 tem corpus ejus accipientes ab illo 
 loco ad montem Sinay itinere plus 
 quam viginti deduxerunt , et ibi- 
 dem honorifice sepelierunt. Ex 
 cujus ossibus iudesinenter oleum 
 emanat, quod cunctorum debi- 
 lium membra sanat. Passa est sub 
 Maxentio sive Maximiano tyranno. 
 
 JACOBUS DE VORAGINE. 
 
 Ye that so longe worships and renoun 
 Have had amonges ladies and barons , 
 Now moste ije from your highnesse come admm, 
 Forgettyng youre trompettes and clarions. 
 
audans invocabo 
 Dominum et ab 
 inimicis meis sal- 
 vus ero. Circum- 
 dederunl me do- 
 lores mortis, et torrentes iniqui- 
 tatis conturbaverunt me. Dolores 
 inferni circumdederunt me; prae- 
 occupaverunt me laquei mortis. 
 
 PSALM. XVII 
 
 Farwelle, my tyihes, farwelle, myne offe- 
 
 [rynge ; 
 
 I most go compte in ordre by and by, 
 
 And for my shepe make a juste reckonynge ; 
 
 Whom God acquiteth, I hold hym happy. 
 
ors nihil aliud est 
 quam peregrina- 
 tionis terminus , 
 finis miseriae, la- 
 borummeta, exi- 
 lii limes, janua patriae, nativitas 
 vitae, principium beatitudinis, pri- 
 mitiae primitiorum. 
 
 FETRUS BLESENSIS 
 
 Maister of phisike, werketh not inveyne; 
 Ayenste my mygth your sky lie may not endure, 
 For alle your crafte and study of medycine, 
 Leche though ye be, youre self ye can not cure. 
 
ullius miser etur 
 mors, nulli com- 
 patitur j omnibus 
 aequalur , inspe- 
 rata venit, nulli 
 parcit, corpus et animam separat, 
 finis est laborum et ultima linea 
 
 rerum. 
 
 HUGO A SANCTO VICTORE. 
 
 Thou usurer, loke up here at my calle, 
 Unto wynninge that setteste alte thy peyne; 
 A perilouse stroke shot make the lese alte ; 
 Thy gredy cheste thou filteste alte in vetjne. 
 
miser homo, quo- 
 cumque te ver- 
 teris, incerta om- 
 nia, sola mors 
 certa. Pauper es, 
 incertum est an ditescas. lndo- 
 ctus, incertum est an erudiaris. 
 Imbecillis , incertum est an con- 
 valesces. Natus es ; certum est quia 
 morieris, et in hoc ipso, quia 
 mors certa est, dies mortis incer- 
 tus est, itaque haec incerta. 
 
 S. AIJGUSTINUS SUPER PSAL. 
 
 Sir corduler, to you myn hond is raught 
 To this daunce you to conveije and lede, 
 Which in your prechynge have ful ofte taugh t 
 How T am most gastfulle for to drede. 
 
er unum homi- 
 nem quemadmo- 
 dum in mundum 
 introivit ac per 
 peccatum mors, 
 et sic in omnes homines mors 
 pervasit quatenus omnes pecca- 
 verunt. I mo regnavit mors in eos 
 qui non peccaverant ad similitu- 
 dinem transgressionis Adam, qui 
 typum gerit illius faturi. 
 
 PAULUS AD ROM. V. 
 
 Ye have assay led castelle and forteresse, 
 tndthynke ijoure self strenger than Charlc- 
 
 [mayne ; 
 
 But malgre alle youre worldely prouesse, 
 With us to daunce Ishalle you nowe cons- 
 
 [trayne. 
 
uotidie morimur; 
 quotidie enim de- 
 mi tur aliqua pars 
 vitae, et, tuncquo- 
 que cum cresci- 
 mus , vita decrescit ; infantiam 
 amisimus, deinde pueritiam, dein- 
 de adolescentiam ; usque ad hes- 
 ternum quidquid trausiit temporis 
 periit; hunc ipsum, quern agimus, 
 diem cum morte dividimus. 
 
 SENECA, EPIST. 2k 
 
 Though ye be tendre and born of gentille 
 
 [Mode, 
 
 Unto this daunce Imoste be your gy/de; 
 Leveth your vayle, your wymple and your hode, 
 And, while ye lyve, for your soule provyde. 
 
ubit^e necessitati 
 mortis vana spes 
 non prsejudicat ae- 
 tatis; quippe quse 
 infantes, pueros, 
 adolescentes pari ut senes sorte 
 prsecipit. 
 
 JOANNES CASS. 
 
 0 thou that many a man hast allurede, 
 And made hym waste hys youthe in false ple- 
 
 [saunce, 
 
 Though in youre beauteye ben moche assurede, 
 Yit shalle ye atte laste joyne my daunce. 
 
 mmmmmm 
 
e in e am us nullum 
 esse malum quod 
 sit a natura da- 
 tum homiuibus, 
 intelligamusque , 
 si mors malum sit, esse malum 
 sempiternum; nam vitae miserse 
 non finis esse videtur. Mors si est 
 misera, finis nullus esse potest, 
 
 M TULLIUS CICERO. 
 
 Wei ofte thou in fulle bole and kan 
 Hast swynked for to drynke and to swylle; 
 Nowe here, wyth thyne hewe pale et van , 
 Thou shalt daunce maugre thy wylle. 
 
BicuMQUE desines, 
 si bene desinis , 
 sed et fortiter de- 
 sinendum, Non 
 est res magna vi- 
 vere, omnes servi tui vivunt, 
 omnia animalia , sed magnum est 
 honeste mori, prudenter, fortiter. 
 
 Alias ! Syre galaunte, nowe most thousaunz 
 
 \socoure 
 
 Abate thy veyne glorie and thy pryde, 
 And leve byhynde al worldely honour e, 
 For agenst dethe no thynge may abide. 
 
lnera mea ecce 
 non abscondo; 
 medicus es; aeger 
 sum. — Mors, si- 
 cut nee sibi a 
 quoquam sponte, nec cuiquam 
 sponte inferenda est, ita, Deo 
 jubente, recusanda non est, cujus 
 institutione quocumque tempore 
 obeunda est. 
 
 S AUGUSTINUS. 
 
 I 
 
 Thou that hast lyved longe inwyldernesse, 
 Must nowe take leve ofthyne ermytage ; 
 For tjche man knowethe welle this sentence, 
 That in this lyfe is no sure heritage. 
 
Jlh> — Jttt^ Mb^ 
 
 ANTHIPP^E UXOIl 
 
 Socrates, cum for- 
 ti animo et con- 
 stant! vultu potio- 
 nem veneni e ma- 
 nu carnificis accepisset, admoto 
 jam labris poculo , inter fletum et 
 lamentationem vociferanti inno- 
 centem eum perimi : « Quid ergo? 
 inquit. Nocenti mihi satius esse 
 duxisti? » 0 immensam illam sa- 
 pientiam quae ne in ipso quidem 
 vitse excessu oblivisci sui potuit! 
 
 VALERIUS MAX1MUS. 
 
 At youre passetyme has ben to shaken the 
 
 [dyce ; 
 
 But throwe no more, for nowe it is youre 
 
 [chaunce , 
 
 Maugre youre grete othes and wordes nyce, 
 To folowe me bothe in the dedely daunce. 
 
saias filius Amos 
 propheta intro- 
 ivit ad Ezechiam 
 aegrotantem us- 
 que ad mortem 
 et dixit ei : « Dispone domui tuae, 
 quia morieris tu et non vives. » 
 Et dixit Ezechias : « Non videbo 
 Dominum Deum in terra viven- 
 tium. Generatio mea ablata est et 
 convoluta est a me, sicut taber- 
 naculum pastorum. Pnecissa ve- 
 lut a texente anima mea ; dum 
 adhuc ordirer, incudit me. » 
 
 Lytel enfaunt , that were but late borne, 
 Schaped in this worlde to have noplesaunce, 
 Thou moste wyth other e that are gone toforne 
 Be led in haste by fatal ordynaunce. 
 
alphabet i ultima 
 littera est, ut dies 
 mortis ultimus vi- 
 tse. Ideo prima 
 et ultima Graeco- 
 rum, A atque omnis cursus 
 vitae comprehensus significandus- 
 que pnebetur. 
 
 Remember alle there is no better victor ie 
 In this lyfe here than sle synne at teste, 
 Thanne shalle ye regne in Paradys with glorie ; 
 Happy is he in hevene that makethe hisfeste. 
 
I HI 
 
GETTY CENTER LIBRARY 
 
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