2 In que is being taken with festa here, according to Lambert.↩back to note source

1–2 Nec pictura decus . . . ducere festa monet. This and several other manuscripts open with this line in Latin that draws attention to the idea of a painting representing dancing, which speaks to the “imagetext” quality of the Danse painted at the Holy Innocents; compare lines 519–20.↩back to note source

14 Mort n’espargne petit ne grant. Proverbial. See Hassell M200.↩back to note source

17 Cilz est eureux qui bien s’i mire. Pursuant to the complex semantic field of “mirouer” (see Explanatory Note to Lydgate, A version, line 49 above), “bien s’i mire” evokes both the literal sense of seeing one’s reflection as well as the more figurative notions of contemplating and meditating on that reflection and the curative sense of taking care of oneself.↩back to note source

22 Tout est forgié d’une matiere. Proverbial. See Hassell M98.↩back to note source

70 Toute joye fine en tristesse. Proverbial. See Hassell J23.↩back to note source

78 Le plus riche n’a q’un linseul. Proverbial. See Hassell L59.↩back to note source

80 sauvage. The poet’s choice of this term in the context of a terrifying dance, as spoken by the character of the king, would surely have reminded contemporary readers of the devastating “Bal des ardents” (The Dance of the Burning Men), also known as the “Bal des sauvages” (The Dance of the Wild Men) of 1393. At the dance, King Charles VI, who had suffered his first attack of madness the year before, disguised himself and several other courtiers as shaggy wildmen, or creatures of the forest, for the purposes of a masque. Although attendees were warned to keep candles away from the highly flammable costumes, fire broke out, and multiple courtiers died, while the king himself barely escaped a similar fate. Some contemporary chroniclers suspected an assassination attempt by Louis of Orléans, the king’s brother. These suspicions fueled political opposition to Louis that resulted eventually in his assassination in 1407 and the outbreak of the ArmagnacBurgundian Civil War. See further Veenstra, Magic and Divination, pp. 89–95. Lydgate reproduces the term “savage” in his translation at line 114 of the A version, though it is not clear if he is picking up on this reference or simply using a cognate.↩back to note source

86 A la fin fault devenir cendre. Proverbial. See Hassell C19.↩back to note source

94 Fole esperance deçoit l’omme. Proverbial. See Hassell E76.↩back to note source

118 Contre la mort n’a nul respit. Proverbial. See Hassell M193. See also lines 366, 375–76, and 393.↩back to note source

142 Ce que l’un fait, l’autre despiece. Proverbial. See Hassell F6.↩back to note source

150 Dessoubz le ciel n’a riens estable. Proverbial. See Hassell R39.↩back to note source

151–53 pic . . . pic. The author is punning here on two meanings for the word “pic”: pickaxe as well as an idiomatic expression derived from jeu de piquet, a type of card game, in which “pic” refers to a situation where one player dominates the game so thoroughly that his opponent cannot even score a single point. This expression also occurs as a metaphor for death contemporaneously in the lyric Mourir me voy by Reginaldus Libert (fl. c. 1425–35) and in an untitled lyric found in the Bayeux manuscript (Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, fr. 9346), a collection dating to c. 1500. See further, Oxford Music Online, “Libert, Reginaldus” and Gérold, Manuscrit de Bayeux, p. 44 (Chanson XXXIX).↩back to note source

155 Vostre fait gist en aventure. Aventure is a semantically laden word in French, similar to the association of the Middle English aventure with the ideas of chance and risk as well as ‘adventurous journey’ (compare “Aventures” in “The Three Messengers of Death” [DIMEV 5387], lines 13, 44, 47, 61, and 99). We have selected a looser translation to get at this sense of the exciting, unexpected, and potentially dangerous.↩back to note source

174 Il n’est qui puisse mort fuir. Proverbial. See Hassell M195.↩back to note source

190 Le plus gras est premier pourry. Proverbial. See Hassell G52.↩back to note source

214 Contre la mort n’a point d’appel. Proverbial. See Hassell M191.↩back to note source

230 Qui vouldra bien morir bien vive. Proverbial. See Hassell M231.↩back to note source

238 On ne scet pour qui on amasse. Proverbial. See Hassell A86.↩back to note source

247 chanoine prebendez. See note to Lydgate’s Dance of Death A version, line 313.↩back to note source

254 La mort vient qu’on ne garde l’eure. Proverbial. See Hassell M201.↩back to note source

262 A bien morir doit chascun tendre. Proverbial. See Hassell M224.↩back to note source

270 Tel convoite qui a assez. Proverbial. See Hassell C291.↩back to note source

278 Qui trop embrasse peu estraint. Proverbial. See Hassell E23.↩back to note source

298 appellez. From appeller, to shout and, figuratively, to lodge an appeal; both would be fitting actions for an officer of the law who was in the process of being violently attacked.↩back to note source

310 Envis meurt qui aprins ne l’a. Literally, “he is loath to die who has not learned it,” wherein the referent to “it” is not fully clear. We have taken this as referring to the whole idea of the ars moriendi, or learning to die.↩back to note source

318 Vie d’omme est peu de chose. Proverbial. See Hassell V97.↩back to note source

327 sens desreuglé. This phrase has a dual sense of both a troubled mind (as in, troubled by fear) but also in the sense of mental breakdown or disorder. In this way, the poet seems to be suggesting that usury is such an unnatural way of making a living that it will literally drive its practitioner mad.↩back to note source

334 A tout perdre est cop perilleux. This elliptic phrase appears to be a French proverb derived from gambling. An eighteenthcentury proverb dictionary explains as follows: “A tout perdre il n’y a qu’un coup perilleux: se dit, lorsque’en risquant tout, on se resout à tout ce qui peut arriver” (It takes but one dangerous play to lose everything: this is said when, in risking everything, one resigns oneself to anything that may happen); see Dictionnaire des proverbes françois, ed. Backer, perdre. The general sense seems to concern the precariousness of one’s fortunes in games of chance; we have therefore chosen a slightly looser translation to get at the full dimensions of the proverb. Lydgate, it should be noted, opts for a more literal rendition: “O perillous strook shal make thee lese al” in line 400 of the A version.↩back to note source

342 Tel a beaux eulx qui n’y voit goute. Proverbial. See Hassell Y4.↩back to note source

350 N’est pas quitte qui doit de reste. Proverbial. See Hassell Q12.↩back to note source

358 Bon mire est qui se scet guerir. Proverbial. See Hassell M154.↩back to note source

374 Beauté n’est qu’ymage fardé. Proverbial. See Hassell B35.↩back to note source

382 Petite pluye abat grant vent. According to the DMF, pluie (n.), this phrase is proverbial: “Idée de changement rapide (en partic. entre joie et tristesse, entre vantardise et abattement . . .). ‘Il faut peu de chose pour que tout change, pour que l’effet soit important.’” (The notion of swift change (esp. between joy and grief, between boastfulness and comeuppance . . .). ‘It takes just a little bit to change everything, to have an enormous effect.’) See also Hassell P201. Lydgate opts for a similar rendition, writing, “And windes grete gon doun with litil reyn” in line 448 of the A version.↩back to note source

383 sans long proces. This is an expression literally meaning with no delay but clearly playing on “proces” in the sense of trial or juridical proceeding, which befits Death’s addressee in this stanza. We have chosen to translate this as “deliberation” to evoke the idea of delay within a legal context. Lydgate also picks up on this pun, rendering the phrase with a neat “short processe for to make” in line 465 of the A version.↩back to note source

390 Bon fait justice prevenir. Proverbial. See Hassell J53.↩back to note source

398 Dieu rendra tout a juste pris. Proverbial. See Hassell D82.↩back to note source

406 Maistre doit monstrer sa science. Proverbial. See Hassell M28.↩back to note source

410 J’ay mis soubz le banc ma vielle. An idiomatic expression that literally means, “I have placed my viol under the bench” this phrase figuratively denotes the idea of fully and with finality abandoning a project or activity. Hence, we have translated the phrase a bit loosely, to get at both senses implied.↩back to note source

411 sauterelle. The sauterelle is an animated dance characterized by high leaps and skips. See Taylor, “Que signifiait ‘danse,’” pp. 265–67 on the particular association in medieval iconography of the danse macabre with fast dancing, featuring high leaps, characteristic of contemporary representations of folk dancing. Compare also the king’s laments concerning the “savage” nature of the dance in the Danse macabre, line 80, as well as in Lydgate’s Dance (A version, line 114, and B version, line 106).↩back to note source

430 Qui dieu quitte bien est eureux. Proverbial. See Hassell D94.↩back to note source

438 Fol est qui cuide tousjours vivre. Proverbial. See Hassell C352.↩back to note source

446 Au monde n’a point de reppos. Proverbial. See Hassell R29.↩back to note source

454 A toute heure la mort est preste. Proverbial. See Hassell M186.↩back to note source

461 En petite heure dieu labeure. Proverbial. See Hassell D87.↩back to note source

478 meurt joune que vieulx. Proverbial. See Hassell M226.↩back to note source

486 Dieu punist tout quant bon luy semble. Proverbial. See Hassell D81.↩back to note source

494 Moult remaint de ce que fol pense. Literally, “much remains of what a fool thinks,” which we have chosen to clarify with the addition of “unrealized.” Lydgate seems to have understood the phrase similarly in his translation: “For moche faileth of thing that foles thinke” in line 608 of the A version.↩back to note source

502 Vie n’est pas seur heritaige. Proverbial. See Hassell V98.↩back to note source

517 livre. I.e., the Bible.↩back to note source

519–20 Vous qui . . . danser estas divers. The text’s injunction to look upon the accompanying “pourtraitture” reminds us that the Danse was apprehended by many contemporaries, Lydgate included, as a visual image as well as text; compare Danse macabre, line 1. Lydgate also has his king speak to readers “that lokyn upon this portrature” in line 633 of the A version. In the B version, however, he replaces the word with “scripture” (line 561), a curious change given that it is the B version that seems to have been painted at St Paul’s Cathedral (see Introduction, pp. 17–18).↩back to note source

522 est . . . viande a vers. Proverbial. See Hassell V86.↩back to note source

535–37 Mais aucuns sont . . . ilz auront chault. The French text is punning here on “n’en chault” (do not care) in line 535 and “auront chault” (will be warm, i.e., in the fires of hell) in line 537. Since English does not allow for the same pun, we have chosen instead to use the phrase “warm welcome” to lend the passage a similarly satirical tone.↩back to note source

542 Bien fait vault moult aux trespassez. Proverbial. See Hassell B97.↩back to note source

548 plangere. Stronger than merely lamenting or bewailing, this word can refer to beating or striking the body or chest, according to Lambert.↩back to note source

552 herebi. According to Lambert, this refers to classical Erebus and the realm of the Erinnyes (the Furies), from Greek ‘Έρεβoς’ the lower world or god of darkness.↩back to note source

pagina sacra. This refers to the text of Scripture, i.e., Christian teaching/doctrine, according to Lambert.↩back to note source