I was looking for inspiration for a dagger&sword project for next year, and during my web crawl I found this image. And I was immediately reminded of Caine and the “Dance with Death”series she posted this year. I think she would love it.
I would like to provide you with the translation of the german text, but I cannot read the font no matter what so I cannot even reliably transcribe the original – I understand about a half. On top of it I suspect it is poetry and that gives me trouble even in my native language, let alone in archaic German.
Strauch, Wolfgang: Landsknecht und Tod
Source -click-
Here’s my attempt at a transliteration:
O grim death, what are you doing here?
I would never have believed in you
Until I see your gruesome fact
(???)
Much great need have I stood
In German and in foreign lands
Now I must suffer the pain of death
O God, have mercy upon me.
Death:
Though you are bold, strong and large (?)
Many a man has suffered your force
Yes, you must also suffer my arrow.
Your battle sword will not turn it away
Against me no defense will help
I collect (?) the General along with his army.
Henceforth you will no longer live
You must give answer to the Judge.
Some corrections:
I suspect that “Hang alle sorcht hab ich vernicht” is something like “Dann alle sorche [sorge] hab ich vernicht [vernichtet? fuer nicht?]”
Trans: then all my cares are for nothing
Also, “gruesome fact” should be “gruesome face”
Yes, Caine would have loved that. I immediately thought of her too.
What are those things hanging from the buttocks of death? Icicles? Stalactites? Hanging bits of rotting flesh?
Thanks, Charly. That made me smile.
I couldn’t work out what the hanging things were for sure either. I wondered if they were rags of clothing, but they seem too sharp for that, and there is no other evidence of clothing. Well other than the customary scarf protecting Death’s modesty even when he’s not facing us. But this Death does have hair, so I think bits of rotting flesh are a distinct possibility.
I think those are supposed to be pieces of rotting flesh. I was wondering whether the artist decided to depict Death with glutei maximi because because he did not in fact know how to draw a pelvis. Because this picture was made before anatomy atlasses were widely available and before dissections were a common practice. Note that the artist depicted two bones in both thihgs and upper arms, which was a lot of fidly work for something that is anatomically wrong, and both scapulae lack ridges(spines),
@ Allison, thank you for the transcriptions and translation.
It’s hard to wipe your bum properly when there’s no real bum to wipe, though poor Death should have learned by now.
Thanks for the translation, Allison, and yes, this fits with Caine’s series very well!
Allison @1: Is “welschen” an older German word for “foreign”? It’s almost certainly cognate with “Welsh”, but I thought that referred specifically to Celts. Thanks for the translation.
Welsch is a old german term for the swiss/italian area. It transformed to “foreign”, as Rob correctly stated. I guess it relates to the swiss word walis.
Great job, Allison@1:
I have spotted a few things and have an idea for the 4th line.
Bis das ich sieh dein greulich gesicht
Hang alle sorcht hab ich vernicht
Maniche grosse not hab ich verstanden
Until I see your gruesome face
I have destroyed (avoided?) all sorrow (concern?)
Much great hardship (misery, peril) have I stood (but maybe that also means “brought”, as bringing misery is what soldiers do)
Ich erlech den Haumptman sambt dem Her
Lit: “I hunt down the captain with the army” Alternative: cull or slay