The Danse Macabre of Women : Ms. Fr. 995 of the Bibliothèque Nationale

The Kent State University Press, Kent, first edition, 1994. Cloth, 8vo, 26 cm,. x, 162, [1] pp, numerous ills (some colour). From the blurb - "The Danse Macabre of Women is a 15th century French poem found in a lavishly illuminated late medieval manuscript. The only Dance of Death devoted entirely to women, it was written by an anonymous author and subsequently expanded by several poet/editors In this version, one of the later productions, 36 women are called in the midst of their bustling daily lives to join the eternal Dance of Death. Young and old. rich and poor, widow, matron, and child - each is the focus of two short poems written in the form of a dialogue (Death calls and the victim replies) and accompanied by an illumination (or a miniature). ..The book contains reproductions of each manuscript folio, five in full color, a transliteration and translation into English of the text (on facing pages), and explanatory chapters by Ann Tukey Harrison and by art historian Sandra L Hindman. Readers interested in art, art history, women's studies, literature, culture, and paleography as an artistic form will find this volume essential." Contents include: Ch. 1. The Text. The Manuscripts and the Printed Editions. The Theme and Its Public; Ch. 2. The Illustrations, by Sandra L. Hindman. Text and Illustration in the Printed Men's and Women's Danses Macabres. Relationship between the Illuminated Manuscript and the Printed Versions. Socio-historical Context of the Manuscript Version; The Manuscript; Appendix A: Variorum; Appendix B: Description of B.N.fr. 995 and Its Provenance; Appendix C: Catalogue Description of Other Manuscripts Very Good in a used and creased dustwrapper.