Dance of Death
Preserved but no longer current.
An allegorical representa- tion of Death leading all sorts and conditions of men in a dance to the grave, originating in Germany in the 14th century as a kind of morality play, quickly becoming popular m France and England, and surviving later principally by means of pictorial art. There is a series of woodcuts, said to be by Hans Holbein (1538), representing Death dancing after all sorts of persons, beginning with Adam and Eve.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “Dance of Death” mean?
An allegorical representa- tion of Death leading all sorts and conditions of men in a dance to the grave, originating in Germany in the 14th century as a kind of morality play, quickly becoming popular m France and England, and surviving later principally by means of pictorial art. There is a series of woodcuts, said to be by Hans Holbein (1538), representing Death dancing after all sorts of persons, beginning with Adam and Eve.
Is “Dance of Death” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.