Once called Reval, Tallinn is now the capital of Estonia. There, in the St Nicolas' Church, lovers of the arts can admire a dance of death by Bernt Notke, who also executed a similar one in LŸbeck. Tallinn's canvas goes back to the last quarter of the 15th century. The dance begins with a preacher standing on a pulpit. At his side, a dead one sitting on a big stone plays the bagpipe. Carrying a coffin, another corpse leads the pope to his own death. Then come the emperor, the empress, the cardinal and the king (in the same order as in LŸbeck's dance of death). The last figure, a dead one, stands alone. The living one he was once paired up with has disappeared, as well as other scenes of the original dance of death. All of the following information was obtained very generously through Patrick Pollefeys website on the Dance of Death. Please click the link and let him know that we appreciate it.
