Ars moriendi, Latin for the art of dying, is a genre of two related texts dating from about 1415 and 1450 that offer advice on the protocols and procedures of a good Christian death, written within the historical context of the macabre horrors of the Black Death some sixty years earlier. The genre established itself as the first in a Western literary tradition of guides to death and dying, and became remarkably influential, with roughly fifty thousand copies printed before 1501 and numerous further editions following; its popularity inspired a broader tradition of death literature that persisted through subsequent centuries in both Protestant and Catholic contexts.
Facts
Place of OriginSouthern Germany, in the wake of the Black Death 1 Notable ExampleThe Book of the Craft of Dying, the English-tradition work descended from Ars moriendi, alongside The Way of Dying Well and The Sick Mannes Salve. 1 Defining TraitA six-chapter manual built around five deathbed temptations, lack of faith, despair, impatience, spiritual pride and avarice, and their remedies. 1 Sources
1. Ars moriendi (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia Foundation (Wikipedia)lead paragraph, place of composition
The earliest versions were most likely composed in southern Germany.
Long version section, second-chapter description
The second chapter outlines the five temptations that beset a dying man, and how to avoid them. These are lack of faith, despair, impatience, spiritual pride and avarice.
Long version section, English-tradition paragraph
Works in the English tradition include The Way of Dying Well and The Sick Mannes Salve.
lead paragraph, printing figures
About 50,000 copies were printed in the incunabula period before 1501 and further editions were printed after 1501.
View the Source Frequently Asked Questions
What is the ars moriendi?
A genre of two related texts, from about 1415 and 1450, advising on how to die a good Christian death.
Ars moriendi, Latin for the art of dying, is a genre of two related texts dating from about 1415 and 1450 that offer advice on the protocols and procedures of a good Christian death, written within the historical context of the macabre horrors of the Black Death some sixty years earlier.
How influential was the ars moriendi?
Roughly fifty thousand copies were printed before 1501, and it inspired a broader tradition of death literature.
It established itself as the first in a Western literary tradition of guides to death and dying, and became remarkably influential, with roughly fifty thousand copies printed before 1501 and numerous further editions following. Its popularity inspired a broader tradition of death literature that persisted through subsequent centuries in both Protestant and Catholic contexts.
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