Art of Dying, the (Ars Moriendi)

Ars moriendi, literally “art of dying,” refers to a genre of Christian devotional literature that enjoyed widespread popularity across Europe from the 15th to the 18th centuries. These works had a fundamentally practical orientation, aiming to advise the dying regarding how they might avoid despair at the end of life and thereby avoid the damnation believed to await those who faltered in faith. Over time the genre expanded its focus beyond the deathbed by describing also how one's manner of dying was often decisively affected by the habits of living developed over one's lifetime. Scholars of religion study the ars moriendi tradition because it is one of the great genres of Christian devotional literature, but these writings appeal to a broader audience because they offer glimpses of what the experience of dying was like in Renaissance Europe. The ars moriendi reveal what Europeans from this era saw to be the central existential challenges of dying, and provide detailed accounts of their strategies for meeting those challenges.

Origins of the Tradition

The roots of the ars moriendi tradition can be traced to two anonymously written works: the Tractatus artis bene moriendi and a shorter, later work known simply as theArs Moriendi, which combined an abridged version of the Tractatus with a series of woodcut illustrations depicting the struggles of the dying against various temptations. Both works enjoyed enormous popularity during the 15th and early 16th centuries. The Tractatus was written circa 1415 and later translated into every European language. The influence of these works extended far beyond their direct readership because many preachers drew heavily upon them when offering sermons on preparing for death. For example, Girolamo Savonarola preached Predica dell'arte del ben morire to large crowds in 1496. It was later published and circulated among clergy who put it to further use in their own preaching.

Historical Context

The popularity of the ars moriendi can be explained in part by the fact that interest in death was already very high before these works were published. Plague, warfare, and food insecurity had long made clear the constant proximity of death, and reflections on the power of death were common in popular religious practice. It was typical at this time for preachers to exploit their listeners' fear of death in order to move them toward religious conversion. The Danse Macabre, in which a personification of death (usually a cadaver) led people of all classes as captives, was a popular example of the times' fascination with death.

Tone, Structure, and Content

In contrast to the often graphic, macabre treatments of death that predominated at the time, the Tractatus strikes a consolatory tone. It does not represent death as something natural or unequivocally good, but its focus is not on death's horrors. Instead, the Tractatus portrays dying as a final, challenging task that one can do well or poorly. The deathbed provides the setting for a battle between God and Satan for possession of one's soul. The block prints of the shorter Ars Moriendi depict this battle vividly. In an emblematic illustration, a man lies upon his deathbed, surrounded by angels and friends on one side and demonic creatures on the other. Thus the dominant image of dying in the Ars Moriendi is that of monumental struggle, but a struggle against spiritual and moral weakness rather than against disease or death itself.

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