Documenti di Didattica
Documenti di Professioni
Documenti di Cultura
2 Martínez Gil (1993) Muerte y sociedad en la España de los Austrias: pp. 32-34.
13), la palabra suicide no aparece hasta 1734 en una obra del abate Prevost. En la
edad media se usaban palabras para designar suicidio como etre homicide de soi
même, considerado como un vicio y dudoso de la misericordia divina.
4 Aunque podría convertirse en buena muerte ya que al tener conocimiento de la
pp 52-54.
6 O'Connor, Mary Catherine (1971) The Art of Dying Well : The development of
7 The Arte & Crafte to Know Well to Dye de William Caxton (1490): The
temptacyons that the person hath at thoure of the deth. The English ars moriendi Vol.
5 de Atkinson (1995) : pp. 21-35
humble. And also the pyte and mercy of God is moche more
than ony iniquyte or wyckednes, and therfore the synne and
cryme of desperacyon is to hym that onely by whiche he
maye not be saued ne quaryssed, for by this synne God,
whiche is ryghte pyteous, is ouer moche offendyd, and the
other synnes be so moche the more agreued, and also the
payne eternalle is of so moche more augmentyd vnto the
infenyte. The euylles and synnes commysed and passed greue
not so moche. But dispayre dyspleaseth more. And therfore
none oughte to dyspayre of the mercy of God, thouth that he
onely had commysed all the synnes of the world, yet thaugh
he suppose to be of the nombre of that be dampned. In
trouth, the dysposicyon of the body of our Lord Jhesu Criste,
hangyng in the crosse, ought moche enduce a seke persone
paynyng to the deth to haue veray hope & confy-dence in
God, for he hath the hede inclyned and bowed to kysse vs,
the armes stratched a brode for tenbrace vs, the handes
perced & opened for to gyue to vs, the syde open for to loue
vs, and all his body strached for to gyue hym selfe all to vs.
Hope thennne is a vertue moche lowable and of grete meryte
to fere God.
To this purpose comen many examples, as of Seynt Peter,
whiche renyed and forsoke Jhesu Chryste, of Seynt Poule,
which persecuted holy chyrche, of Seynt Mathew & of
Zacheus, whiche were publycans, of Mary Magdalene the
synner, of woman that was taken in aduoultrye, of the theef
that henge on the ryghte syde of Jhesu Cryste, of Saynt
Marye Egypcyen, and of many moo other whyche were grete
synners & horryble, whiche alway sette alle theyr loue in
God, and were saued.
The thryde temptacyon that the deuyl maketh to theym
that deye is by impacyence, that is ayenste charyte, for by
charyte we ben holden to loue God a bouve all thynges. Now
is it thus that to them that deye cometh ryght gret sorowe &
payne of hert & of body, be it that the deth come naturelly,
or that it come ony other euyll accydent, for by payne &
sorowe many ther be that ben impacyent & grutchynge, and
deyen in suche wyse as they semen madde or oute of theyr
wytte as it appereth ofte. Wherfor it is certayne that suche
peple ben out of very loue & charyte, & that they loue not
God suffysauntly, and therfore it is necessary to eueri man
that wyll deye that in what seknes, be it short or long, that he
murmure ne grutche not, but suffre it paciently, for we fuffre
by good ryght all theuylles that comen to vs, & yet be not the
passyons of this world, condynge ne worthy to the glorye to
come. This is, then, a thyng moche iniuste yf the iuste pa-
ssyon we murmure or grudche, for lyke as the soule is
possessyd in pacyence, and by murmure the soule is loste
and dampned, oughte not then our Lord thus entre in to his
glorye. And knowe ye that the infyrmyte to fore the deth is
lyke as a purgatore, soo that it be suffred lyke as it aper-
teyneth, that is to saye, pacyently, gladly, & agreably. And it
cometh by deyne dyspensacion that to the lengest vyce &
synne is gyuen the lengest maladye. And that God mercyfully
sendeth temporell taryenge to thende that he goo not to
eternalle payne, it appyereth, then, that all maladyes & seke-
ness of the body, what so euer they be, oughten by reason to
be suffred wythoute grutchynge, for he that well loueth to
hym is no thynge impossyble.
The fourth temptacyon of theym that deye is the compla-
cence or plasyr of theym selfe, and that is a spyrituell pryde,
by the whiche the deuylle assaylleth most theym that be
deuoute. And it happeth whant the deuyll hath not mowe, ne
can not induce the man to goo oute of the fayth, ne to make
hym fall in to desperacyon or into impacyence, that then he
assaulteth hym by complacence or plaisyr of hym self, to
hym presentyng in his hert suche thoughtes. O how thou art
ferme and stedfaste in the fayth. O how thou arte sure in
hope. O how thou art stronge and pacyent.O how thou haste
doon many good dedes, or suche thynges semblable for to
put hym in vayn glorye, but ayenst thys late none gyue to
hymselfe no maner praysing, ne auaunte hym, no none
glorifye hymselfe of his good dede, ne presume nothynge of
hym selfe, ne not attrybute hym selfe to doo nothynge well,
or this complacence is vayne glorye, and it may be so grete
that by it a man myght be dampned. A man nye his dethe
ought to be well aduysed, whan by suche pryde he fele hym
selfe tempted, that then he humble & meke hym selfe so
La Danza de la Muerte en la iglesia del cementerio gótico de Santa Maria del Lastre
en Beram, Croacia (siglo XV) (foto realizada por la autora).
Mortality, Judgement and Remembrance: pp. 104-105, London, Thames and Hudson ;
Mitre Fernández, Emilio (1988) La muerte vencida; Imágenes e historia en el
Occidente Medieval (1200-1348), p.18.
11 En los frescos de la trinidad realizados por Massaccio en Santa Maria Novella
(Florencia) se puede observar un esqueleto con la inscripción "Io fu ga quel che voi
siete e quel che son voi aco sarete". Esta inscripción también se puede encontrar en la
tumba del Príncipe Negro en Canterbury (Boas 1972: 109).
Küster: Ach, guter Tod, gib mir doch nach ein Jahr Frist,
denn mit meinem Leben bich ich noch nicht im Reinen
Hätte ich wohl viel Gutes getan,
so könnte ich nun fröhlich mit Dir gehen.
Oh weh, ich sollte jetz nich mehr länger bitten,
das Leiden Jesu möge mich nun erlösen.
Custodio: [Ah, Buena muerte, dé un año, ya que aun no he
purificado mi vida. Podré hacer mucho bien y partiré luego feliz con
usted. No debo prolongar mi tiempo, le ruego, mi sufrimiento, que
Jesus solo desea que yo me salve.]
12 Bloch, Maurice (1971) Placing the Dead. Tombs, Ancestral Villages, and
Kingship Organization in Madagascar : p. 45, London, Seminar Press.
13 Boüard y Riu (1977) Manual de arqueología medieval : p. 457, Barcelona.
Teide.
14 Ariès, Philippe (1992) El hombre ante la muerte : pp. 203-205, Madrid, Taurus.
17 Tenenti, Alberto (1989) Il senso della morte el’amore della vita nel
Rinascimento, p. 67 Turín. Ed. Giulio Einardi,
18 Ariès, Philippe (1992), pp. 92-96