La Danse aux Aveugles

Overview and Issues

Nicholas and Gelis meet in the Gruuthuse library. Gelis has taken a book from the shelf called 'La Danse aux Aveugles'. The author enlightens the reader on what this book is about.

• WG130

Abstract

The title translates as 'Dance of the Blind Men', a 15th-century poem by Pierre Michault. The author tracked down a facsimile of a 1483 Netherlandish translation of the poem (with woodcuts) however it was in medieval German. She was able to translate much of the Preface. The subject matter of Danse reflects the prominence of Death as a medieval theme. It concerns the three fatal powers over life, represented as the love-dance, the fortune-dance and the death-dance, which no one can escape. The author is convinced that Dorothy Dunnett did not choose this library book by chance: "...What a wonderful metaphor this blind dance is for House in general; the life of Nicholas is that of a man caught in the toils of sexual desire, fascinated by trade and politics and influenced by significant deaths, particularly that of his mother. 'La Danse aux Aveugles' appears at a moment that can be regarded as the pivotal point of the whole series – exactly centrally placed in the eight books."

The author applauds Dorothy Dunnett's bravery in creating "a protagonist who falls so far below even the average man, and in that most vital of all mental attributes, moral intelligence."

Author

• Diana Crane

Dunnett Book Citations

• SOG. 39
• CM.4.1
• Gemini
• C&R.7

Historical People

• Pierre Michault
• Michault Taillevant
• Count of Charolais
• Cato
• Cicero
• Ovid
• Valerius Maximus
• Petrarch
• Boccaccio

Fictional Characters

• Nicholas
• Gelis

Locations

• France
• Rome

Literature

• (none)

Illustrations

• Illustration for Michault’s poem, The Dance of the Blind (La danse des trois aveugles). Blind Love, Blind Fortune and Blind Death rule over mankind. Cupid is shown with Venus, Foolish Appetites and Frivolity; Dame Fortune with Good Luck and Bad Luck; Death with Sickness, Age and Accident. Late 15th century. Source: Bibliothèque nationale de France.

Historical Events

• (none)

Other References

• Doctrinale du Temps Present
• Proces d’Honneur
• Le Livre du Couer d’ Amour Épris by René d’ Anjou

Quotes from Dunnett

• ‘She had pulled out a book, and was gazing at it’ ... ‘Her knuckles were white on the book. He drew the book from her’ .. “I had teachers,” he said, “and books like these”’ and – as the discussion reaches its most critical point – ‘He looked at the book. 'La Danse aux Aveugles' was the title. It was only a title ...’ SoG.39

• ‘In Paradise, for hunger still I starve; And in the flood, for thirst to death I dry’.(Wyatt) CM.4.1

• ‘No normal man would bring down a nation for the sake of a petty vendetta, however deep the injustice’ (C&R.Ch 7).