an energetic leaping dance of French peasant origin. In
Spain there was a particularly wide range of regional folk
styles, and these greatly influenced the formal and theatri-
cal styles that developed during the SIGLO DE ORO. An-
other important influence on Spanish styles was the
indigenous dances of the New World; the fandango, for
example, is thought to be of Afro-Cuban origin, while the
sarabande and the chaconne may also have Central Amer-
ican roots. Whether courtly styles had a comparable influ-
ence on popular forms is hard to say; to judge by the
visual evidence, the peasant dances depicted by BRUEGHEL
in the mid-16th century appear little changed from those
in the manuscript illuminations of the late Middle Ages.
Further reading: Jack Anderson, Ballet and Modern
Dance: A Concise History (Chicago, Ill.: Independent Pub-
lishers Group, 2nd ed. 1992); Susan Au, Ballet and Modern
Dance (London: Thames & Hudson, 2nd ed. 2002); Joan
Cass, Dancing Through History (Memlo Park, Calif.: Ben-
jamin/Cummings, 1993); Curt Sachs, A World History of
Dance (New York: W. W. Norton, 1963).
dance of Death (French danse macabre, German Toten-
tanz) A pictorial and literary theme originating in the late
Middle Ages, in which Death, usually in the form of a
skeletal musician, leads away representatives of every
class of society, from pope to beggar, from emperor to
peasant. The dance of Death appeared first in the form of
murals in churches, the earliest being recorded in Paris,
dating from the mid-1420s (now destroyed). Other early
examples of dance of Death murals were to be found else-
where in France, in England, Switzerland, Germany, and
Italy. It was also treated in other media—stained glass, ta-
pestry, embroidery, and sculpture.
The first printed edition of a dance of Death cycle
combining verses and woodcuts issued from the Parisian
press ofGuyot Marchant in 1485. Prior to that, manuscript
versions of the dance of Death texts had appeared in both
Spain (Dança general de la muerte, c. 1400) and Germany
(the Lübeck Totentanz, 1463). The most famous treatment
of the theme was by Hans HOLBEIN THE YOUNGERin a se-
ries of 50 woodcuts designed about 1523/24 and printed
at Lyons in 1538.
d’Anghiera, Pietro Martire See PETER MARTYR
(d’Anghiera)
Daniel, Samuel (1562–1619) English poet
Daniel was probably born near Taunton, went to Oxford
in 1579, and then may have visited Italy. In the 1590s
Mary HERBERT, Countess of Pembroke appointed him as
tutor to her son William, and from this congenial literary
milieu he published his first poems, the sonnet sequence
Delia and the Complaynt of Rosamond (both 1592). His
Senecan tragedy Cleopatra was published in 1594. The
first edition of his major work, a long poem in eight-line
stanzas on the Civil Wars (i.e. the Wars of the Roses), ap-
peared in 1595; a considerably revised and enlarged ver-
sion came out in 1609, showing Daniel’s subtle and
thoughtful approach to political philosophy. His Defence of
Rhyme (1602) is a refutation of Thomas Campion’s tract
on the unsuitability of rhyme in English verse. He wrote a
number of court masques and was eventually put in
charge of a troupe of boy actors, the Children of the
Queen’s Revels (1615–18). He was a friend and brother-in-
law of John FLORIO.Daniele (Ricciarelli) da Volterra (1509–1566) Italian
painter and sculptor
Trained under Sodoma, Daniele is best known as a close
associate of MICHELANGELO. After moving to Rome in
about 1541, he executed several notable frescoes, the most
celebrated being the Deposition (1541) in the Orsini
chapel in Sta. Trinita dei Monti, in which his skill as a
draftsman is evident. Daniele is, however, usually remem-
bered as the artist who was commissioned to paint loin-
cloths on the nude figures in Michelangelo’s Last Judgment
in the Sistine Chapel—for which he acquired the nick-
name “Il Braghettone” (the breeches maker). He also pro-
duced a bronze portrait bust (c. 1564; Bargello, Florence,
and Louvre, Paris) of Michelangelo and was present at the
latter’s deathbed.danse macabre See DANCE OF DEATHDante Alighieri (1265–1321) Italian poet
Alighiero d’Alighiero, Dante’s father, was a Florentine
Guelph belonging to the lower nobility. His mother died
while he was a child; his father remarried and had nine
children by his second wife. Dante received a sound edu-
cation though little is known of it in detail; he studied
rhetoric under Brunetto Latini and in his youthful verse
came under the influence of CAVALCANTI. His marriage, to
Gemma di Manetto Donati, was arranged, taking place
soon after his father’s death in 1283; there were two sons
(Pietro and Jacopo) and perhaps daughters by the mar-
riage.
Dante fought in the battle of Campaldino (1289) and
for several years took part in public life. He was one of the
six priors (chief officials of the council) of Florence in
1300 when strife between the Black and White factions of
the Guelph party led to the exile of Cavalcanti, among
others. The following year Dante, who opposed papal
policies, was taking part in a delegation to Boniface VIII
when the Blacks seized control of Florence and con-
demned him to exile. The possibility of returning only
arose when Emperor Henry VII, whom Dante supported,
entered Italy in 1310, but the failure of the emperor’s
cause and his unexpected death (1313) put an end to
Dante’s hopes. The long period of exile was spent in ap-
parently extensive wanderings, during which Dante foundDDaannttee AAlliigghhiieerrii 1 13333