The Seventh Seal: Disease, Religion, and Fear

Ingmar Bergman's The Seventh Seal is regarded as one of the most iconic movies of all time. Released in 1957, it is filmed in black-and-white and follows the story of Antonius Block, a Swedish Crusader who returns to Europe in the throes of the Great Plague. Death follows him - quite literally - and to keep his life, Block must win a chess match against him.

The Crusades ended decades before the plague hit Europe in 1347, concluding in the eleventh century. Block's role as a crusading knight ties together two well-known themes of the medieval period, providing an easily understandable storytelling method if one that is not entirely accurate.

Toward the beginning, two people have a conversation in a church. One is painting the walls and the other a commission of Block's squire, Jons. The artists talk about the wall painting and the effects of the plague on society. It is clear that the disease is causing shockwaves, and the artist reveals that he is painting the danse macabre, which becomes a crucial element as the story progresses.

All in all, the movie showed very little of the plague itself. Toward the end of the film, a plague victim stumbles toward the group, begging for water. Jons stops the mute girl from giving him any from their canteen, telling her again and again that "it's useless." The victim dies a few moments later, but not before screaming at them, "do I not deserve compassion?" This scene shows the plague as vicious, striking quickly and killing fast. Bennett quotes a chronicle from Siena as "father abandoned child; wife, husband... no one could be found to bury the dead for money or friendship." Bergman captures the terror of the plague much in the way that those who lived through it did.

Perhaps one of the most striking scenes is that of the flagellants and monks holding a procession through the town after a performance by the characters of the fools. Although flagellants existed as a response to the Black Death, they were frowned upon by most of society and were not condoned by the rest of the church. It was more common for the church to host processions of their officials and encourage citizens to pray and attend services more frequently. A priest delivers a message that frightens the crowd as well: they are all destined to die for the sins that brought about the plague. Belief that the disease was divine punishment from God was very real among common people and chroniclers alike.

The movie concludes with Death leading the characters in the danse macabre across the open hills as the fool and his family escape. Characters at the beginning painted the same scene on the walls of a castle, leaving the scene with the dual purpose of bringing the story full-circle and alluding to the infamous artistic motif of the late Middle Ages. The dance is part of memento mori; the mindset that everyone dies in the end. People in the Middle Ages were frightened of death but found solace in that they would be reunited with God once they passed. The characters themselves represent various figures in the danse - the fool, the knight, the maid, etc. In the end, Block was foolish to try and outsmart Death.

Much like the Middle Ages, the 1950s were a time of turmoil. Bergman created Seal barely a decade past the end of World War II when the world grappled with the effects and recovery. Block's monologues on his doubts about religion and his desperation to believe in God for fear of what will happen to him if he does not reflect less of the thirteenth century's memento mori and more of contemporary confliction in a war-torn era.

If you have spare time, I highly recommend The Seventh Seal. It holds fairly close to medieval customs and ideas about the Black Death and guards its title as a classic jealously. If you're less keen on the historical aspects, Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey delivers even more board games with Death (and fewer Swedish subtitles).

Works Cited

Bennett, Judith. Medieval Europe. New York, 2011.

Aberth, John. From the Brink of the Apocalypse. Routledge, 2001.