 In 1516, he entered mercenary service as the secretary of Albrecht von Stein, participating in the French campaign in the War of the League of Cambrai.His famous "danse macabre" on the wall of the Dominican Abbey in Berne was begun in 1516 or 1517; this work was destroyed in 1660, but a 1649 copy by Albrecht Kauw is extant.Niklaus Manuel's latest signed works date from around 1520, after which time he dedicated himself to literary production.