The
medieval Christian concept of Hell is often associated with images of demons,
Satan, fire and brimstone. Indeed, many of these images can be found in
manuscripts, frescos, and paintings from the Middle Ages. Examples of these
images appear in the works of Dante Alighieri, Giotto, Hieronymus Bosch, and
many others. In Dante, the entrance to Hell is marked by the ominous words “abandon
all hope, you who enter here.”[1] Giotto’s “The Last
Judgement” at Arena Chapel in Padua, is particularly impressive[2]. In the lower right hand corner
of the mural, Satan sits as the lord of the underworld, dealing in deathly
delight. The Christian afterlife consists of what Rudolf Bultmann describes as
the “three-story universe”, Heaven, Hell, and Purgatory[3]. For medieval Christians,
questions of eschatology, of death and the afterlife, matter. Indeed, many
medieval plays, such as the Last Judgement plays in England, and the Jour du
Jugement in France “suggest a compelling human desire to seek and see the End.”[4] Here, I will turn my attention to Dante’s
Inferno, one of the most influential works on the topic of Hell in the Middle
Ages. Inferno is a salient example of a medieval representation of Hell. I
intend to explore how Hell was imagined in Inferno. I will also briefly examine
the concept of Hell as it exists in Christianity, and how it connects to
Dante’s Inferno. I argue that although Hell was mainly conceived by orthodox
religion, the expression of Hell by the medieval laity provides us with an
important point of reference for understanding how Hell was imagined during the
Middle Ages. Moreover, the representations of Hell found in the artistic and
literary achievements of the medieval laity continue to be quite influential.
Further research will be necessary to conduct a full assessment of the question
of medieval representations of Hell, especially in regards to the textual
interpretation of Dante’s Inferno. In short, the Inferno is representative of
how the concept of Hell was imagined during the Middle Ages.
Inferno
is a classic work; it is arguably one of the most influential works of poetry composed
during the Middle Ages. Inferno is part of a series of three texts: Inferno,
Purgatorio, and Paradiso. Dante wrote the Divine Comedy circa 1308—1321 CE. The
Divine Comedy was later transcribed by one of Dante’s contemporaries Giovanni
Boccaccio. Boccaccio is often credited for the addition the word divine to The
Divine Comedy. Dante had originally called “The Divine Comedy” the Comedy. A fine copy of Boccaccio’s
manuscript can be found at the Biblioteca Riccardiana, the Library of Florence.
Unfortunately, there are no existing manuscripts of the original Comedy. One
other manuscript, Yates Thompson MS 36, which was thought to have been owned by
King Alfonso V, contains many illustrations of scenes from the Inferno. This
manuscript is made of parchment and was produced circa 1444—1450 CE. Examples of
these illustrations include scenes from Canto III, V, and XXXIV.
Charon the ferryman,
rowing Dante across the river Acheron, Canto III, in Inferno, Yates Thompson MS
36, f. 6r.
In
order to discuss how Dante imagined Hell, it is important to refer to the early
Christian concept of Hell, and how it might have influenced Dante’s imagination.
Christian ideas of the afterlife have their origins in the writings of the Old
Testament. The books of Isaiah, Daniel, Amos and others, contain some of the
first classic references to the hereafter. According to Helsel, early Hebrews
referred to the death as Sheol, literally “grave”[5]. Here, death is
characterised by the inability to worship God. When one dies, one is unable to
praise and give thanks. Hessel states that “the topography of the places
inhabited by the dead become more specific and personal in the later books of
the Hebrew Bible, by the period of the Second Temple Judaism, and during the
time of the writing of the New Testament.”[6] In ancient Hebrew thought,
the afterlife is not really much of a place, but rather a non-existent state of
being. To put it crudely, when you’re dead, you’re dead. It is not until later
that the afterlife is conceived of in terms of Bultmann’s three-story universe,
Heaven, Hell and Purgatory. According to Sweeney, Sheol “erroneously became
Hell in the early Christian bibles.”[7] The Christian notions of
Hell first start to appear in Saint Paul’s letters, and later in the four
gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. In Luke, Hell is referred to as Hades[8]. In Mark, Jesus refers to
Hell as Gehenna, “the unquenchable fire”[9]. Saint Paul appears to be
silent about Hell, but often refers to God’s wrath during the final day of
judgement[10].
For early Christians, death was an important part of life. In the words of
Saint Paul, “as in Adam, all men must die, so in Christ all will be brought to
life.”[11] It appears that without death
there is no resurrection, and without resurrection there is no new life. By Jesus’s
saving passion and resurrection, all of humanity will be brought back to life.
The question is this: where will they end up when they are brought back to
life? While some Christians view Jesus’ salvation as universal, the dominant
view is more particular. People usually end up in either Heaven, Hell, or Purgatory,
depending on their transgressions, and whether they have been forgiven by God.
In the Divine Comedy, individuals inhabit all three dimensions of the
afterlife. Of course, the concepts of Heaven, Hell and Purgatory, would develop
over many centuries before they would enter into Dante’s imagination.
The
early Christian concept of the afterlife appears to entertain some common
themes, including the final judgement, an afterlife, and the resurrection of
the dead. In early Christianity, Hell comes to be associated with both Gehenna,
and Sheol. Therefore, Hell is an essential component of the afterlife. Where
then do we get this business about angels, demons, and Satan? It is in the Book
of Jubilees where we find a distinct cosmology featuring otherworldly beings such
as angels and demons. The Book of Jubilees, sometimes referred to as the
“Lesser Genesis”, written two-hundred years before Christ, had quite an impact
on early Christian theology; demonology and angelology. According to Sweeney,
“it is from Jubilees that the early church created many of its basic
understandings of angels and their classes, types, and functions.”[12] In Sweeney’s account, the
book of Jubilees offers a commentary on Genesis 6:4, “when the sons of God went
into the daughters of humans who bore children to them.” explaining how some
angels betrayed God’s command and began mating with human females who’s offspring
would become the first demons. Despite their appearance in Jubilees, demons
hardly ever make an appearance in the Hebrew Bible, and when they do they are
usually taken to be metaphorical representations of danger and the unknown.
Throughout the New Testament, Jesus and his apostles are often depicted roaming
the land and casting out demons. This suggests that in Christian thought,
demons not only exist symbolically, but in some cases also physically. In Dante’s
Inferno, demons play an explicit role. As for the figure of Satan, Early
Christians imagined Satan to a be fallen angel[13]. This is quite different
from the earlier Hebrew understanding of “Satan” as a heavenly being acting on
behalf of Yahweh, such as the figure of satan in the Book of Job. Early
Christians imagined Satan to be in direct opposition to God.
The
connection between Dante and early Christian representations of Hell is implicit
in the sense that upon writing Inferno, Dante was deeply immersed in Christian
theology. However, while Dante tends to draw upon Christian notions of Hell
found in the Bible, his medieval conception of Hell is quite different. Indeed,
Dante’s Hell is quite unlike anything found in the Bible. It is a much more
terrifying and confusing place than anything Jesus Christ or Saint Paul might
have conceived. Dante’s representation of Hell in the Inferno is anything but boring!
Not merely a lake of fire, Dante’s Hell is a complex labyrinth of torment,
death, classical heroes, fire, ice and brimstone.
Inferno
follows the story of Dante’s descent into Hell. Initially, upon entering into a
dark forest, Dante is confronted by three beasts: a leopard, a lion, and
finally a she-wolf. Dante flees for safety, and runs into the Roman poet Virgil.
Virgil, a heathen, is unable to journey with Dante to Heaven, and instead
intends to take Dante to Hell: “then you shall see the ones who are content to
burn because they hope to come whenever it may be, among the blessed.”[14] There is tremendous hope
in this passage. Although these individuals remain in Hell, they hope to one day enter into heaven. Perhaps
one day they will. Dante is then guided by Virgil through the nine circles of
Hell. The first circle of Hell is “Limbo”, where we find “virtuous heathens and
unbaptized babies”. The second circle is “Lust”. The third circle is “Gluttony”.
The fourth circle is “Avarice and Prodigality”. The fifth circle is “Anger and
Sullenness”. The sixth circle is “Heresy”. The seventh circle is “Violence”.
The eighth circle is “the Ten Malebolge” (here we find sinners of the worst kind,
including seducers, hypocrites, thieves, and schismatics). The ninth circle is
“the Frozen Floor of Hell”. These circles represent the basic topography of
Dante’s Hell. Hell is divided into two sections, upper Hell, and lower Hell,
they are divided by the Gate of Dis. Each circle contains at least one demon. Among
these demons are Charon, Minos, Cerberus, Plutus, Furies, Minotaur, Harpies,
giants, and Satan himself. Virgil and Dante must face each of these demons on
their journey through Hell.
Sandro Botticelli, Plan of Hell, Biblioteca Apolistica, The Vatican, MS Reg. lat. 1896.
Dante’s
Hell is also full of references to the classical world of antiquity. Dante’s
meeting with the classical literary figures of Homer, Ovid, and Lucan in canto
IV, is but one example. By including himself among these poets, Dante is
acknowledging his own literary greatness. In canto V, the circle of lust, we find
Hellen, Paris, Achilles, Cleopatra and many others. This further demonstrates that
Dante had a great knowledge of antiquity. Dante’s knowledge of the classical
world can be attributed to his reading of the Roman poets Statius, among
others. Dante did not have access to Greek literature. Furthermore, Dante’s
knowledge of Hades and the Greek underworld, as depicted by the Roman poets, influences
his vision of Hell. According to Sweeney, “the biblical Satan didn’t quite cut
it. So the figure of Hades became his model for Hell’s master.”[15] Hades appears in ancient
Greek myth as the god of the underworld. It would be worthwhile to conduct a closer
investigation of the relationship between Hades and Dante’s Satan, but this is
not the place for it.
In
the ninth circle we find Dante and Virgil nearing the end of their journey. Canto
XXXIV begins with Virgil’s famous line “Vexilla regis produent inferno”[16], this translates into
“the banners of the King of Hell draw closer”. This is an intense introduction
to the coldest canto in the poem. Satan appears to be frozen in both space and
time. Brutus and Judas Iscariot also appear in this scene, dangling in the
mouth of Satan. Dante is terrified. Virgil and Dante eventually manage to climb
onto Satan, and find their way up and out of the of the underworld into the
light of day. Thus closes Dante’s Inferno.
Dante
imagines Hell to be a place of terror, monstrosity, and parody. Paradoxically, Dante’s
Hell cools down at the point where we expect it to heat up. Dante’s vision of
Hell indicates that in the Middle Ages, Hell is imagined as place completely
devoid of God’s presence. Indeed, Hell is the domain of Satan, sinners, and a
host of demons. Dante draws from a number of influences, these include certain
themes from early Christian theology, such as the Biblical references to Hell
and Satan in the New Testament. However, Dante’s use of classical mythology
throughout the Inferno suggests a greater influence of the classical world in
his writing than that of Christian theology. Nonetheless, Dante’s Inferno is an
excellent point of departure for those of us interested in the workings of the
medieval imagination.
Bibliography
Alighieri, Dante. The Inferno. Translated by Robert
Hollander and Jean Hollander. New York:
Anchor
Books, 2000.
Penelhum, Terrence. “Christianity.”
In Life After Death in World Religions,
edited by Harold
Coward,
31-47. Maryknoll, New York: Orbis Books, 1997.
Stevenson, Jill. “Poised
at The Threatening Edge: Feeling The Future in Medieval Last
Judgement
Performances.” Theatre Journal 67, no
2. (2015): 273-293.
Hessel, Phillip. “Hades,
Hell, and Sheol: The Reception History of the King James Version In
American
Fundamentalism.” in Heaven, Hell, and the
Afterlife, edited by J. Harold
Ellens,
103-119. Santa Barbara, California: Praeger, 2013.
Sweeney, Jon M. Inventing Hell, Dante, The Bible and Eternal
Torment. New York: Jericho
Books,
1976. e-book.
[1] Robert Hollander
and Jean Hollander, trans., The Inferno
(New York: Anchor Books, 2000), 3.9.
[2] An of image of
this tremendous artistic piece can be found here, http://www.wga.hu/art/g/giotto/padova/4lastjud/00view.jpg
[3] See Terence Penelhum,
“Christianity,” in Life After Death in
World Religions, ed. Harold Coward (Maryknoll, New York: Orbis Books,
1997), 39.
[4] Jill Stevenson, “Poised
at the Threatening Edge: Feeling the Future in Medieval Last Judgement Performances,”
Theatre Journal 67, no. 2 (2015): 274.
[5] Phillip Hessel, “Hades,
Hell, and Sheol: The Reception History Of The King James Version In American
Fundamentalism,” in Heaven, Hell, and the
Afterlife, ed. J. Harold Ellens (Santa Barbara, California: Praeger, 2013),
104.
[6] Ibid.
[7] Jon M. Sweeney, Inventing Hell, Dante, The Bible and Eternal
Torment (New York: Jericho Books, 1976), 24.
[8] Lk 16:23
[9] Mrk 9:43
[10] Rom 2:5
[12] Sweeney, 96-97.
[14] Dante, The Inferno,
1.118-120.
[15] Sweeney, 41.
[16] Dante, The Inferno, 34.1.
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