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Visions of Heaven and Hell Before Dante
This essential and widely used collection of visions of heaven and hell, the first in English, presents new translations of two visions and newly edited versions of previously translated ones. Describes the place of these works in medieval literature and provides a helpful resource for studying elements of medieval religion. Includes: St. Peter's Apocalypse, St. Paul's Apocalypse, St. Brendan's Voyage, St. Patrick's Purgatory, and the Visions of Furseus, Drythelm, Wetti, Charles the Fat, Tundale, the Monk of Evesham, and Thurkill. Bibliography, index, glossary, notes, illustrated.
318 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 1989
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
July 6, 2011
In the early 1970s, as a young Art student in Leeds, I was browsing amongst the books at Lewis's when I picked up a paperback whose cover attracted me. It was one of those moments in your life that change you. The book was John Ciardi's fantastic translation of Dante's "Inferno".
Ciardi's translation was so approachable, the notes that accompanied it were so informative, the imagery was so inspirational! Over the years I have read several translations of Dante's "Divine Comedy" and seen many visual interpretations of the book (my favourite being Blake's visions). It is, therefore, no surprise that I picked up this book.
These predecessors of the Divine Comedy are important in our understanding of how Dante's poem drew on the visions of those who came before. Generally the visions are predictable and repetitive; souls suffer terrible torments by fire, they are torn apart by terrible beasts and demons, the parts are fried in pans and cauldrons, terrible stenches fumes and noise fill the air. One often gets the sense that the witnesses are taking great pleasure in describing the punishment being meted out in this chaos. Heaven, on the other hand, is a place of calm and sweet perfumes. Music plays an important role in this process of producing a sense of peace, as does the occasional vision of Christ on the cross or sat on His throne.
Some of the visions are quite boring, particularly the seemingly pointless, meandering and repetitive voyage of St. Brendan. This particular vision is, however, brightened up by a super description of a volcanic eruption which stands in for the mouth of Hell. And herein lies the important point: the visionaries describe the horrors of Hell within the confines (or freedom) of their own experiences; fire is painful, stenches are uncomfortable and the chaos of Hell (which is the chaos and noise of the everyday world magnified) is contrasted with the calmness of a monastery or church during service. This is the world of the early mediaeval era and Hell is that nightmare so wonderfully depicted in the carvings of the great cathedrals and the painting of the great Dooms in the churches which reach their glory in the work of Van der Weyen, Van Eyke and, ultimately, Hieronymous Bosch.
Two visions do stand out, that of Charles the Fat (whose demons march like conquering armies over the bodies of their tortured and tormented victims nailed to the ground) and that of Tundale (whose vision inspires images that can equally match Dante).
The visions evolve, introducing the concept of a companion guide, then matching sins with punishments. The freezing cold is introduced as a contrast with fire until, in the later visions produced in the 10th and 11th centuries, we see Tundale's introduction of conceits that will evolve into Dante's circles, spirals and spheres (of Hell, Purgatory and Heaven) and Thurkill is encouraged to question the tormented as to what brought them to Hell.
As an artist there are images here that inspire, as a fan of Dante there is an interest here that got me through the boringly repetitive bits, as a human being there was much that made me despair.
Ciardi's translation was so approachable, the notes that accompanied it were so informative, the imagery was so inspirational! Over the years I have read several translations of Dante's "Divine Comedy" and seen many visual interpretations of the book (my favourite being Blake's visions). It is, therefore, no surprise that I picked up this book.
These predecessors of the Divine Comedy are important in our understanding of how Dante's poem drew on the visions of those who came before. Generally the visions are predictable and repetitive; souls suffer terrible torments by fire, they are torn apart by terrible beasts and demons, the parts are fried in pans and cauldrons, terrible stenches fumes and noise fill the air. One often gets the sense that the witnesses are taking great pleasure in describing the punishment being meted out in this chaos. Heaven, on the other hand, is a place of calm and sweet perfumes. Music plays an important role in this process of producing a sense of peace, as does the occasional vision of Christ on the cross or sat on His throne.
Some of the visions are quite boring, particularly the seemingly pointless, meandering and repetitive voyage of St. Brendan. This particular vision is, however, brightened up by a super description of a volcanic eruption which stands in for the mouth of Hell. And herein lies the important point: the visionaries describe the horrors of Hell within the confines (or freedom) of their own experiences; fire is painful, stenches are uncomfortable and the chaos of Hell (which is the chaos and noise of the everyday world magnified) is contrasted with the calmness of a monastery or church during service. This is the world of the early mediaeval era and Hell is that nightmare so wonderfully depicted in the carvings of the great cathedrals and the painting of the great Dooms in the churches which reach their glory in the work of Van der Weyen, Van Eyke and, ultimately, Hieronymous Bosch.
Two visions do stand out, that of Charles the Fat (whose demons march like conquering armies over the bodies of their tortured and tormented victims nailed to the ground) and that of Tundale (whose vision inspires images that can equally match Dante).
The visions evolve, introducing the concept of a companion guide, then matching sins with punishments. The freezing cold is introduced as a contrast with fire until, in the later visions produced in the 10th and 11th centuries, we see Tundale's introduction of conceits that will evolve into Dante's circles, spirals and spheres (of Hell, Purgatory and Heaven) and Thurkill is encouraged to question the tormented as to what brought them to Hell.
As an artist there are images here that inspire, as a fan of Dante there is an interest here that got me through the boringly repetitive bits, as a human being there was much that made me despair.
May 12, 2020
Admittedly, this book is largely just an anthology of ancient works (specifically, written narratives of afterlife visions from the first millennium A.D. and a little bit after). But the author's contributions do give some good information and insight (if anything, I would have enjoyed a bit more commentary on the visions).
It also is a useful collection, as the visions span across centuries and are a good entry point for students of Christian and religious history who want to dig into these kinds of claimed, mystical visions and how they influenced Christian doctrine and practice.
That may not be a particularly large audience; it is more useful for those historical insight than theological or devotional enrichment. A lot of the visions themselves are full of details and fantastical elements well outside of what is taught in the Bible.
But for the purposes this kind of volume serves, I found it very useful and enriching.
It also is a useful collection, as the visions span across centuries and are a good entry point for students of Christian and religious history who want to dig into these kinds of claimed, mystical visions and how they influenced Christian doctrine and practice.
That may not be a particularly large audience; it is more useful for those historical insight than theological or devotional enrichment. A lot of the visions themselves are full of details and fantastical elements well outside of what is taught in the Bible.
But for the purposes this kind of volume serves, I found it very useful and enriching.
October 26, 2009
This is a genre of literature I was not familiar with, but it is interesting to see just how much of an impact vision literature had on Dante's Divine Comedy.
December 22, 2009
A fascinating collection of medieval vision literature. If nothing else, it's a quick way to understand how perceptions of heaven and hell evolved in earlier times.
December 9, 2015
A useful sourcebook for many of the popular medieval vision texts.
August 21, 2016
This book examines how our 'visions' of heaven and hell have changed religiously, politically and socially throughout history. Well researched and informative.
October 23, 2024
A well reserched collection of medieval visions of heaven and hell.
A vision is a type of tale that was common in the middle age: usually a saint is given the chance to visit the afterlife and tells us what he saw.
The most important vision ever is the "Divina commedia" of Dante but before him menty happened and the most important are collected here.
A vision is a type of tale that was common in the middle age: usually a saint is given the chance to visit the afterlife and tells us what he saw.
The most important vision ever is the "Divina commedia" of Dante but before him menty happened and the most important are collected here.
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August 3, 2009Beach reading.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews