The Hours of Catherine of Cleves: Imagining hell and purgatory in Catherine's prayer book6/16/2015 Hell as a place of torment and punishment is fundamentally an horrific concept. And yet for centuries the idea has fascinated generations of believers and non-believers alike. In different ways, through literature, art and film, people have tried to depict what a place such as hell might look like and to imagine the fearsome creatures who might administer punishment in such a place. Just us we, in a more secular age, are still fascinated by monsters, aliens and mass murderers, so in the medieval era people were fascinated by the monsters from the 'other side' - the demons and terrible creatures who, they believed, populated hell. And surely the most brilliant visual depictions of the terrifying and fascinating creatures of hell were created by the unknown artist responsible for the illustrations in the Book of Hours of Catherine Cleves. In his illustration of hell's castle he (presumably a he . . . but who knows?) created a bestiary of weird and wonderful demons and devils of wit, invention and imagination unrivalled in medieval art. In his illustrations of hell and purgatory, he not only horrifies but manages to delight and amuse the viewer too. Those who first read the book would have been duly horrified and frightened by the depictions of the tortures in hell and the agony of purgatory but I am sure that like us they would also have closed the book with a knowing smile on their faces too. Whoever he (or she) was, the illustrator was having great fun! "But the point of the Hours of the dead was to pray for those who languished, not in hell (it was too late for them), but in purgatory. The belief in purgatory (which I will come to - I promise) had by this time become the main focal point of the church's teaching on the afterlife. Most people who died were thought to have gone to purgatory. Few were considered good enough to go straight to heaven, and similarly not many were considered bad enough to be consigned to the castle of hell for eternity without any chance of remission! So the great majority went to purgatory where through the torments and suffering they experienced there were purged of their sin until they were ready to be led to heaven. The more the living prayed for those in purgatory the shorter the time they stayed (potentially thousands of years)."
What is a book of Hours?A Book of Hours is a book of devotional readings and prayers based on the daily offices of the monastic communities. Such books were created in response to a desire amongst lay people to imitate the kind of devotional practice maintained by monks and nuns. As part of their religious life the monks and nuns would pray at set times throughout the day. Originally the main part of their prayers would consist in the reading/hearing of the Psalms. Over time other readings were added to them: Over the centuries, the Psalms were provided with a number of supplementary texts. It became customary, for example, to frame the Psalms with "antiphons" -- brief passages that helped to bring out the Christian significance of the old Jewish texts. The antiphons were joined by a variety of prayers, canticles, hymns, readings from the Bible, and dialogues. These disparate elements were arranged in a repetitive structure that varied in its details depending on the time of the day, the day of the week, and the seasons, rubrics were employed to indicate exactly what words were to be said when. The result was a new and more complex book known as the breviary. So for each prayer time during the day, readings, prayers and hymns were provided in these "Hours". They were most often commissioned for and used by women and they were usually beautifully illustrated. Apparently they were the most commonly owned books in the medieval period. The first Book of Hours known in English was commissioned for a woman known as Susanna and was illustrated by William de Brailes. You can see some of the existing manuscript in the British Library here and some of his other wonderful illustrations here. The Book of Hours of Catherine ClevesOne of the most beautiful Book of Hours ever made was commissioned for Catherine of Cleves for her marriage to Arnold, Duke of Guent. The real name of the artist is unknown and he is known now only as the Master of Catherine of Cleves. The book dates from about 1440. The book's illustrations are exquisite and it has been hailed as one of the greatest illustrated books ever made. Catherine's prayer book begins with a bang. The first thing one sees is Catherine herself, praying from her Book of Hours before the Virgin and Child. On the right, the narrative of the life of Mary commences with an angel's telling the Virgin's father, Joachim, that his wife is with child. The many rabbits symbolize the old man's newfound fecundity. In a parallel manner, the borders proudly proclaim Catherine's noble lineage: eight of her ancestors' arms fill the corners of the folios. Her own arms as duchess of Guelders are prominently positioned directly below the Virgin. In a heraldic act of defiance, she surmounts her arms not with her husband's crest but with the ox of her own house of Cleves. Text from Morgan Museum Looking Through the Mouth of Hell!Of particular interest to me are the illustrations of hell and purgatory. They represent the ideas about hell and judgement prevalent in the church and society of that time. They express the full horror of how people imagined life in hell but also manage to be funny and witty at the same time. Clearly the Master of Cleves relished his commission and had lots of fun in the process. I have saved and copied some pictures but the resolution isn't as high as I would have liked. If you click the picture below the full page illustration of hell, you will be able to examine this wonderful illustration in more detail at the google art project. In addition if you click the link to the Morgan Library here you can examine the entire book in great detail using the Morgan library's own zoom facility. There is no more inventive—or scary—miniature in Catherine's prayer book than this full-page depiction of hell. A gaping lion's mouth opens its batlike lips tipped with talons; inside is another, red-hot maw. Demons cast damned souls into this terrifying entrance to the furnace of hell, above which rises the castle of death decorated with skulls. Burning towers heat caldrons into which mutilated souls are pitched. A third mouth forms the domed roof. At the bottom crouches a green demon whose mouth sprouts scrolls inscribed with the Seven Deadly Sins. Morgan Library This is a depiction of hell. In medieval illustrations hell is often depicted as a city or a castle. In the Inferno, Dante begins his journey through Hell proper when he reaches the walls of the city of Dis. Dis was the Latinised version of the Greek god Hades and Dis appears as the ruler of the underworld in Virgil's epic poem the Aeneid. Here, entry to the city is through a "Hellmouth". The Hellmouth was a popular image in medieval illustrations. It was often believed that particular places such as caves or lakes (usually deep or dark places) led directly to the underworld (i.e. they were a "mouth" to hell) They were often portrayed as living monsters feeding hell. This close-up shows the damned souls being tormented, tortured and generally being given a miserable time as they are pushed through the mouth. Especially exciting (for me) is the sight of sinners being literally "dragged to hell in a hand cart" at the bottom! The illustration of the demons is wonderful. Notice the bug eyed creature on the left. This is really scary stuff and these are not creatures you would want to meet! But they are also incredibly inventive and witty images of demonic life, quite unlike any other I have seen. Again, click on the picture and you can look at the details at the Morgan Museum. And life isn't really any better at the top of the castle either. My favourite ilustrations are the two demons on the ramparts looking towards the reader. They are holding (I imagine) body parts and clearly seem to be delighted about that. The green one on the right looks like he s dancing. Who said hell was all doom and gloom? Somebody is enjoying themselves! So, it's hard to imagine someone not smiling at these depictions, created with such an evident sense of fun. But Catherine would have been in no doubt about the horrors awaiting her if she didn't maintain a godly life. Praying for those in PurgatoryThe Monday Hours of the Dead open with one of the most famous images from Catherine's manuscript. The deathbed scene is as packed with as much lively action as Puccini's opera Gianni Schicchi. As a man dies, his wife offers him a candle, a doctor examines his urine, and his son conspires against him. This mercenary heir is shown again, raiding his father's coffers in the bottom border. On the right is purgatory, the place to which the dying man hopes to go. There his soul, like those depicted, will be cleansed of sin in expiating, if painful, fire. Morgan Museum But the point of the Hours of the dead was to pray for those who languished, not in hell (it was too late for them), but in purgatory. The belief in purgatory (which I will come to - I promise) had by this time become the main focal point of the church's teaching on the afterlife. Most people who died were thought to have gone to purgatory. Few were considered good enough to go straight to heaven, and similarly not many were considered bad enough to be consigned to the castle of hell for eternity without any chance of remission! So the great majority went to purgatory where through the torments and suffering they experienced there were purged of their sin until they were ready to be led to heaven. The more the living prayed for those in purgatory the shorter the time they stayed (potentially thousands of years). The Office of the Dead was in the back of every Book of Hours the way death itself was always at the back of the medieval mind. While the other prayers in a Book of Hours are quasi-liturgical (reflecting but not equaling official Church practice), the Office of the Dead is identical to that found in the service books used by the Church's ordained. This is the detail from the purgatry scene. Clearly things are not so different from hell - it appears to be hot! But notice there are no demons and the fires are purgatorial, that is they are designed to get rid of all the impurities. It almost looks as if those who languish there are bathing in the fires! It is obvious that the fires are having their desired effect - some of the poor people there are praying! But life in purgatory isn't all bad. Here, instead of demons with pitch-forks there are angels who bring you the fruits of the prayers of the living. The page is titled "the souls in purgatory consoled with the offering". I am not sure what is in the bag the angel is holding. It looks like something to eat but the title would suggest something more valuable (and do you need to eat in purgatory?) Maybe the angel is showing them what has been given in the church/by the family. It looks like a full bag. This will reduce the time spent praying in the fires. No wonder the soul nearest the angel looks so happy. And then when you have "done your time" (and if Catherine has been dutiful in her praying) you are led by the angel to paradise. I am feeling for the man on the left whose bottom appears to be on fire. I think sitting on the teeth while he waited was a mistake. The Monday Hours of the Dead end on this happy note. Indeed, this miniature for the final Hour of Compline depicts the whole point of praying the Hours of the Dead: shortening the time spent by one's friends and relatives in the fires of purgatory. An angel leads an overjoyed group of naked souls from their fiery torment. Morgan Museum This is a beautiful, beautiful book. The richness and beauty of the other illustrations are well worth exploring in detail online at the Morgan Museum. But of greatest interest for this blog are the ways in which the illustrations in the Hours convey something of the reality of what people of this time expected in the next life. Basically you could expect it to be hot! You could make provision for that time by ensuring your family prayed for you, by endowing the church with gifts and by by giving money to have masses said for you. One way or another the church benefited from these beliefs. No wonder at the reformation they were resistant to any changes. I wonder if they sing in purgatory. I suspect this might be top of the playlist (but the video might extend the time spent there!) You might also be interested in . . .
0 Comments
Your comment will be posted after it is approved.
Leave a Reply. |
Archives
April 2016
GalleryThis blog is as much about images as it is about text. Below is a slideshow of the pictures and images used in this blog. Click on any of the pictures to go to the post where that image is featured.
PostsLocating Paradise #1 In a Garden, Far, Far Away
The Testament of Abraham and the Threefold Judgement of God #5 'Stuck in the Middle With You'
The Resurrection According to Rahner
Today You Will Be With Me in Paradise
The Testament of Abraham and the Threefold Judgement of God #4 'And Who by Fire'
The Testament of Abraham and the Threefold Judgement of God #3: Held in the Balance
The Testament of Abraham and the Threefold Judgement of God #2: Once, Twice, Three Times a Sinner
The Testament of Abraham and the Threefold Judgement of God #1: The Broad and Narrow Gates
Daily Dante 7: Many Rivers to Cross
Daily Dante 6: 'You Gotta Serve Somebody'
In Hell Everyone Can Hear You Scream. The Vision of Tundale #3
Teeth, Spikes and Cleavers: At the Sharp end of Hell. The Vision of Tundale #2
'No Pain No Gain': The Vision of Tundale #1
'Hellzapoppin':
Illustrations from Le Livre de la Vigne nostre Seigneur, #2 'It's The End of the World as We Know It (and we feel fine)'. Illustrations from Le Livre de la Vigne nostre Seigneur, #1
Visions of Heaven. Botticini's Assumption of the Virgin #2 Blinded by the Light
Visions of Heaven. Botticini's Assumption of the Virgin #1: Glorious and Immortal
Daily Dante 5: What the gates said.
Daily Dante 4: When I find myself in times of trouble
Daily Dante 3: I'll take you there
Daily Dante 2: Fierce creatures
Daily Dante 1: If you go down to the woods today
In Seventh Heaven or 'What Enoch Did Next'
A World of Fire and Ice: Heaven according to Enoch
The Power and the Glory: Visions of God as king in the Hebrew bible
The Beautiful Bestiary of Catherine Cleves: Monsters and Demons in detail.
Heaven is for Real: Heaven as a physical space up above the sky
Resurrecting the Dead or Reviving the Flowers? The loss of resurrection faith in Judaism.
The Defeat of Death #1: The promise of resurrection in the Isaiah Apocalypse.
The Defeat of Death #2: Death as a hostile power and promise of God's victory in Isaiah
Scary Monsters and Super Creeps: The 'Last Judgement' according to Stefan Lochner
Hell in the Hospital: The 'Last Judgement' of Rogier van der Weyden in the Beaune altarpiece.
'Hell' in the New Testament #2: The gates of Hades shall not prevail
The Hours of Catherine Cleves: Imagining hell and purgatory in Catherine's prayer book
'On Earth as in Heaven': The kingdom of God as a revelation of heaven
'Hell' in the New Testament #1: Gehenna
Lost in Translation #1: How the King James version got it so wrong about hell
Heaven is not our home
Domes, Depths and Demons: The cosmology of the Hebrew world
A Bigger God
"See you in Sheol" - Sheol, the common destination of all
Heaven, Hell and Christian Hope
BooksBelow are some of the books which have helped me the most in the research and writing for this blog. Click on any image to find out more about that book at its page on Amazon uk.
Categories
All
|