Sometimes looking just isn't enough, you just have to jump in to get the full benefit. Exercise is like that. You can watch sport all day long but you won't lose a kilo in weight or improve your fitness level one iota unless you actually take part. Travel is like that too. You can watch any number of travel programs on TV but it doesn't mean you have actually been to those places. You have never experienced the sights, sounds and scents that make those places so distinctive and memorable. That's what Tundale discovered about one thousand years ago. He discovered that just looking isn't enough. Tundale was a young Irish knight who had an 'out of body' experience and went to hell with his guardian angel in order to see what lay in store for him unless he reformed his life. But Tundale soon found that to get the full benefit of the journey he had to experience the torments of hell for himself. Standing and watching other people suffer wouldn't help him at all. He had to know what it was like to be burned, frozen, beaten, chopped to pieces, famished and devoured. He had to stop being a spectator and take the plunge! Thank goodness he did. Whatever it did for his soul, it helps to make this wonderful account of his hellish journey so horrifyingly entertaining! sIn the previous blog post I described how Tundale entered hell and found some poor souls grilled, liquefied and fried in a valley of hot coals, some others alternately heated and frozen on different sides of a mountain, and still others forced to cross a long, narrow bridge from which they inevitably drop down into the burning, sulphurous lake below. So far, these have all been terrible for Tundale to watch but thankfully he hasn't had to take part. But now all that changes. The 'gentle' introduction to hell is over and the next stage is for participants only. Into the mouth of AcheronAfter safely crossing the long and narrow bridge, Tundale finds himself face to face with the most terrifying creature he has ever seen (or imagined!), an utterly hideous, enormous beast known whose name we find out from the angel is Acheron. He is so vast that thousands of people could fit through his mouth and two ferocious giants are impaled on his great teeth, one the right way up and the other upside down, supporting the mouth like pillars. Every traveller through hell it seems, must pass through his terrible mouth and there's plenty of room for them all! They continued their way together down a long, dark path, and Tundale's soul had no idea where the journey was leading. But at last they came into the light and Tundale saw a vast and fearsome thing; a huge boar that was bigger than any mountain he had ever seen; the span of its eyes was wider than a valley! Nine thousand men could easily ride into its mouth and between its tusks hung two giants! Tundale could see the head of one of the giants dangling down and the feet of another, and the centre of the boar's mouth was held apart with two pillars in such a way that it formed an entrance like three open gates. Vast flames of fire issued from its mouth and such a horrible smell that it is impossible to imagine it or to describe. Within, they could hear the anguished cries of thousands of souls screaming and lamenting: 'God help us!' they cried. 'Have we deserved this?' Many thousands of eager devils hovered in front of the boar's mouth, busying themselves and using their strength with burning rods to shepherd souls towards this place of torment. The angel explains that the beast is a mythological monster called Acheron, renowned for its insatiable appetite. Acheron represents the punishment for all those who are greedy and covetous, whose own insatiable appetites have led them to amass wealth and possessions. All the covetous must pass through his terrible mouth and endure the horrors of the torments that lie beyond. The monster devours all "who never thought that what God had given them was enough". Here we find biblical imagination, classical mythology and pagan legend all blended into one narrative. Acheron is found in classical mythology and was the name of the one of the rivers of the underworld. Because of this association the name was sometimes used to refer to the underworld in general. Thus the monster represents death. In the Hebrew bible, 'Death' is sometime pictured as a living monster which of course is never satisfied and always hungry. So here Acheron is integrated into a Christian vision of hell while at the same time two giants from Irish legends find themselves serving as the pillars which keep Acheron's mouth open! When Tundale saw this creature and the evil spirits around its mouth and heard the hideous cries coming from within, he turned to the angel and said: 'What does this horrible sight mean?' At this point the angel disappears and Tundale is dragged by devils into Acheron's mouth. Inside he endures all sorts of appalling torments. He is beaten, eaten, burned and frozen. And of course the smell is terrible! Every one of his sins is punished, one by one. Then the angel disappeared suddenly. Tundale was petrified with fear! The fiends came quickly and bound him up, then cast him into the beast's mouth. He was beaten by evil spirits, his bones were gnawed at by hungry lions and his vital organs pulled out by dragons. Venomous snakes consumed his limbs. Fire burned him, then ice froze him. His tears stung his cheeks like fire. He was full of woe! There was a strong stink of sulphur. He was tormented in many ways. He tore at his own cheeks with his nails! For each sin he had ever committed he was punished. Nothing was hidden. Despair was his constant companion. He could see no hope of escape. But just when he had given up hope he finds himself suddenly released. He is now free and the angel reappears beside him. Tundale is reminded by the angel that God rewards each person according to their merit, and yet that God is a God of grace and mercy too. Like a (spiky) bridge over troubled watersHaving experienced Acheron's torments, Tundale and the angel move on, only to discover another bridge suspended over a lake seething with murderous monsters with "eyes that burned like lamps at night". Fire comes from their mouths and they wait eagerly to feast on those who fall from the bridge, which is very hard to cross since the bridge is even longer and narrower than the first one and is paved with vicious spikes which cut the feet of those who dare to tread on it. Tundale sees one poor traveller on the other side trying to cross with a sack of corn on his back. The pair of them continued upon their journey until they came to a dreadful lake. The waves towered above them and the crash of the water was deafening. Within the lake there were huge beasts with large eyes that burned like lamps at night as they roared and made the water bubble furiously around them. These creatures waited on either side to swallow the souls that were their main prey; for over the lake hung a long, narrow bridge - it was two miles in length and it seemed to Tundale to be scarcely the width of a hand. Set into it were sharp spikes of iron and steel that were grievous to touch – no one could cross that bridge without sustaining severe injuries to his feet! Tundale is told by the angel that the bridge is punishment for those who have stolen property that does not belong to them. They must bear their ill-gotten gains across the bridge. Of course the more they have taken the harder it is. The man with the sheaf of corn had taken corn from the church. Tundale asked the bright angel: 'What does this awful bridge mean?' Tundale is reminded that once he stole a cow from his neighbour and as his punishment he must now take that cow across the vicious bridge. When he protests that he gave the cow back to the neighbour the angel points out that borrowing without permission is the same as theft! 'You shall cross this bridge leading a nervous cow. Watch out for her footing and be careful as you lead her! When you have completed the crossing you may give her back to me. This punishment is for stealing a cow.' And so with trepidation Tundale begins his perilous journey. The cow is nervous and is difficult enough to get the cow across but the real crisis merges when he meets the man with the corn coming in the opposite direction. How will he get past? When they set foot upon the structure, the cow refused to shift. Tundale saw the creatures in the lake move ever closer to the bridge in expectation of a swift meal. The cow nearly toppled over into the water and Tundale almost fell over the other side. He was beyond fear. Slowly and painfully he made his way with the cow to the centre of the crossing, sometimes with the cow leading, sometimes him. They were both terrified. Thankfully for Tundale the day is saved through the 'magic' of the angel. Without knowing how it happened Tundale suddenly finds himself safe on solid ground on the other side. In contrast, in the Latin version translated by Gardiner both Tundale and the other hapless soul carrying the corn get passed each other after weeping and lamenting their sins. After lamenting together they suddenly find find they have passed each other and make their way safely to the solid land. The Latin version also takes a different view of theft. Whereas Tundale is told in the version quoted here that the evil intention is as bad as the evil action, in the Latin version he is told by the angel that because he gave the cow back to his neighbour his crime is less. God punishes intentions differently from actions. Clearly these visions could be adapted to reflect the theological outlook of the individual or community who translated and used them. As Tundale stood holding the cow, the angel appeared beside him. Then he found himself on dry land once more. In the butcher's departmentSo Tundale has crossed the bridge safely and has even had his spiked and tortured feet healed by the accommodating angel. But his respite doesn't last long. Now he must face an even worse danger danger 'You will soon find that another great anguish awaits us,' replied the angel, 'and from this one there will be no escape! You must come with me, for you have no other choice!' So Tundale must brave the gigantic flames and enter the forbidding building. Inside the building, he realises, the souls of those who enter are chopped into pieces by infernal butchers! In the Latin version the cutting is done by "executioners with axes and knives and sticks and double needles with pick axes and bores and very sharp sickles." (Gardiner) As Tundale approached nearer to this great structure he could see butchers standing in the midst of the flames; some holding sharp knives and fearsome cleavers, others wielding saws, forks for skewering meat over a fire, broad axes and instruments designed to drill holes into bone. They made an engaging sight! Some held very long knives and others, sharp hooks. Tundale looked on with horror at the way these fiends butchered the souls. Some struck off the head, others the thighs, arms, legs at the knees, and some hacked the souls into pieces. Yet they were all soon restored back again into their original shapes, only to be seized once more by the butchers! Tundale was horrified at this punishment. So Tundale must face flames, the diabolical burchers and a ferocious giant dog! In the Latin version the dog becomes a pack of rabid dogs. And to think he was put off by spikes on a bridge! So, he is duly chopped into pieces but, of course, this being eternal punishment his body is soon restored and the whole thing happens again . . and again . . and again . . . . Evil spirits approached Tundale with their grim tools and terrifying equipment, seized him and chopped him into little pieces. But he could not die and soon found that his body was restored once again. (Translation by Richard Alan Scott-Robinson from the Eleusinianm Website) But there are dreadful sounds there too, the sound of famished souls howling because of desperate hunger. The flames and the heat ensure that there is nothing there to eat but dry ash. Tundale heard a cacophony of howling and groaning while he was there. The fire that he had seen streaking out from the building burnt up everything within and all the souls were ravenous with hunger for there was nothing to eat but dry ash. (Translation by Richard Alan Scott-Robinson from the Eleusinianm Website) Because the sins punished here are mainly to do with the breaking of celibacy vows, i.e. unauthorised sex, there is plenty of 'genital mutilation' going on. Ouch! Tundale saw many in this place who had had their genitals eaten away and he saw clergymen who were riddled with parasites and vermin; their limbs were bitten and raw and there were grubs and parasites eating away inside them! Tundale personally recognised some of those who were there and knew that they had deserved this fate. The Latin version expands the emphasis on how the corrupt clergy get their comeuppance here. They suffer a worse fate (how could anything be better or worse here!!?) because of their religious profession "Those who seemed of religious professions were judged worthy of the greatest pain" (Gardiner). But because this is not his eternal destiny (and because he does not belong to the religious professions!), Tundale eventually finds himself released from these torments. But soon he found himself looking at the building from the outside once more. He did not know how he had escaped from it, but he was very happy to have done so! He next found himself standing in a dark place called the Cauldron of Dread. He could see nothing but his angel standing before him. Where's God when you need him?But even though he is relieved to be outside and free again, Tundale struggles with the problem of God's goodness. How could a loving God allow him to have suffered in this way? The angel replies by pointing out that all that Tundale has gone through is nothing compared to what his sins really deserved. 'Alas!' he said. 'Where is the truth of the saying that God's mercy surpasses all things? I have seen no sign of it!' Once again there is a noticeable difference here between the Middle English and Latin version with the latter taking much longer to allow Tundale to discuss the merits of God's justice with the angel. The upshot is the same in both however. God must do the right thing and punish people for their sins. God is just and hell represents the justice of God. But he is also merciful and will save those who are faithful and who, like Tundale, repent of their sins and follow the straight path. Introducing PurgatoryIn these three torments, the mouth of Acheron, the spiky bridge and the house of Phristinus, Tundale finds himself involved. He is no longer a spectator as he was with the first three torments. Now Tundale must himself endure tortures, as part of the process of atoning for his sins. This for Tundale is purgative suffering. A hundred years later Dante in his great work the Commedia will divide the after-world into three parts, with hell and purgatory identified as separate 'places', but purgatory as a separate part of the afterworld was not officially recognised by the church until 1254 when it's official existence is stated in a letter from Pope Innocent IV. This was confirmed as church teaching by the second council of Lyons in 1274. Before then, as we see here in Tundale's vision, some sufferings of the underworld were seen as purgative while others were thought of as punishment. The concept of purgatory was present even if its geography had not been officially mapped by the church. Tundale suffers but he suffers for a reason - to make him better. In that sense, although utterly horrible, this hell is a more positive place than Dante's. Here people are allowed to learn from their suffering. In Dante's hell souls remain in hell forever. Here there is hope, but in Dante's hell, as the sign above the door puts it, all hope must be abandoned. You may also be interested in . . . .
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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.
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