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.

When the wicked have traveled a course of sin, and discover they have reason to fear the God;s judgement and wrath for their sins, they begin to wish there is no God to punish them, then by degrees they persuade themselves there is no God, and then they set themselves to study the arguments to support their opinion. This excellent book by John Bunyan covers the subject matter of the existence of heaven and hell as well as studies and dispells the arguments presented by sinners who argue there is no heaven and hell. Most do not know that Bunyan wrote some 60 books, and poetry too. And also almost a well-kept secret is that his doctrine was so biblically laced that many good men would call him too severe. He believed in, and taught, ALL the doctrines of grace, including double-predestination, or reprobation. Why then is he not smeared with the name of hyper-Calvinist like Goodwin, Gill, and others? I guess the same people ought to call Luther a hyper-Lutheran, for he believed and taught it, too. Why begin a review of Bunyan's writings with such a view of his doctrine? It is to show that a Pilgrim's Progress can come only from someone who believes and teaches ALL the counsel of God, without flinching, yea, with loving-kindness. Illegally, He sat in a jail cell over a river for 12 years with his Bible, Galatians by Luther, and another book or two. He had the choice of feeling miserable and murmuring, or of filling his time, thoughts, and energies with studying that Bible, and seeking a way to be of help to his more comfortable, but less dedicated, brothers and sisters. Listen, dear saints, you can't do any better than reading Bunyan. Like Gurnall, he covers everything here and there, and with a sweetness that can come only from God. What a shame that his large heart should be encased in such small print. But, like digging gold, it is worth the time and trouble to dig spiritual gold. Bunyan (1628-1688) rose from an humble beginning to being a preacher to a little house church, to 12 years in jail because he would not agree to quit preaching, to a huge church in London. He wrote 66 books, nearly all while in jail.

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.

First Published in 1993. The present volume covers the currently identified Christian visions of heaven and hell (excluding D ante’s Divine Comedy) from western Europe during the Middle Ages from the late sixth through the fourteenth century.

For thousands of years, philosophers, theologians, and poets have tried to pierce through the veil of death to gaze with wonder, fear, and awe on the final and eternal state of the soul. Indeed, the four great epic poets of the Western tradition (Homer, Virgil, Dante, and Milton) structured their epics in part around a descent into the underworld that is both spiritual and physical, both allegorical and geographical. This book not only considers closely these epic journeys to the "other side," but explores the chain of influences that connects the poets to such writers as Plato, Cicero, St. John, St. Paul, Bunyan, Blake, and C. S. Lewis. Written in a narrative, "man of letters" style and complete with an annotated bibliography, a timeline, a who's who, and an extensive glossary of Jewish, Christian, and mythological terms, this user-friendly book will help readers understand how heaven and hell have been depicted for the last 3,000 years.

The Divine Comedy: The Vision of Hell, Purgatory, and Paradise: Hell, Dante Alighieri. The Divine Comedy (Italian: Divina Commedia is a long narrative poem by Dante Alighieri, begun c. 1308 and completed in 1320, a year before his death in 1321. It is widely considered to be the preeminent work in Italian literature and one of the greatest works of world literature. The poem's imaginative vision of the afterlife is representative of the medieval world-view as it had developed in the Western Church by the 14th century. It helped establish the Tuscan language, in which it is written, as the standardized Italian language. It is divided into three parts: Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso.