Paradise, Death and Doomsday in Anglo-Saxon Literature (Cambridge Studies in Anglo-Saxon England, Series Number 32)

How did the Anglo-Saxons conceptualize the interim between death and Doomsday? In this 2001 book, Ananya Jahanara Kabir presents an investigation into the Anglo-Saxon belief in the 'interim paradise': paradise as a temporary abode for good souls following death and pending the final decisions of Doomsday. She locates the origins of this distinctive sense of paradise within early Christian polemics, establishes its Anglo-Saxon development as a site of contestation and compromise, and argues for its post-Conquest transformation into the doctrine of purgatory. In ranging across Old English prose and poetry as well as Latin apocrypha, exegesis, liturgy, prayers and visions of the otherworld, and combining literary criticism with recent scholarship in early medieval history, early Christian theology and history of ideas, this book is essential reading for scholars of Anglo-Saxon England, historians of Christianity, and all those interested in the impact of the Anglo-Saxon period on the later Middle Ages. Cover......Page 1 Half-title......Page 3 Series-title......Page 4 Title......Page 5 Copyright......Page 6 Dedication......Page 7 Contents......Page 9 Preface......Page 11 Abbreviations......Page 12 1 Between Eden and Jerusalem, death and Doomsday: locating the interim paradise......Page 15 SEMANTIC EXCAVATIONS AND IDEOLOGICAL DEBRIS: THE MANY MEANINGS OF PARADISE......Page 16 BEYOND HISTORY AND IDEOLOGY? SOME ASSUMPTIONS ABOUT PARADISE......Page 17 THE HISTORIAN, THE LITERARY CRITIC, AND ‘THE HISTORY OF PARADISE’......Page 19 PARADISE IGNORED? THE TEMPTATIONS OF EVOLUTIONARY LITERARY HISTORIES......Page 22 AIMS, ASSUMPTIONS AND METHODS OF THE PRESENT INVESTIGATION......Page 24 2 Assertions and denials: paradise and the interim, from the Visio Sancti Pauli to Ælfric......Page 28 PARADISE AND THE THIRD HEAVEN IN THE VISIO SANCTI PAULI......Page 29 PARADISE AS HEAVEN: AUGUSTINE’S DENIAL OF THE INTERIM STATE......Page 37 DEVELOPMENTS IN THE INTERIM: THE TRANSITUS MARIAE AND PARADISE......Page 45 LEXICAL PREVARICATIONS: ÆLFRIC AND THE INTERIM PARADISE......Page 51 3 Old hierarchies in new guise: vernacular reinterpretations of the interim paradise......Page 63 HIERARCHIES BETWEEN PARADISE AND HEAVEN: THE ‘THREE UTTERANCES’ HOMILIES......Page 64 REDACTION XI OF THE VISIO SANCTI PAULI AND THE ‘THREE UTTERANCES’......Page 69 MARY, MARGARET AND CORPORAL ASSUMPTION INTO PARADISE......Page 73 HIERARCHIES BETWEEN PARADISE AND HEAVEN: THE ‘THEBAN LEGEND’ EXEMPLUM......Page 83 UNORTHODOX PARADISES: POPULAR SENSIBILITIES AND THE PLAY OF CULTURE......Page 87 4 Description and compromise: Bede, Boniface and the interim paradise......Page 91 GREGORY’S PLEASANT MEADOW: A VISIONARY BEGINNING......Page 92 SEVENTH-CENTURY DEVELOPMENTS OF GREGORY’S OTHERWORLD......Page 96 SEVENTH-CENTURY CONVENTIONS, EIGHTH-CENTURY REAPPROPRIATIONS......Page 99 INTERNAL SYMMETRIES: THE FOUR-FOLD OTHERWORLDS OF BEDE AND BONIFACE......Page 101 CONCEIVING OF FOUR PLACES: BEDE, BONIFACE AND THE PROGNOSTICON......Page 104 VISUALISING FOUR PLACES: BEDE, BONIFACE AND GREGORY’S MEADOW......Page 111 BEDE’S SOLUTION: ARTICULATIONS, EVASIONS AND COMPROMISES......Page 117 THE DISSEMINATION OF THE FOUR-FOLD OTHERWORLD......Page 122 5 Private hopes, public claims? Paradisus and sinus Abrahae in prayer and liturgy......Page 125 THE EARLY MEDIEVAL FUNERAL RITE AND THE ANTIPHON IN PARADISUM......Page 127 SUBSTITUTES FOR SINUS ABRAHAE: CHANGING PREFERENCES WITHIN THE PRAYERBOOKS......Page 136 PARADISUS AND TWO-PART SUPPLICATIONS IN THE BOOK OF CERNE......Page 141 PARADISUS AND LOCUS REFRIGERII: TWO OPTIONS FOR THE INTERIM......Page 146 THE TENTH CENTURY AND BEYOND: A REFORMED ATTITUDE TOWARDS PARADISUS?......Page 149 6 Doctrinal work, descriptive play: the interim paradise and Old English poetry......Page 155 VISUALISING PARADISE: NEORXNAWANG AS THE GREEN MEADOW......Page 156 VISUALISING HEAVEN: HEOFON AS THE TREASURE-FILLED HALL......Page 161 DESCRIPTIVE CONFLATION: THE ‘GREEN STREET’ TO HEAVEN IN CHRIST AND SATAN......Page 164 NO SPACE FOR THE INTERIM? HEAVEN, PARADISE AND DESCRIPTIVE TYPOLOGY......Page 166 IDEAL LANDSCAPES AND AURAL ABSTRACTIONS: THE INTERIM PARADISE OF THE PHOENIX......Page 174 7 From a heavenly to an earthly interim paradise: toward a tripartite otherworld......Page 181 THE HALF-HEAVENLY, HALF-EARTHLY PARADISE OF THE ‘PROSE PHOENIX’......Page 182 ENOCH, ELIJAH AND VARIETIES OF THE INTERIM PARADISE IN VESPASIAN D. XIV......Page 189 THE FRAGMENTED INTERIM PARADISE OF THE DIALOGUE OF ADRIAN AND RITHEUS......Page 193 THE SPLINTERED LANDSCAPES OF THE TWELFTH-CENTURY OTHERWORLD......Page 196 ‘THE BIRTH OF PURGATORY’ OR ‘THE DEATH OF THE INTERIM PARADISE’?......Page 201 Select bibliography......Page 204 Index......Page 217 How Did The Anglo-saxons Conceptualise The Interim Between Death And Doomsday? In Paradise; Death And Doomsday In Anglo-saxon Literature, Ananya Jahanara Kabir Presents The First Investigation Into The Anglo-saxon Belief In The 'interim Paradise'; Paradise As A Temporary Abode For Good Souls Following Death And Pending The Final Decisions Of Doomsday. She Locates The Origins Of This Distinctive Sense Of Paradise Within Early Christian Polemics, Establishes Its Anglo-saxon Developments As A Site Of Contestation And Compromise, And Argues For Its Post-conquest Transformation Into The Doctrine Of Purgatory. In Ranging Across Old English Prose And Poetry As Well As Latin Apocrypha, Exegesis, Liturgy, Prayers And Visions Of The Otherworld, And Combining Literary Criticism With Recent Scholarship In Early Medieval History, Early Christian Theology And History Of Ideas, This Book Is Essential Reading For Scholars Of Anglo-saxon England, Historians Of Christianity, And All Those Interested In The Impact Of The Anglo-saxon Period On The Later Middle Ages.--jacket. Preface -- List Of Abbreviations -- 1. Between Eden And Jerusalem, Death And Doomsday : Locating The Interim Paradise -- 2. Assertions And Denials : Paradise And The Interim, From The Visio Sancti Pauli To Ælfric -- 3. Old Hierarchies In New Guise : Vernacular Reinterpretations Of The Interim Paradise -- 4. Description And Compromise : Bede, Boniface And The Interim Paradise -- 5. Private Hopes, Public Claims? Paradisus And Sinus Abrahae In Prayer And Liturgy -- 6. Doctrinal Work, Descriptive Play : The Interim Paradise And Old English Poetry -- 7. From A Heavenly To An Earthly Interim Paradise : Toward A Tripartite Otherworld -- Select Bibliography -- Index. Ananya Jahanara Kabir. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 190-202) And Index.

How did the Anglo-Saxons conceptualise the interim between death and Doomsday? In Paradise, Death and Doomsday in Anglo-Saxon Literature, Dr. Kabir presents the first investigation into the Anglo-Saxon belief in the "interim paradise" or paradise as a temporary abode for good souls following death and pending the final decisions of Doomsday. She determines the origins of this distinctive sense of paradise within early Christian polemics, establishes its Anglo-Saxon development as a site of contestation and compromise, and argues for its post-Conquest transformation into the doctrine of purgatory.

If it is permissible to define literature, with a certain rhetorical flourish, as a mirror of society, it is nevertheless a more or less distorting mirror depending on the conscious or unconscious desires of the collective soul which is examining itself - depending, more particularly, on the interests, prejudices, sensibilities and neuroses of the social groups responsible for making the mirror and holding it up to society, or at least that part of society capable of seeing, that is, of reading.