medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
I would venture to say that the "decision" is made by God and the struggles between angels and demons are flights of imagers' fancies. I haven't run across any description or discussion of the manner in which the decision is conveyed. (See the tympanum at Autun and the death of the Evil Rich Man at Moissac at http://www.art-roman.net.) The beautiful prayer "In paradisum," whose exact words I know not either in English or Latin, recited at funerals (and by my father at my mother's deathbed) calls upon the angels to conduct the soul of the departed into paradise. But that is the extent of angels' function RE the deceased. The angel/demon struggle in western art is thought to have been inspired by the weighing of souls motif in Egyptian funerary decoration.
I hope you get some more learned responses from others on the list.
MG
-- acidophilus <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
I am trying to understand the way in which the particular judgment is
conveyed to the demon and the angel battling over the soul right after
death. When someone dies, the soul separates and the "disputatio animae"
begins between the angel(s) and the demon(s). Yet at some point it
becomes clear what the judgment is and one of the two sides wins.
Any bibliographical suggestions would be much appreciated.
Manu Radhakrishnan
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