In a message dated 9/5/00 9:38:53 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
[log in to unmask] writes:
> Since both the Apostles' and Athanasian Creeds contain a reference
> to the incident, it is an article of belief. I believe the apocryphal
> Gospel of Nicodemus is the principal source for it. You might look
> at Passus XVIII of Piers Plowman or the mystery cycles for other
> literary treatments of the theme.
>
> Regards,
> Jim Kerbaugh
>
I too think it must have been the Gospel of Nicodemus. But he isn't really
following that storyline either--more or less inventing his own version of
who gets saved. In Nicodemus, if you remember, everyone is saved without
exception.
The Harrowing of Hell is a popular subject in medieval art, and in the
Commedia it's axial for the questions it raises, and that are answered later.
(A) What did Christ do with the OT figures he saves? (B) Who are the "many
others"?
pat sloane
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