To your list of legendary conversions, let me add the upright Roman judge
in the Middle English poem, "St. Erkenwald." Also, Julian of Norwich says
that although she believes what the church teaches her about Hell, the only
soul she saw there was Satan.
Jill
On Wed, 25 Mar 1998 12:42:33 -0500,
[log in to unmask] wrote...
>Somewhat following on the recent discussion on the Harrowing of Hell, I'd
>like to pose a few questions to the list.
>
>Does anyone have any suggestions regarding the question of the salvation
>of pagans? Does any Medieval author suggest that the Descent into Hell
>saved anyone other than the patriarchs? Or the possibility that
>Revelation was extended back in time before the Incarnation? I have become
>interested in this through a legend of the baptism and conversion of Ovid.
>I am also (somewhat) aware of legends surrounding Virgil, Trajan, and of
>course of Dante's pilgrim's visit to the poets in the Inferno.
> Fourth Lateran says that no one outside the church is saved, but a
>more popular/legendary and scattered tradition seems to either hold out
>more hope for various virtuous pagans, or at least sympathy for their
>plight.
>
>I would be most grateful for any comments or bibliographic references.
>
>Jess Paehlke
>
>
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