Some Other deadly sins
Some Other deadly sins
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It is a long-held belief that when sentencing criminals, the punishment should fit the crime. Today, punishments from earlier periods of history often seem grotesque, horrendously cruel, and even downright bizarre. This section explores some secular and religious crimes and their often gruesome imagined punishments.
Woodcut from Wonderful prodigies of judgment and mercy : discovered in above thirty three memorable histories, etc (BV4920.B87 1685).
This image comes from a story from collection of sensational tales demonstrating the divine punishment of sin. A young lady's maid attracted the jealousy of her lady, who imprisoned her in a dungeon full of serpents for a small error. The maid screamed as the snakes attacked her all day but the lady would not relent. Only when the screams stopped was the dungeon was opened, and the maid found dead and being consumed by the snakes. The lady's punishment? She was consumed by a melancholy that brought about an early death.
The Temptation of St. Anthony
The Temptation of St. Anthony
St. Anthony is credited with being the father of Christian monasticism. According to his biographer, St. Athanasius the Bishop of Alexandria, Anthony gave up his worldly possessions at the age of thirty-five to retreat into the wilderness of the Egyptian desert to devote himself to fasting and prayer. During his seclusion, Anthony was assaulted both physically and mentally by monstrous demons. The Devil sent an onslaught of temptations and monsters against Anthony as a punishment for his sanctity and to try and break his faith.
This rare etching by the Baroque printmaker Jacques Callot, is a grotesque and elaborate depiction of Saint Anthony's torment in the desert. Anthony can be found cowering outside of his cave on the left while under attack by an onslaught of demons. The Devil, in the form of a huge dragon, takes center stage, directing the minions of Hell who swarm the page. This etching was originally created in 1635 and was Callot's second attempt to capture St. Anthony's torture.
The Temptation of Saint Anthony has been a popular subject in art and literature with notable interpretations by artists such as Michelangelo, Hieronymus Bosch, Joos van Craesbeeck, and Salvador Dali. Earlier depictions of Anthony's torment tended to focus on the mental and physical anguish he suffered and are notable for their portrayals of monsters, devils, demons, and evil. Modern interpretations, on the other hand, tend to focus on the temptations that attempted to lure Anthony away from his faith, including an alluring woman (or women) who try to seduce Anthony, changing the message to his triumph over lust, sexuality, and desire with the help of God.
Punishments for the High and Mighty:
Punishments for the High and Mighty:
Woodcut from BV4920.B87 1685 - Wonderful prodigies of judgment and mercy : discovered in above thirty 3 memorable histories, ec.
This image depicts the punishment of Hatto II , the Archbishop of Maintz. Hatto is described as a particularly cruel ruler who, when the poor were starving, had them gathered in barns and burnt to death, for "the poor were like the rats and vermin, who did eat up the fruits of the land". As punishment Hatto and his family were relentless pursued by swarms of rats that ate them alive.
Woodcut from BV4920.B87 1685 - Wonderful prodigies of judgment and mercy : discovered in above thirty 3 memorable histories, ec.
This woodcut illustrates the story of Drahomira, Queen of Bohemia. Burton, the author of Wonderful prodigies, alleges that Drahomira was an enemy of Christianity and slew many innocent Christians. As punishment, she was swallowed alive by the earth, along with her carriage and servants, as she was passing over the ground where unburied Christian martyrs lay.
Woodcut from BV4920.B87 1685 - Wonderful prodigies of judgment and mercy : discovered in above thirty 3 memorable histories, ec.
This woodcut depicts the penance and punishment of King Henry II of England. Henry was accused of being responsible for the murder of Thomas Becket, the Archbishop of Canterbury, with whom he had a lengthy dispute. The Pope found Henry responsible for the murder, excommunicating the monarch until he submitted to the Pope in all spiritual matters, made a pilgrimage to Becket's tomb (who had been canonized as a saint), and submitted to being beaten with rods.
The Divine Comedy
The Divine Comedy
The Divine Comedy is an epic allegorical poem written by Dante Alighieri in 1321. The poem is a representation of the journey of life as well as Dante's personal spiritual journey. Dante is guided through the Inferno (Hell), Purgatorio (Purgatory), and Paradiso (Paradise) by the Roman poet Virgil and Beatrice, a personification of divine wisdom.
The Mount Royal Archives and Special Collections has one leaf of the Inferno from a 1507 Venetian edition of the Divine Comedy. The Inferno is a popular section because it describes the nine circles of Hell and vividly describes the punishments of sinners there. As Dante descends the Inferno's spiraling circles, the sins become more egregious and the punishments more horrible.
Leaf from Dante's Divine Comedy (0225-05.
An Overview of the circles of Hell:
An Overview of the circles of Hell:
1. The first circle of Hell, also known as Limbo, is reserved for the unbaptized and pagans who were born before the time of Christ.
2. The second circle contains those consumed by lust such as adulterers and people with excessive sexual appetites. The carnal are punished by being trapped in an endless cyclone of souls.
3. The third circle punishes the gluttonous, those who have grossly overindulged during their lives. Gluttony is punished by being forced to wallow in a frozen wasteland of hail, snow, and icy rain.
4. The fourth circle is for the greedy, who are punished by being forced to fight each other by mindlessly rolling and crashing heavy weights attached to their chests into each other.
5. The fifth circle punishes the wrathful, those who were consumed by anger during life. They are forced to continue their belligerence forever, fighting an endless war on the banks of the River Styx.
6. The sixth circle was reserved for heretics, such as atheists, pagans, and of course, witches. Heretics were doomed to be encased in burning tombs or nailed to fiery crosses.
Our leaf describes the fifth bolgia, or ditch, in the eighth circle. In the top left, Dante and Virgil observe extortionists and blackmailers swimming in a pit of burning pitch. To the right, a horde of demons eagerly wait with grappling hooks and barbed forks to push back any sinners that try to escape.
7. The seventh circle punishes violence, and was further divided into three sections based on the victim of the crime. The first part punishes violence against others, such as murderers and bandits, who are punished in a river of blood and fire. The second level punishes violence against the self, where those who have committed suicide are transformed into trees and fed upon by harpies. The final part of the seventh circle punishes those who have committed violence against God. Blasphemers, sodomites, and usurers are punished in a wasteland of burning sand.
8. The eighth circle punishes those who have brought about the downfall of others through fraud and trickery. The eighth circle is also subdivided into ten concentric 'ditches' (bolgia) with separate punishments for each class of sinner.
9. The ninth circle is for those who have committed treachery. Those who have betrayed family, guests, their community, or broken other social bonds, are trapped in a frozen lake. At the center of this circle is the Devil, condemned for his personal betrayal of God.
Punishments for Cursers and Blasphemers:
Punishments for Cursers and Blasphemers:
Woodcut from BV4920.B87 1685 - Wonderful prodigies of judgment and mercy : discovered in above thirty 3 memorable histories, ec.
This woodcut depicts the punishment of Albertus Peroscius for blasphemy. As Burton relates the story, Peroscius was a prosperous man who increased his fortune by enriching himself off his neighbors. One day he returned home to find that all his cattle had fallen sick and died. He started to rave angrily at God, blaming him for his misfortune. As punishment for his blasphemy, God sent a rain of blood that turned Peroscius into a black dog that consumed the rotting corpses of his cattle.
Woodcut from BV4920.B87 1685 - Wonderful prodigies of judgment and mercy : discovered in above thirty 3 memorable histories, ec.
This image depicts the punishment of a woman who is described as using "horrible curs[es] and oaths both against her self and others..." In this scene, she is being punished for her terrible behavior at a wedding feast and, with the Devil hoisting her into the air and carrying her away.
Published October 5, 2022
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