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The Medieval Concept of Purgatory
An introduction to purgatory as a medieval Christian doctrine: what it was said to be, who was thought to go there, and where the idea came from.
Faith and Health
Afterlife and Purgatory
What people believed about death, heaven, hell and purgatory.
The Medieval Concept of Hell: A Theological Debate
How medieval Christians pictured hell, its punishments and its demons, and what theologians argued about its nature, its eternity and who deserved it.
The Medieval Concept of Purgatory: A Look at the Afterlife
How medieval people tried to help the dead through prayers, masses, almsgiving and chantries, and how care for the souls in purgatory shaped everyday religion.
The Medieval Concept of Purgatory: A Place of Spiritual Cleansing
Why medieval writers described purgatory as cleansing by fire, how this image worked, and how purgatory differed from hell in purpose, hope and duration.
The Medieval Concept of Purgatory: A Theological Debate
A clear overview of how the doctrine of purgatory developed, from early prayers for the dead to medieval councils and Reformation disputes, and what stayed uncertain.
The Medieval Concept of the Afterlife
A broad overview of medieval beliefs about death, judgment, heaven, hell and purgatory, and how learned teaching differed from popular stories about the soul.
The Medieval Concept of the Afterlife: A Place of Reward or Punishment
How medieval sermons and church art contrasted the rewards of heaven with the punishments of hell to teach moral behavior, and what the images were meant to do.
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Monasteries and Orders Monks, monasteries and the military religious orders. Medicine and Healing Doctors, herbs, theories and beliefs about illness and magic. Philosophy and Theology How medieval thinkers joined faith and reason. The Black Death The plague of the 1300s and its effects on society. Inquisition and Heresy How medieval church courts pursued heresy, and what the records really show. Saints and Mystics Holy men and women, visionaries and a martyr. Theologians and Reformers Thinkers who shaped and challenged Church teaching. The Church and Its Power How the medieval church was organized and how it used its influence. Sin, Salvation and Virtue Medieval ideas about sin, salvation, providence and the virtues. Jews in Medieval Europe Jewish communities, scholarship, restrictions and expulsions. Pilgrimage, Relics and Shrines Holy journeys, saints bones and the shrines that drew travelers.