Lecture: Medieval Devils
Prof. Elisabeth Dutton
Tuesdays 13:15 MIS03 3113
A lecture course aimed at 2nd and 3rd year BA and MA students. The course will be assessed by written exam in the last class of the semester.
Devils feature in many medieval texts, as important features of medieval religion. But the main source for medieval Christianity, the Bible, actually says very little about devils. Medieval writers, and particularly medieval artists, were therefore free to imagine devils as they wished, creating demonic beings that ranged from the terrifyingly powerful to the comically grotesque. This course will examine a range of devils in medieval poetry, prose and drama, drawing also on visual representations of fiends and hell. Satan, as the fallen angel, is found not only in Christian tradition but also in Judaism and Islam; the course will consider too analogues to Christian devils that are to be found in other Abrahamic traditions.
- Enseignant·e: Elisabeth Dutton