Publisher's Synopsis
The Middle English Harrowing of Hell and Gospel of Nicodemus is a book that contains two medieval texts. The first text, the Middle English Harrowing of Hell, is a poem that tells the story of Christ's descent into Hell after his crucifixion. The poem describes how Christ freed the souls of the righteous who had died before his coming and brought them to Heaven. The second text, the Gospel of Nicodemus, is an apocryphal gospel that recounts the trial, crucifixion, and resurrection of Jesus Christ from the perspective of Nicodemus, a Pharisee who became a follower of Jesus. The book, edited and introduced by William Henry Hulme, provides a valuable insight into medieval literature and religious beliefs.1907. Hulme has attempted to make all the known Middle-English versions of the Harrowing of Hell and the poetical Gospel of Nicodemus accessible to students. The Harrowing of Hell is the Old English and Middle English term for the triumphant descent of Christ into hell (or Hades) between the time of His Crucifixion and His Resurrection, when, according to Christian belief, He brought salvation to the souls held captive there since the beginning of the world. The title Gospel of Nicodemus is of medieval origin. The apocryphon gained wide credit in the Middle Ages, and has considerably affected the legends of our Savior's Passion.This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the old original and may contain some imperfections such as library marks and notations. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions, that are true to their original work.
