Rabbit Hole #6: The Soul in the Boat

This week, we’re going to look at the path to Heaven and Hell, as described in the Middle Ages, and in particular as depicted in the story of one man’s journey. The notion of this path has been the source of a constant stream of writing, with many of our modern ideas springing wholly formed, à la Athena, from medieval visions. Probably the best known example of these writings come to us from Dante Alighieri, who wrote powerfully about his journey to the bottom of Hell and up through to Paradise in the Divine Comedy. Painters have used his motifs for years, and the most powerful example of these that we here at T+M have personally been able to go see is the art that resides in the Hell Staircase of the Burghley House, a huge Elizabethan residence and park that's situated not too far from where we currently live. This effect of the staircase is to lead the viewer up from the depths of Hell and into the Heaven Room, and it’s intense! The ceiling above the staircase is macabre, dark and harrowing, as one should rightfully consider the entrance to Hell to be; oddly, in this case, the entrance to Hell doubles as the mouth of a cat, which I thought was an interesting artistic choice. For what it’s worth, I’m not making any of these names - or the cat/hell-mouth motif - up! If you want to see an awesome 360 tour of what I’m speaking about, follow the links to the Burghley House.

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Burghley House 360-degree Tour: https://virtualtour.burghley.co.uk/kitchen.html?scwb=true

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