3-039-756 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

The Beast Acheron; Les Visions du chevalier Tondal, 1475. The Visions of the Knight Tondal - "one of the most popular and elaborate texts in the medieval genre of visionary infernal literature" - tells the story of a wealthy and errant Irish knight, whose soul goes on a journey through Hell and Paradise. As a result of his experience, Tondal is spiritually transformed and vows to lead a more pious life. In this miniature, Tondal's wandering soul observes the punishments meted out in Hell to the greedy. The illuminator has envisioned the entrance to Hell as the mouth of the beast Acheron, whose name derives from Greek mythology, referring to the river in Hades or Hell. This creature rolls its horrid eyes, its mouth gaping threateningly wide; two devils impaled on its sharp teeth hold its mouth open. Inside, souls endure brutal torment in a fiery furnace. Flames from this hot pit lap about the edges of the beast's upper lip. The artist, Simon Marmion, represented Tondal's soul as a naked and vulnerable figure, led by a guardian angel. In the Middle Ages, souls were commonly represented as nude human figures, expressing the idea that the trappings of the material world are shed in death. Except for the angel's blue robe, the scene is saturated with dark, vivid colours.