PART II

1. THE CLASSICAL TRADITION

Sources of the mediæval legend of the Vision of the Otherworld--The Classical Tradition--The Otherworld in the Greek poets--Influence of the Mysteries--The effect of initiation on the future life--Ethical teaching of the Mysteries--Plato’s _Vision of Er_--Plato’s opinion of the Mysteries--Description of Elysium in the _Axiochus_--The _Frogs_ of Aristophanes; visit to Hades by Dionysos; light thrown on the Greek views of the Mysteries of the next world--Plutarch’s _Vision of Thespesios_--Plutarch’s eschatology--Rebirth theory in Plato and Plutarch--The Vision in Latin literature--The _Somnium Scipionis_--Virgil’s description of the Otherworld--Literary character of his treatment--Composite nature of his eschatology--His authority in the Middle Ages 48-67

2. THE ORIENTAL TRADITION

Dante’s attitude towards Virgil--His scheme in the Commedia--Non-classical elements thereby necessitated--Process of accretion in the later Jewish Church--The Chaldæan eschatology--Visits to Hades of Ishtâr and Gisdubar--The Chaldæan Elysium--Arali, the Chaldæan Hades--Aristocratic conception of Elysium--The effect of the Median conquest--The Avestan eschatology--The soul after death--The Chinvât Bridge--Judgment--The Avestan Elysium--The Tree of Life and the World-Sea--The bird Karshipta--the Vara of Yima--Yima and the Indian Yama--Allegoric tendencies of the Avesta--Its adoption of earlier animism--The question of its influence on Judaism--Darmesteter on Neo-Platonic elements in the Avesta--Older elements in the Avestan theory of the Otherworld; Achæmenian, Indian and Chaldæan--The Amesha Spentas and the Philonic emanations--Their probable connection with the Chaldæan Spirits of Earth--Chaldæan and Persian influences upon Jewish speculation--Oriental conceptions present in the Vision of Adamnán: the seven Heavens, the mystical Bird, the Tree of Life, the World-Sea, the Bridge--Rebirth theory absent from the Avestan religion--Egypt and Neo-Judaism--The Jewish colony in Alexandria; its culture mainly Hellenic; interchange of ideas with the Egyptians--Egyptian cults in the Hellenic world--Egyptian eschatology; Judgment, the ‘Eater of the Dead,’ Elysium--Purgatorial and kindred theories of the Rabbis and early Christians--Special treatment of half good, half wicked souls--Greek and Oriental influences on the Otherworld conceptions of the Christian Church--Rebirth rejected by the Jews, and by the ancient Egyptians 67-94

3. THE ECCLESIASTICAL TRADITION

The Vision of the Otherworld a favourite subject in the Jewish apocryphal scriptures--The _Book of Enoch_--Parallels to Christian Visions--Care for topographical details--Dissertations as in Dante--Purgatorial theory--Descriptions of Hell and Heaven--The Celestial Mountain--Sheol--The Tree of Life--Judgment--The _Gospel of Nicodemus_--The _Vision of Esdras_ in the Old Testament Apocrypha--Another _Vision of Esdras_ in the Christian apocryphal books--The _Vision of Isaiah_--Little information respecting the Otherworld in the canonical books of the New Testament--Details in the Epistles of St. Jude and St. Peter and the Revelation--Græco-Roman speculations during the early ages of the Church--The Sibylline books--The ‘Harrowing of Hell’ legend--Spread of eschatological writings--The _Shepherd of Hermas_--An anticipation of Dante and Beatrice--Its scope rather anagogical than eschatological--The Apocalypse of St. Peter--The Revelation of St. Paul--Their influence apparent in the _Fis Adamnáin_--The _Transitus Mariæ_--Blending of Hebraic and Hellenic conceptions of the Otherworld--Persistence of the moral teaching in the Mysteries; and of the popular belief in Tartarus--The Vision legend little affected by Pagan cults or Neo-Platonic speculation--The Vision legend in the Western Church--Instances recorded by St. Augustine and St. Gregory--Minor importance of the legend in the West until developed by the Irish Church 94-113

4. THE LEGEND IN IRELAND

Relations of the Irish Church with Southern Gaul and the East--Irish Pilgrimages to Egypt--The Egyptian _Book of Adam and Eve_ preserved in Ireland only--Resemblances between the Irish and Oriental monastic systems--Irish knowledge of Greek writers and intercourse with the Greeks--The ecclesiastical conception of the Otherworld influenced by cognate ideas in Irish literature and mythology--Dignity of the Irish literary profession; its classifications--Categories of the Irish historical and romantic tales--Tolerance of the Irish clergy--Survival of the Imram and Fis, and their influence upon the literature of mediæval Europe--The Otherworld a favourite subject in Irish legend--Elysian realms of the Irish Gods; of the Dagda and Oengus Óg, of Mider, of Manannán Mac Lír--Poetic description in the _Voyage of Bran_--Tethra, king of the dead--His messengers to summon mortals to him--The story of Connla--The Orpheus myth in Ireland--The _Serglige Conchulaind_--No Tartarus in the Irish mythology--Malignant powers--Sinister aspects of the Otherworld--The realm of Scathach--The Bridge of the Cliff--Whether of Norse origin, or ecclesiastical, or native--Parallels in the Avesta and among primitive peoples--The _Adventures of Nera_--The legend in the Finn Cycle--Late survivals--The legend in the Conn Cormac Cycle--Conn’s visits to the Tír Tairngire--Christian redactions of Pagan stories--The adventures of Árt in the Tír Tairngire, and the courtship of Delbchaem--The visit of Cormac to the Tír Tairngire--The introduction of allegory--First rudimentary ethical conceptions in connection with the Otherworld--Whether original or due to clerical redactors--Interpolations by the redactors--Increasing prominence of eschatological ideas in the Christian Imrama--The chastity ideal existing side by side with its opposite in the Tír Tairngire--Cuchulainn and the children of Doel Dermait--The enchanted castle and its Otherworld origin--The _Voyage of Maelduin’s Curach_--Greek influences--Elysian islands--Infernal elements--The ‘Miller of Hell’--Picture of Elysium--Adaptation of the Phœnix legend to old Irish myths--Bird souls--Island hermits--The cook of Torach--The _Voyage of the Curach of the Ui Corra_--Eschatology in the ascendant--Influences of Nature--Purgatorial theory introduced into the Imram--The _Voyage of Snedgus and Mac Ríagla_--Transition from Pagan to Christian conceptions of the Otherworld--Visions of the Otherworld in Ireland--Visions of St. Colm Cille--St. Fursa; his Vision--Vision of Laisrén--The _Scél Lái Brátha_--The fourfold division of human souls--The _Dá Brón Flatha Nime_ 113-174

5. THE FIS ADAMNÁIN

Its structural and literary superiority to other Visions before Dante--The general plan--Indications of composite authorship--Authorities followed by the writer of the Vision--The guide to the Otherworld--The author’s use of old Irish imagery--His ecclesiastical treatment of the subject--Pictorial grouping and imagery--Parallels to the Imrama--The Cockayne idea and the ascetic idea--The state described to continue to the Last Judgment only--Deferred Judgment of certain spirits and their Limbo--The soul’s progress through the seven Heavens--The Purgatorial theory--Dante parallels--Judgment--The fate of the reprobate--Insistence on the spiritual side of their sufferings--The further description of Hell apparently interpolated--The Bridge incident--Fourfold division of the souls--The punishments of the reprobate--Increasing minuteness of these descriptions by successive Vision writers--Attempts at classification--Dante parallels--Temporary punishment of certain sinners--The region of the damned after the Last Judgment--Characteristics of northern and southern writers respectively--The four rivers of Hell--Adamnán’s message--Enoch and Elias with the Bird-flocks about the Tree of Life--Rhapsodical description of Heaven 174-206

6. LATER DEVELOPMENTS

Irish influences upon Continental writers--Enduring effect of St. Brendan’s legend--The _Voyage of St. Brendan_--Old Irish incidents preserved therein--The Paradise of Birds and the rebel angels--Cessation of the Imram and continuance of the Fis--The _Vision of Tundale_--Great development of Purgatorial incidents--The Bridge episode--Hell described as the mouth of a dragon--Description of Hell--The half righteous--Converse with persons whom Tundale had known in life--King Cormac--Paradise--The Tree of Life and Bird-flocks--Blending in this vision of Irish and ecclesiastical elements--Influence of the result upon European literature--Relations to the _Fis Adamnáin_ and to the St. Patrick’s Purgatory legend--Dante probably acquainted with the Vision of Tundale--Comparison between the _Vision_ and the _Commedia_--Prevalence of the Vision legend on the Continent--Foreign Visions derived from Irish sources--The _Vision of Drihthelm_--St. Patrick’s Purgatory--The Vision of Owen--Doubtful origin of the legend of St. Patrick’s Purgatory--Its popularity on the Continent--Treatment by Continental writers--The _Vision of Alberic_--Waning influence of the Irish school--Increased number but diminished importance of the Otherworld stories--Lack of originality 206-241

7. CONCLUSION

Recapitulation--No theory propounded as to Dante’s indebtedness to the Irish school--His probable acquaintance with the later Visions of that school--Probable nature and limitations of their influence--Tendency of each school to drop the more characteristic traits of its predecessors--Dante’s rejection of many conventional incidents--The literary qualities of the _Fis Adamnáin_--Irish susceptibility to the beauties of Nature and to music--Absence of dissertations from the _Fis Adamnáin_--Interruption of the Irish national literature--Modern renaissance 242-249

INDEX 251

AN IRISH PRECURSOR OF DANTE