Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

Illustration

Medieval Evil… Demons

I know people for whom the battle with demons for their soul is very real – and I’m willing to bet that if you live in the US, you probably know a few people like that too. They are constantly calling out for Jesus/Allah/Spaghetti Monster to protect them from the evil spirits and demons trying desperately to infect their minds and bodies. It’s pretty funny, but I only think so because I just let the demons in, so they and I have a good laugh together watching these devout fanatics’ futile struggle. It makes me think about a time when this was a reality for a good portion of the world, when my ancestors would look upon woodcut images or paintings (ok, maybe not my ancestors, because they were probably poor as fuck peasants, but you know, the rich people who told the poor people what to believe) of the Devil and his Demons and tremble with very real fear of these creatures. Here is a collection of medieval demons, as well as a quote that explains the medieval mindset when it came to good and evil…

The war between Good and Evil was the profoundest reality of life, since upon the issue hung the eternal destiny of the soul. The salvation of the hard-pressed soul was the supreme prize of existence, and mortal life became subject to a single evaluation – the soul’s progress toward God or its defection away from Him.

The adventure of life was, in our sense, inward and spiritual. God created the earth and the heavens and all things therein so that man might work out his life and destiny. Man was at the center of the universe and everything possessed significance not in itself but for man’s pilgrimage.

The Devil and his demons indeed were very real and very close, and the powers of God and his angels needed constantly to be drawn upon to combat them.

What we call external reality was subordinate to the central conflict. The observer was himself in the picture at the center, and the world was more like a garment man wore about him than a stage on which he moved. The internal and external world were identified in a state of fusion and wholeness.

The Idea of a Person in Medieval Morality Plays, Natalie Crohn Schmitt

1frailtywomanwoodcut

41

511px-Nuremberg_chronicles_-_Devil_and_Woman_on_Horseback_(CLXXXIXv)

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

bernard-zuber-angels-demons-woodblock

danse,macabre,skull,medieval,skulls-5f29413153af592711f1a36ee04c3072_h

Demon_of_Calicut

demon

demonilluminated

demons

Devil-and-Demons

F012-007

Healing_of_the_demon-possessed

macbr70

Medieval devil on man

MhZNy

ms-douce-134-3

noch_eins

Nuremberg_chronicles_-_Dance_of_Death_CCLXIIIIv

satan

Schongauer_Anthony

tumblr_lzeeinvGpx1r7y1h9o1_500

tumblr_m3ay5j7tT41r1dpd5o1_1280

Written By

Meghan MacRae grew up in Vancouver, Canada, but spent many years living in the remote woods. Living in the shadow of grizzly bears, cougars and the other predators of the wilderness taught her about the dark side of nature, and taught her to accept her place in nature's order as their prey. She is co-founder of CVLT Nation.

Relapse DF 92123
Sentient 51423

You May Also Like

Art

via Dazed DigitalText & Photos by Tony Farfalla The heat from the enormous burning pentagram is nearly unbearable as I move closer to the...

80s Hardcore

When I look at old photos of the punk scene, a really good feeling comes over me. Maybe because I know I’m looking at...

Photography

Shaolin Kung Fu, developed in China beginning in 495AD, has infiltrated popular culture in the West. Depending on your age, you might be familiar...

Film

Thanks for tuning into the tenth installment of the Heavy Hour! DeathgraVe is new Hardcore Punk band from San Jose/Oakland(((California))). Featuring members of Brainoil,...

Copyright © 2020 CVLT Nation.