  | PAGE | | PART I | | 1. INTRODUCTORY | | Dante’s Commedia preceded by a long series of Visions of the Otherworld—The Vision a favourite subject with Irish writers of the Middle Ages—Dante’s originality | 1-4 | | 2. THE SEER | | The Irish Church at the close of the seventh century—Its missionary activity—Irish scholars and clerics on the Continent—The authorities for AdamnÁn’s life—His birth and parentage—Meaning of his name—Enters the monastery of Iona—Becomes abbot—Missions to Northumbria—Intercourse with the Venerable Bede—The Paschal controversy—AdamnÁn adopts the Roman usage—His labours in the cause—Wins over Ireland except Iona—His death—His Life of St. Colm Cille—His treatise De Locis Satutis—Miscellaneous and apocryphal writings—His scholarship—AdamnÁn in the later annals—Anecdote of his student days—The Boruma Tribute—Remitted by Árd RÍ Finnachta Fledach—AdamnÁn’s opposition thereto—Doubtful authenticity of the record—Further dissensions with the Árd RÍ—Death of Finnachta—AdamnÁn’s legislation on behalf of the women of Ireland—Their previous status and liability to military service—The CÁin AdamnÁin—Character of AdamnÁn—The Fis AdamnÁin, why associated with his name—MSS. and editions of the Fis AdamnÁin | 4-28 | | 3. TRANSLATION OF THE FIS ADAMNÁIN | | 1. Exordium—2. Enumeration of previous revelations of the Otherworld—3. AdamnÁn’s translation from the body—4-6. The Land of Saints—7-8. The Throne of the Deity—9. The Divine Presence enthroned, and 10. Pictured as a mystic omnipresent face—11. The Celestial City, its seven walls and its floor; 12. Its inhabitants; 13. Its design, as of a Christian Church—14. Limbo of the excluded—15-18. The Soul’s progress through the seven Heavens; 15. Their doors and porters; the first Heaven; 16. The second Heaven, Purgatorial pains; 17. The third and fourth Heavens; 18. The fifth and sixth Heavens—19. The Judgment of the Soul—20. The fate of the damned—21. Hell, a fiery glen—22-23. The Bridge of Doom—24. The half good, half wicked—25-29. Punishments of the wicked described; classification of crimes and punishments—27. The charitable but carnal—29. Fiery wall reserved until after the Last Judgment—30. Description of Hell; impatience of the damned for Judgment; respite on Sundays—31. AdamnÁn returns to Heaven; is restored to the body, and bidden report what he has seen—32. This the subject of his subsequent preaching; consonant with the doctrine of the Apostles and Saints—33. Enoch, Elias, and the Bird-flocks of Paradise—34. Peroration; L’Envoy—35. Rhapsodical description of Heaven | 28-47 | | 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 influen
AN IRISH PRECURSOR OF DANTE
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