Harrowing of Hell en · PROPN
Meanings
-
Christ's freeing from the underworld of those souls of the dead who were to go to Heaven.
The source of the Harrowing of Hell tradition is, of course, the apocryphal Gospel of Nicodemus, the oldest manuscripts of which date back to the fifth century, and that work was tremendously popular in England from the earliest days of Christianity there.
1991, M. B. McNamee, “Beowulf-An Allegory of Salvation?”, in Robert D. Fulk, editor, Interpretations of Beowulf, Indiana University Press, page 94:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| the Harrowing of Hell | canonical | lexicographic |
Translations (3)
de Höllefahrt Christi (Christ's freeing of souls from the underworld) · fr descente aux Enfers (Christ's freeing of souls from the underworld) · la Dēscēnsus Chrīstī ad Īnferōs (Christ's freeing of souls from the underworld)