Translating Hell
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A01=Stephen C. E. Hopkins
Apocalypse of Paul
apocrypha
Author_Stephen C. E. Hopkins
Category=DSBB
Category=NHDJ
Category=QRAX
Category=QRVG
Christianity--hell
eq_bestseller
eq_biography-true-stories
eq_history
eq_isMigrated=1
eq_isMigrated=2
eq_nobargain
eq_non-fiction
eschatology
forthcoming
future life
Gospel of Nicodemus
hell
hell--comparative studies
identity
medieval literature
Middle Welsh
North Sea
Old English
Old Irish
Old Norse
translation theory
vernacular theology
Product details
- ISBN 9781526175038
- Dimensions: 138 x 216mm
- Publication Date: 05 May 2026
- Publisher: Manchester University Press
- Publication City/Country: GB
- Product Form: Hardback
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In the Middle Ages, hell was useful because it was vaguely defined. Canonical scriptures scarcely mention hell, leaving much to the imaginations of early Christians, who used it to sort out who belonged within the faith. This book explores how hell became a place for literary experiments with local challenges in theology and identity. Following the reception and transformations of two popular hell apocrypha, it argues that they served as this role because of their liminal textual authority. As noncanonical scriptures, apocrypha afforded medieval writers space to revise their hells (since they were not actually scripture), while also encouraging readers to revere those experiments as valid (since they seemed like scripture). The book brings together adaptations from early medieval England, Iceland, Ireland, and Wales, placing the early vernacular theologies of the North Sea in comparative conversation.
Stephen Hopkins is Assistant Professor of English Literature at the University of Virginia
