Friedrich Vollhardt: "Das Chaos der Hölle. Hieronymus Bosch und die literarischen Unterweltreisen in der Frühen Neuzeit"
Vortragsreihe "CHAOS - Zusammenbrüche der Ordnung in vormodernen Kulturen"
14.12.2015 um 18:00 Uhr
The religious concept of the interpretation of hell and its punishments has turned into a cultural one. In Europe this process took place between the late 16th and the early 18th century, at the turning-point when religion became denominational and heterodox non-conformism developed, between "New Science" and literary imagination. The focus will lie on the attempt to define the discursive network in which what Anglo-American research calls "The Decline of Hell" took place.
My brief lecture consists of two parts, in which I will enquire into the historical conditions which enabled the traditional concepts of the afterworld to become cultural configurations despite the loss of religious relevance; or, as Tarald Rasmussen has aptly phrased it: "Though the topic remains, the function of hell changes considerably – not to say dramatically. These changes can be traced on different levels of religious discourse." In other words, I will examine the patterns of theological argumentation, the literary conceptions, and the forms of artistic representation which are of significance for this process.
Ort: Hauptgebäude der Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Geschwister-Scholl-Platz 1, Hörsaal A 213
Zeit: Montag, 14. Dezember 2015, 18 h c.t.
Vortrag im Rahmen der Reihe "CHAOS - Zusammenbrüche der Ordnung in vormodernen Kulturen"