Editing Harrowing of Hell (section)

== In culture ==
{{more citations needed section|date=January 2011}}
[[File:Descent into hell-Russian Museum.jpg|thumb|''Harrowing of Hades'', an icon by [[Dionisius]], from the [[Ferapontov Monastery]]]]

===Drama===
The richest, most circumstantial accounts of the Harrowing of Hell are found in medieval dramatic literature, such as the four great cycles of English [[Mystery play]]s which each devote a separate scene to depict it.<ref name=Warren/> Christ was portrayed as conquering Satan, and then victoriously leading out Adam and Eve, the prophets, and the patriarchs. The earliest surviving Christian drama probably intended to be performed is the ''[[Harrowing of Hell (drama)|Harrowing of Hell]]'' found in the 8th-century ''[[Book of Cerne]]''.

The subject is found also in the Cornish Mystery plays and the York and Wakefield cycles. These medieval versions of the story derive from scripture, but the details come from the Gospel of Nicodemus.

=== Literature ===

==== Middle Ages ====

In [[Dante Alighieri|Dante]]'s ''[[Inferno (Dante)|Inferno]]'' the Harrowing of Hell is mentioned in Canto IV by the pilgrim's guide [[Virgil]]. Virgil was in Limbo (the first circle of Hell) in the first place because he was not exposed to Christianity in his lifetime, and therefore he describes Christ in generic terms as a "mighty one" who rescued the Hebrew forefathers of Christianity, but left him and other [[virtuous pagan]]s behind in the very same circle. It is clear that Virgil does not fully understand the significance of the event as Dante does.

An incomplete [[Middle English]] telling of the Harrowing of Hell is found in the [[Auchinleck manuscript]].<ref>{{cite web|website=Auchinleck.nls.uk|url=http://auchinleck.nls.uk/mss/harrow.html|title=Auchinleck manuscript|access-date=February 24, 2013|archive-date=September 17, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120917024734/http://auchinleck.nls.uk/mss/harrow.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

A scene of the Harrowing of Hell is included by [[William Langland]] (Willielmus de Langland; circa 1330 – circa 1386) in ''[[Piers Plowman]]'' (circa 1377). This is a Middle English allegorical narrative poem, written in un-rhymed, alliterative verse divided into sections called passus (Latin for "step"). 

Although the [[Orpheus|Orfeo]] legend has its origin in pagan antiquity, the medieval [[Romance (heroic literature)|romance]] of ''[[Sir Orfeo]]'' has often been interpreted as drawing parallels between the Greek hero and Jesus freeing souls from Hell,<ref>{{cite book|author=Henry, Elisabeth |title=Orpheus with His Lute: Poetry and the Renewal of Life|publisher=Bristol Classical Press|date= 1992|pages= 38, 50–53, 81}} ''et passim''</ref><ref>{{cite news|author= Treharne, Elaine|title=Speaking of the Medieval|work=The Oxford Handbook of Medieval Literature in English|publisher=Oxford University Press|date= 2010|page= 10}}</ref> with the explication of Orpheus' descent and return from the Underworld as an allegory for Christ's as early as the ''[[Pierre Bersuire|Ovide Moralisé]]'' (1340).<ref>{{cite book|last=Friedman |first=John Block |title=Orpheus in the Middle Ages|publisher=Syracuse University Press|date= 2000|pages= 125–126 |isbn=0-8156-2825-0 }}</ref>

==== Modern ====

The Catholic philologist and fantasy author [[J. R. R. Tolkien]] echoes the Harrowing of Hell theme in multiple places in ''[[The Silmarillion]]'' (1977) and ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'' (1954–55). [[Christian light in Tolkien's legendarium#Harrowing of Hell|Identified instances]] include the tale "[[Of Beren and Lúthien]]" in which Beren is rescued from [[Sauron]]'s dark dungeons, and [[Gandalf]]'s freeing of King [[Théoden]] of [[Rohan, Middle-earth|Rohan]] from the dark insinuations of the traitorous [[Wormtongue]].<ref name="Steed 2017">{{cite journal |last1=Steed |first1=Robert |title=The Harrowing of Hell Motif in Tolkien's Legendarium |journal=Mallorn |date=2017 |issue=58 |pages=6–9 |url=https://journals.tolkiensociety.org/mallorn/article/download/26/21 |access-date=March 5, 2024 |archive-date=November 30, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231130134336/https://journals.tolkiensociety.org/mallorn/article/download/26/21 |url-status=live }}</ref>

In [[Stephen Lawhead]]'s novel ''Byzantium'' (1997), a young [[Irish monk]] is asked to explain Jesus Christ's life to a group of [[Vikings]], who were particularly impressed with his "[[descent to the underworld]]" ''(Helreið)''.{{cn|date=March 2024}}

In 2021, Jonathan Jackson wrote “The Harrowing of Hell: An epic poem” about the descent of Jesus to Hell after the crucifixion. It was published by Hilasterion Publishing of Tennessee and illustrated by Anastasia Chybireva-Fender.

[[File:Follower of Jheronimus Bosch Christ in Limbo.jpg|thumb|''Christ in Limbo'', by a follower of [[Hieronymus Bosch]]]]

Parallels in Jewish literature refer to legends of Enoch and Abraham's harrowings of the Underworld, unrelated to Christian themes. These have been updated in [[Isaac Leib Peretz]]'s short story "[[Neilah]] in [[Gehenna]]", in which a Jewish [[hazzan]] descends to Hell and uses his unique voice to bring about the repentance and liberation of the souls imprisoned there.{{cn|date=March 2024}}

===Music===
* The Harrowing of Hell is the subject of [[baroque]] [[oratorio]]s including [[Antonio Salieri|Salieri]]'s ''Gesù al Limbo'' (1803) to a text by Luigi Prividali.<ref>Recording and essay with Il Giudizio Finale; Te Deum. dir Alberto Turco, Bongiovanni</ref>

===Art===
* A follower of [[Hieronymus Bosch]] depicts ''Christ in Limbo'' in a vivid composition, now owned by the Indianapolis Museum of Art.<ref>{{cite web|title=Christ in Limbo|url=http://collection.imamuseum.org/artwork/79340/|website=Indianapolis Museum of Art|access-date=March 17, 2016|archive-date=March 26, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160326095653/http://collection.imamuseum.org/artwork/79340/|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Television ===

* The harrowing is mentioned in the [[The Harrowing (Inside No. 9)|eponymous episode]] of the British dark comedy anthology series ''[[Inside No. 9]]''.
* In [[Supernatural (American TV series)|''Supernatural'']], the [[seraph]] [[Castiel (Supernatural)|Castiel]] is said to have earned the respect of other angels during the harrowing due to his military prowess.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Misha Collins: Supernatural's Warrior Angel |url=http://sfuniverse.com/2008/09/23/mischa-collins-supernaturals-warrior-angel/ |access-date=May 11, 2023 |language=en |archive-date=March 21, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090321011930/http://sfuniverse.com/2008/09/23/mischa-collins-supernaturals-warrior-angel/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>