Question about medieval era?

Question:Discuss the beliefs about hell during the Medieval Era

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: Discuss the beliefs about hell during the Medieval Era

The doctrine of hell hasn't changed since the Middle Ages. It's still pretty much thought of as a place of torment. One of the greatest works of literature was written during this time, "The Divine Comedy" by Dante. It gives an excellent representation of how people thought of hell [inferno], as well as purgatory [purgatorio] and heaven [paradiso].

In Dante's poem, hell has seven circles to coincide with various levels of evil that people committed in their lifetime. At the center of the innermost circle, Satan rules, but he is bound, frozen in a lake of ice, and unable to leave his realm. In Hell, the damned are tormented in ways that relate to their sins in life. For example, there is a doomed pair of lovers, Francesca and Paolo. They committed adultery together and are now doomed to fly about ceaselessly, without rest-- because their sin was that they were fleeting in their loyalty and swept away by passion.

Today, I don't think we spend as much time wondering what hell is like. After all, it's not very important. What is important is to learn to do God's will-- aiming for heaven, rather than worrying about how to avoid hell.

hell was the sinned place of the bible that the devil was known to live in but many people were not educated enough to read so many didn't know about god, heaven or hell!