Introduction

The Middle Ages was a time of great turmoil, with wars and the Black Death sweeping Europe from 1320-1350. An estimated 25 million died in Europe alone in this period. Hieronymous Bosch (1450-1516) presents in the words of the art historian Walter Gibson, “a world of dreams and nightmares in which forms seem to flicker and change before our eyes”. This is a hellscape. But what is the message, and what impact is it designed to have on us? is hell a place? What does Jesus’ parable in Matthew 25 suggest?