Il motivo del Descensus Christi ad Inferos nella poesia inglese antica
Parole chiave:
Descensus Christi ad Inferos, Vangelo di Nicodemo, escatologiaAbstract
Nella teologia cristiana, con l’espressione Descensus Christi ad Inferos s’intende il viaggio di Cristo nel regno dei morti nell’arco di tempo compreso tra la Crocifissione e la Resurrezione, allo scopo di liberare i profeti e i patriarchi dell’Antico Testamento. Il motivo del Descensus ha goduto di ampia circolazione durante tutto il Medioevo: riferimenti ad esso si trovano in numerosi passi biblici, in alcuni testi apocrifi e ancora negli scritti dei Padri della Chiesa. Insieme al racconto del processo di Gesù, della sua condanna e della sua crocifissione, il Descensus ad Inferos costituisce il tema principale del Vangelo di Nicodemo, un testo apocrifo tradotto in inglese intorno alla metà del X secolo. Nella produzione letteraria in volgare anglosassone, il motivo del viaggio di Gesù nell’oltretomba si trova declinato in molte forme e in diversi generi poetici. Talvolta esso compare come elemento fugace o velato (come nella Pantera o in Guthlac B), in alcune opere, invece, occupa una posizione preminente, costituendo parte integrante della struttura narrativa (come in Cristo e Satana). Inoltre l’Exeter Book conserva un breve poema intitolato Discesa agli Inferi. Il presente saggio fornisce una rassegna di alcuni passi tra i più significativi della poesia antico inglese che trattano il Descensus ad Inferos, allo scopo di individuarne una chiave di lettura in relazione ad altri temi escatologici diffusi nella tradizione letteraria del medioevo inglese, in particolare con la Seconda Venuta e il Giudizio Finale.
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