Hellmouth

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ceiling fresco of the Lohja church : the sinners devouring the jaws of hell
Hellmouth from the Hours of Catherine de Clèves , around 1440

Hellmouth is both the name for the gate to hell , which plays a role in many religions, as well as a slang term for a volcanic vent .

There are numerous drastic depictions from the Middle Ages in which sinners find themselves in a blazing mouth of hell. In the Germanic Hel mythology , the entrance to the underground realm of the dead is referred to as this, where the Gjöll or some lakes flowed. Hence some names like the Höllsee in Bavaria or the Hollenteich in Hesse.

The name in connection with volcanoes comes from the fact that it was previously thought that hell, including the red-hot hellfire , lay below the surface of the earth , so that the volcano was the entrance. At the time of the Middle Ages , the Icelandic volcano Hekla in particular had the reputation of leading straight to hell. “Because Iceland used to be the place of residence of the devil in the entire Christian world because of its frequent volcanic disasters. And Hekla as the entrance door to hell. "

See also

  • Abyss , underworld in biblical mythology
  • Hades , underworld of Greek mythology

Web links

Commons : Hellmouth  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Detlef Reepen: Wonderful destructive power . Iceland's volcanoes fascinate researchers and tourists ( Memento from September 30, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF; 39 kB).