The Hellmouth

Theatre of fear and morality

The Hellmouth is the entrance to Hell imagined as the gaping mouth of an enormous monster, like a whale. Medieval theatre used props, mechanical devices and other effects to frighten the audience by vividly dramatising the entrance to Hell.

Haguenau St Georges (c) wikimedia

The Roman theatre of Antiquity declined under the Christian emperors of the late Roman Empire. For Christians of that era – and at various times and in various places since – entertainment was a sin. Theatre largely disappeared for hundreds of years, but its re-emergence came precisely from the Christians; those who erased it, restored it and used it to reinforce the Christian world-view. In Italy, Jacopone da Todi in 1236 wrote the Laude Drammatiche, and the practice of Liturgical Drama and Sacred Representation began to spread, dispersing throughout Europe as the Mysteries. These theatrical forms were realised by the Confraternities, performing only and exclusively sacred subjects from the Bible or the Gospels. The representations took place inside churches or in churchyards or town squares, with wooden, temporary structures. Performances only took place at Christmas, Easter or on Saints’ days. The Catholic Church used theatre as a means of spreading Catholicism, but also as an instrument of fear and morality.

A common subject in northern Europe is the Hellmouth. In painting, in sculpture, in miniatures of manuscripts the image of the Gates of Hell was frequently depicted. The Hellmouth is most likely a reference to Leviathan, the monster-whale or sea-serpent (translated from the Hebrew, Job 41:1, ‘garlanded animal’). The mouth of hell is compared to the mouth of a whale – a mouth of a terrible and terrifying animal, taken from the narratives of the bible, which drags man, led by devils, into the belly, into the bowels of the whale-animal from where he can never return and must be damned all his life.

Hellmouth (c) wikimedia

In sacred representations, such as that of Caedmon in the early 11th century, and later in the Mystery plays such as the Passion of Valenciennes (1547) and the Easter Drama of Lucerne (1583), the Gates of Hell were dramatically presented as a way to invoke fear, and to enforce morality. In these dramas, the Hellmouth was represented by scenic elements positioned on the ‘playne’ (plain) so that the devils emerging from Hell ran around the plateas (the main playing areas) before approaching Eve for temptation. In Valenciennes, the Mansions (F.02) were lined up in a row, on the left the gate of Paradise, and on the far right a prison and Hell. Behind the prison there is fire and a place of torture, while in front, there is the head of a terrible monster from which devils emerge.

From historical sources, it is clear that the medieval theatre-makers paid special attention and invested much labour to create the area of Hell. The monstrous head was faicte en maniere d'une grande guele se cloant et ouvrant quant besoign este (‘made in the form of a large goblet that closes and opens when needed’). Sound effects were extensively used to create the infernal din of the devils in Hell, made by banging pots and pans together, hammering on anvils, and rolling stones in barrels or large metal bowls (D.02). Meanwhile, the jaws of Hell opened and closed, with fire and pyrotechnics to add to the effect. The records of the play put on by the Drapers’ Guild in Coventry, England, in the 16th century show payments of 8 pence for ‘the keeping of hell mouth’ and 4 pence for ‘the keeping of fire at hell mouth.’ The Hellmouth in the 1437 Passion play in Metz was an automata, swallowing and vomiting out those condemned to Hell on its own. It also had eyes that glittered. The Hellmouth of the Corpus Christi play in Toledo, Spain in 1493 shot out fire, using rockets. Smell was also used, with the most noxious substances from around the town gathered to make Hell stink: excrement used for tanning leather, urine used in making dyes, blood and guts from the butcher. Perhaps unsurprisingly, at the 1510 Passion play in Chateaudun, France, the price of a seat opposite Heaven was a great deal more than one near to Hell.

The Church, the civic authorities and the trade Guilds, using spectacular and visceral effects, created Hellmouth to invoke fear, maintain moral discipline and reinforce the beliefs of the Catholic faith.