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237:"Doom painting" typically refers to large-scale depictions of the Last Judgement on the western wall of churches, visible to congregants as they left, rather than to representations in other locations or media. Many examples survive as wall-paintings in medieval churches, most dating from around the 12th to 13th centuries, although the subject was common from the 1st millennium until (in countries remaining Catholic) the
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Dooms were encouraged by the early medieval Church as an instrument to highlight the contrasts between the reward of Heaven and the agony of Hell so as to guide
Christians away from misbehaviour and sin. A Doom was usually positioned either on the rear (liturgical Western) wall, if that space was
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Although there are many different versions, the composition stays broadly the same. On the left side of a Doom painting (that is, on Christ's right hand) is Heaven, whilst on the right (Christ's left) is Hell. At the top of the image Jesus Christ sits in glory with his right hand encouraging the
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creatures that represent the sins committed by the person are on the other side of the scale. The creatures try to tip the scales in their favour while, in some versions of the painting, the Virgin Mary places a rosary next to the person she wishes to protect, or puts her hand on the scale to
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Those who are worthy are brought to the gates of Heaven, frequently represented by a castle with large walls built to keep out sinful impurities. This is most commonly depicted on the left hand side of Doom paintings. Groups of angels adorn the walls of Heaven celebrating the
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in Surrey the west wall of the church has a painting of the Ladder of
Salvation (a subject common in the Eastern Church but this is the only example in England). This painting dates from about 1200 and is 17.5 ft long and 11.21 ft high. It is in the
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Executed in accordance with a scheme originating in the
Eastern Orthodox Church, preserved to us in the 'Guide to Painting of the Greek Church,' as used by the monk-painters of the monasteries of
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were practiced or not during lifetime. They rate as important acts of charity. Therefore, and according to the biblical sources (Mt 5:31-46), the conjunction of the Last
Judgement and the
275:. The original OED in the late 19th century already described this sense of "doom" as "archaic", but it remains in use in descriptions of (mostly) British medieval churches.
271:("doom", 6), a sense surviving in this artistic meaning and in phrases such as the "crack of doom" and the word "doomsday", the latter going back to
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end) of a church, often on the chancel arch itself so that it would be constantly visible to worshippers as they faced the altar during services.
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counterbalance the demons. In some other versions, while one of the saved enters Heaven, a demon tries to pull them in with the damned, while an
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he will use to weigh the souls of humanity to see if individually they are fit for Heaven: one person is on one side of the scale while
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363:, Chaldon (built before 1086 AD), and depicts images of the ways of salvation and damnation and their result.
630:(1984); p. 68. The term remains capitalized, as the proper name of a specific incident more often than not.
626:"doom: A painting of the Last Judgment on the chancel arch of a medieval parish church."--E. Lucie-Smith,
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There are examples of doom and related paintings in the churches of following
English towns and villages:
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Those on the other side are deemed unworthy of Heaven, usually seized by demons and brought into the
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saved upward, and his left hand pointing down to Hell for the damned. Typically flanking him is the
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Caravaggio's 'Seven Works of Mercy' in Naples. The relevance of art history to cultural journalism
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encircling the three of them. The angels blow trumpets to raise the dead for judgement. Commonly
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Doom or "the Doom" was a specific term for the Last
Judgement and first cited to c. 1200 by the
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A decisive factor in the Doom or Last
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whose title is "The Ladder of the
Salvation of the Human Soul and the Road to Heaven"
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on his left, sometimes with the twenty-four elders mentioned in the
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is very frequent in the pictorial tradition of
Christian art.
340:, beyond which, mostly out of sight, lie the bowels of hell.
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803:"The Doom, or Last Judgement and the Weighing of Souls"
726:. The Buildings Of England. New Haven, US and London:
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Medieval Wall
Painting in the English Parish Church
761:"The Doom Painting of St Thomas' Church, Salisbury"
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51:. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
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226:when Christ judges souls to send them to either
790:English Medieval Wall Painting; 12th-14th cent.
628:The Thames & Hudson Dictionary of Art Terms
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816:Allan Barton- Art Historian, Youtube Channel
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222:in a medieval church. This is the moment in
127:Detail from a medieval Doom wall-painting,
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206:Detail from the 12th-century mural at the
555:, Oxfordshire (St Michael Weighing Souls)
111:Learn how and when to remove this message
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329:as they approach Heaven's gates, where
248:The most famous of all Doom paintings,
208:Church of St Peter and St Paul, Chaldon
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812:Doom Paintings and their Significance
396:, Cambridgeshire (Weighing of Souls)
49:adding citations to reliable sources
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759:Dowson, Thomas (24 February 2022).
450:(Holy Trinity Church), Warwickshire
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677:. London: Phoenix House; pp. 58-59
480:, Bedfordshire (Christ in Majesty)
16:Church mural of the Last Judgement
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662:Church, Communication and Culture
537:, East Sussex (Weighing of Souls)
701:"Medieval Paintings of the Doom"
573:, the Guild chapel, Warwickshire
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675:What to See in a Country Church
433:, Hampshire (Weighing of Souls)
361:church of Saints Peter and Paul
321:fights the demon for the soul.
36:needs additional citations for
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385:, Norfolk (Christ in Majesty)
513:Newington-next-Sittingbourne
367:Examples in English churches
284:available, or at the front (
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454:Croughton, Northamptonshire
308:is in the centre, with the
198:, Oxfordshire, 15th century
150:, panel painting, 1425–1430
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525:Oddington, Gloucestershire
492:, Kent (Weighing of Souls)
443:Chesterton, Cambridgeshire
421:Broughton, Buckinghamshire
407:, Kent (Weighing of Souls)
851:The Last Judgement in art
547:Slapton, Northamptonshire
426:Broughton, Cambridgeshire
841:Judgment in Christianity
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279:Purpose and iconography
765:archaeology-travel.com
595:Widford, Hertfordshire
411:Blyth, Nottinghamshire
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836:Christian iconography
728:Yale University Press
642:"doom", 6; "doomsday"
597:(Christ in Judgement)
333:waits with his keys.
306:the Archangel Michael
224:Christian eschatology
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133:Chesterton, Cambridge
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673:Jones, L. E. (1960)
664:2 (2017), pp. 63-87.
541:St Thomas, Salisbury
400:Beckley, Oxfordshire
45:improve this article
603:(Weighing of Souls)
601:Wissington, Suffolk
571:Stratford-upon-Avon
549:(Weighing of Souls)
456:(Weighing of Souls)
243:English Reformation
239:Counter-Reformation
194:St James's Church,
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416:Bradfield, Norfolk
302:Book of Revelation
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129:St Andrew's Church
792:. 3 vols. 1944-55
737:978-0-300-25120-3
716:Pevsner, Nikolaus
496:Marston Moreteyne
478:Houghton Conquest
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43:Please help
38:verification
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688:Mount Athos
553:South Leigh
535:Rotherfield
507:Mears Ashby
462:, Wiltshire
379:, Berkshire
377:Ashampstead
331:Saint Peter
294:Virgin Mary
273:Old English
210:, in Surrey
196:South Leigh
184:Oxfordshire
180:North Leigh
825:Categories
746:1201298091
577:Swanbourne
519:North Cove
437:Chelsworth
71:newspapers
724:Wiltshire
591:, Norfolk
585:, Suffolk
583:Wenhaston
567:, Suffolk
561:, Suffolk
521:, Suffolk
439:, Suffolk
338:Hellmouth
770:10 April
722:(2021).
484:Ickleton
460:Dauntsey
448:Coventry
394:Bartlow
356:Chaldon
314:demonic
286:chancel
255:in the
85:scholar
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515:, Kent
490:Lenham
310:scales
228:Heaven
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614:Notes
327:saved
319:angel
92:JSTOR
78:books
772:2023
742:OCLC
732:ISBN
232:Hell
64:news
805:at
640:OED
354:At
269:OED
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214:A "
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