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Doom Paintings

Instructions:

Doom Paintings

Lesson objective: To be able to explain the role of Doom Paintings

in Medieval Life.

L.O.To be able to explain the role of Doom Paintings in Medieval Life.

By the end of this lesson...

ALL OF US will be able to describe what Doom Paintings looked like and why. (3B-4B)

EVEN BETTER IF you can give reasons why Doom Paintings were used. (4A)

EXCELLENT IF you can explain these reasons. (5C-5B)

CHALLENGE!!! HOW IMPORTANT WERE DOOM PAINTINGS FOR THE CHURCH? (5A-6B)

Medieval church - Hell of a place

Step back nearly a thousand years into a

medieval church.

Look at the wall - at the same painting medieval people

would have looked at.

What does it tell us about medieval

people’s lives, their thoughts, their

fears?!

This mural, called a 'Doom' painting, was produced some time before 1200 A.D.Its full name is the “Ladder of the Salvation of the Human Soul and Road to Heaven”.

But what does it mean? Why was it painted there? You’ll now find out for yourself !

Confusion

Nobody would be able to understand the Priest because nobody spoke Latin!

Pictures around the church became very important. To help people understand, the Church would put up wall paintings and stained-glass windows to show stories from the Bible, and remind people to behave!

Doom Paintings

• The pictures around the Church were called Doom Paintings.

• They would show images of heaven and hell to remind people where they would end up if they behaved well or if they were naughty!

A Doom Painting: What can you see? Under the sub-heading ‘Doom Painting’write down everything you can notice from this picture! Achievement Points for the person with the most!

1

1

In the top left-hand section, good and bad

deeds are being weighed in the balance. A devil

has crept up from the left (look at

those feet!!) and has his hand on

the scale.

2

2 In this picture angels help people up the ladder to heaven.

3

3

At the top right, a devil (or possibly the devil?) is being pinned down with a cross and thrust into a fire (that’s more like it) or possibly the wide open jaws of some vast beast.

4

4 In the bottom left-hand

section of the painting, two

devils (all shown as

giant figures) are throwing

murderers into a boiling

cauldron.

5

5

To their right, another devil is pulling people off the ladder of salvation (surely that’s not allowed, is it?).

6

6

On the far right is a demon, giving a good idea of how terrible Hell was thought to have been. Then the different tradesmen with some of their tools make their way across the bridge. On the far left a milkman is getting on to the bridge; his punishment is to carry an overflowing bucket of milk forever. Next to him are a mason, potter, spinner and blacksmith. All of them are missing part of their essential tools.

7

7

One man has already fallen down and is being roasted underneath on a big fire, while being held

by two devils with long spears. He was in fact a money lender, which was seen as a bad job to

have.

Answer these four questions in your books in FULL SENTENCES:

1. What was a Doom painting?2. Why did the Church use Doom

paintings?3. Why was it important to have

these paintings if the service was in Latin?

4. Doom paintings were almost always kept at the front of the Church. Why do you think this was?

5. How important do you think Doom Paintings were for the church?

1) What is a doom painting?2) Create your own Doom

Painting!

Things to consider:Why did the Church use Doom Paintings?What will we need to include?

Be creative, use pencil, be careful, and do not rush.

CHALLENGE!!!Is there anything similar to doom paintings in our lives

today?

Peer assess

LEVEL WWW EBI SIGNED

ALL OF US will be able to describe what Doom Paintings looked like and why. (3B-4B)

EVEN BETTER IF you can give reasons why Doom Paintings were used. (4A)

EXCELLENT IF you can explain these reasons. (5C-5B)

CHALLENGE!!! HOW IMPORTANT WERE DOOM PAINTINGS FOR THE CHURCH? (5A-6B)