Niorstigningar Saga

by Dario Bullitta

  (23):8

  chief devils heard twice shouted that the gates should be opened, they reacted

  with ignorance and replied, ‘ Who is the King of Glory, the Lord strong and

  mighty, the Lord mighty in battle?’ Then David said: ‘I recognize those words

  that are being spoken there, for I prophesied this through the Holy Spirit, and I

  Ps. 24

  will tell you: “The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle, He is the

  (23):8–10

  King of Glory, who looked down from the height of His sanctuary. The Lord

  Ps. 102

  Himself from Heaven looked down upon earth to hear the groans of those who

  (101):

  had been fettered and free the children of those who had been afflicted.” O hid-

  21–2

  eous and filthy ones, open up the gates so that the King of Glory may come in.’”

  XXII.1

  “When David had said this, the King of Glory came to the stronghold of Hell,

  destroyed at once the fortress of Hell and opened up a large gate. He revealed

  Himself in the shape of a man with such a great light that the darkness of Hell

  vanished, and every good man was then freed from the bond binding him. Such

  great power and din has occurred with it, and so quickly He destroyed Hell,

  that all the devils began to flinch and tremble. And then, immediately after that,

  when they saw Christ their God walking there, they all bent forward and stared

  in that direction, and said this: ‘Now you have overcome us. Now you have

  forcefully attacked us and sought to confound us. Be this a wonder and an

  abomination. He seemed low and little in the body of a servant, slain on the

  cross and interred. And now you have come here to loose the bonds and free

  everything.’ In a similar way, all the foul ones of Hell began to speak thus:

  ‘Whence are you, Jesus, so strong and so powerful a man, so bright and so sin-

  less? That earthly world, which has for so long paid tribute to us, has never

  before paid us with such a tribute of death. He is a mighty hero so full of cour-

  age that He overcomes our torments and does not fear them and seizes men

  from bonds. Is it not so now, that Jesus has now come here, of whom Satan our

  Prince said would alone rule the entire world after His death.’”

  164 Niðrstigningar saga

  XXII.2

  “Then the Lord, the King of Glory, began to trample down the Prince of Death

  and bound him with the blazing bonds of His powers and drew Adam to His

  brightness.”

  XXIII.1

  “Then the inhabitants of Hell began to talk with their Prince with great re-

  proach and rebuked him: ‘Listen,’ they said, ‘O chief of perdition and Prince of

  Death, three-headed Beelzebub and scorn of angels. Why did you make fair

  promises to us about His drawing hither? You have spoken very unwisely. It

  can now be seen that Christ comes here and drives away with the light of His

  divinity the darkness of Death and breaks all our enclosures, and He leads all

  the captives away from here and also many [others] who were accustomed to

  groaning sorrowfully under our torments, and now everything withholds, for

  His offspring shall come hereafter. Now it happens that those who could never

  be joyful are haughty towards us and begin and threaten us. Listen, O Satan,

  Prince of Hell and of all evil, why did you have to draw Him here so that now

  it is likely that here there will be no more groaning or crying? In that great

  stench, which you owned, in dirt and in filth, and your delight in that which you

  had acquired from the tree of prevarication, you have lost completely through

  the wood of the cross, and now all your delight shall perish, for you wanted to

  provoke the King of Glory Himself against yourself. Very thin-witted is your

  word to have attacked the One who is so sinless, and to have drawn Him here,

  and now you will be forced to relinquish everything you do not wish to.’”

  XXIII.2

  “After this, it is said that the King of Glory spoke to the inhabitants of Hell all

  together: ‘Now and hereafter shall Satan be here in the place of Adam and his

  sons, my righteous ones.’”

  XXIV.1

  “Then God the Lord stretched out His hand and said this: ‘Come to me now, all

  saints who have my understanding. Know that the Devil and Death are now

  condemned.’ Then they all gathered together and cast themselves running to-

  wards the hands of Our Lord. Then Our Lord took Adam’s right hand and said

  this: ‘Peace be with you and all your sons, my righteous ones.’ Adam fell at the

  Translations 165

  Ps. 30

  feet of the Lord and said: ‘ I will exalt you, O Lord, for you have lifted,’ and

  (29):2–5

  sang four more verses from that psalm. Likewise, all the saints sang and fell at

  the feet of the Lord and said, ‘You have come and fulfilled what You had prom-

  ised us and prophesied through the law and the prophets, to free us and the

  entire world through Your death on the Cross, and Your descent to us, You have

  come to us from Hell through [Your] glory, with Your power and through the

  sign of the cross, so that Death does not dominate us any longer.’”

  XXIV.2

  “Thereafter, the Lord made the sign of the cross over Adam and all the saints,

  and taking Adam by the hand, He ascended from Hell with a great army, and

  Ps. 98

  all the saints followed the Lord. Then David spoke loudly and sang this: ‘ Sing

  (97):1–2

  to the Lord a new song, for He has done marvels.’ And he sang two verses from

  the next psalm. Thus all the saints sang with him and said amen, and said this:

  ‘ This glory is to all his saints. Alleluia.’”

  XXIV.3

  Ps. 150

  “Thereafter, the prophet Habakkuk cried out, ‘ You destined the salvation of

  (149):9

  Your people and to free your poor ones.’ And all the saints replied and said:

  Hab.

  ‘ Blessed be He who comes in the name of the Lord. God has freed us to eternal

  3:13

  life.’ The prophet Micah also said, ‘ Who is a god like Our God? You take away

  Ps. 118

  (117):

  our iniquities and overcome our sins and hold witness of Your anger against

  26–7

  the evil. You are willingly in mercy and turn away from our deaths and put to

  Mi. 7:19

  death all our iniquities and all our sins in memory of Your death, as You prom-

  Ps. 48

  ised to our fathers.’ Then all the saints replied, ‘ He is Our God unto eternity,

  (47):15

  throughout eternal ages. He shall rule in eternity.’ Then they all said amen and

  all the prophets began to sing their words as they followed Our Lord.”

  XXV

  “God ordered the archangel Michael to accompany Adam and all His saints,

  and to lead them all into the joy of Paradise. Then two men ran towards them

  and the prophets asked them who they were: ‘For you have not been dead with

  us in Hell, and on the contrary are now physically in Paradise?’ Then one of

  them replied, ‘I am called Enoch, and I was brought here with The Word of

  God, and the one who follows me here is named Elias and is called the Thesbite,

  w
ho was driven here in a blazing chariot, and we have not died yet. We shall be

  hidden here until the Antichrist comes and then we shall come to that place and

  166 Niðrstigningar saga

  fight against him with the miracles and divine signs of God. He shall slay us in

  Jerusalem, but after three days and a half, we shall be taken up once more into

  the clouds.’”

  XXVI

  “Then it occurred that when Enoch and Elias were talking thusly to each other

  and to the saints of God, there came forth a most joyless man who had a sign

  of the cross on his shoulders. When the saints of God saw that man, they asked

  [him] who he was: ‘You seem to us as if you might have been a malefactor, and

  why is it that you are carrying a sign of the cross?’ He replied, ‘I was a male-

  factor and worked all sorts of evil on earth, and the Jews crucified me with

  Christ. And it occurred, when I saw the wonders which were worked, that I

  seemed to understand that Christ might be the Creator of all creation. Therefore

  I began to beg Him for mercy, and I said this: “Remember me, O Lord, when

  You come into Your kingdom.” At that time He took well my speech and said, Lc.

  23:42

  “Verily, I say to you, that today you shall be with me in Paradise.” Then He Lc.

  gave me the sign of the cross and said, “If the angel who is a guard of Paradise 23:43

  forbids you the entrance, then show him this sign of the cross, and say to him

  this, that Jesus Christ, who is now crucified, has sent you there.” Next I did so,

  I talked to the angel of Paradise, as I was ordered. Then he opened up the gates

  of Paradise before me and led me to the right-hand side and said, “Here we

  shall wait a little while, for Adam, father of all mankind, shall come soon with

  his sons, the saints and righteous of Christ the Lord crucified.” When the patri-

  archs and the prophets heard what the malefactor said, then they all began to

  say: “Blessed be you, Almighty God, who are so merciful that you grant mercy

  to the unworthy.”’”

  XXVII.1

  “Carinus and Leucius were not found in their graves after the resurrection of

  Christ from the dead. On the contrary, they have resurrected with Him and

  many others as it is said in the Gospels: ‘ And the bodies of the saints who had Mt.

  fallen asleep resurrected. And the bodies of the holy dead men who slept had 27:52

  resurrected.’”

  XXVII.2

  “Carinus and Leucius were later seen near Arimathea, the city of Joseph, and

  wrote this section of text about Christ’s Descent, for they did not talk to men,

  Translations 167

  and let their book come into the hands of Nicodemus and Joseph, and they read

  it aloud before others. And many generations later, their book came to the

  Emperor Theodosius, son of Arcadius. He had it with him in Constantinople

  and had it read aloud and people were very impressed by it. Blessed be in every

  way Our Lord, throughout endless ages. Amen.”

  Niðrstigningar saga

  The Younger Redaction

  (E Copenhagen, Den Arnamagnæanske Samling, AM 238 fol. V)

  XVIII.3

  Mt.

  “This is my Beloved Son in Whom I am well pleased. And I have travelled be-

  3:16–17

  fore His countenance and I have descended to you in order to tell you this, that

  the Son of God Himself, raising from the height of Heaven, shall soon come to

  visit us and all His friends who sit in the obscurities and in the shadow of

  Death.”

  XIX.1

  “And when our father Adam heard saying that Jesus is baptized in the River

  Jordan, he rejoiced exceedingly, and looked towards his son Seth and said to

  him, ‘Listen, my son,’ he said, ‘Deliver your speech and proclaim to the patri-

  archs all the things which you have heard from the archangel Michael, when I

  sent you to the gate of Paradise, so that you might beseech the Lord that He

  should send His angel and give you the Oil of Mercy from the tree of mercy so

  that I could anoint my body when I was sick.’ Then Seth went forth and spoke

  to the patriarchs and prophets and said this: ‘I, Seth, when I arrived to the gates

  of Paradise, I saw burning fire which forbade the entrance to each and every

  man and the angels of God who guarded this gate both against the devils and

  the sinful men. And as I halted, I became very frightened, and I prayed to the

  Lord with great fear. Then the archangel Michael appeared to me and spoke to

  me: “I am sent to you from the Lord. I am appointed over the human body and

  verily I tell you this, Seth: you do not need to toil with labour or tears beseech-

  ing for the Oil of Mercy so that you [may] anoint your father to improve the

  sickness of his body, for in no way you can take that oil until the very days of

  the future come, before five thousand hundred and thirty years shall be

  168 Niðrstigningar saga

  completed from now. Then shall come upon earth the Beloved Son of God,

  Christ, to waken the bodies of the dead men. And when He Himself comes, He

  shall baptize in water and the Holy Spirit. Then He shall anoint with the oil of

  His mercy all of those who believe, and that Oil of Mercy shall regenerate

  among those who shall receive it from the water and unto eternal life. Then the

  Beloved Son of God, Christ, shall descend unto earth, and shall lead Adam,

  your father, into Paradise to the tree of mercy.”’”

  XIX.2

  “And when all the patriarchs and the prophets heard this thing announced by

  Seth, they all rejoiced with great joy.”

  XX.1

  “And while all the saints rejoiced with joy, the Prince of Hell, the guide of the

  dead, in the shape of a dreadful and very hideous dragon, who sometimes ap-

  pears to them with seven heads and sometimes with three in the shape of a

  man, screamed with a loud voice to Hell and said, ‘Prepare yourself with all the

  others. Can you receive Jesus who boasts Himself and says that He is Christ,

  the Son of God? And [yet] He is a man for He fears death, saying: “My soul is Mt.

  afflicted, all unto death,” and found so many misdeeds against me, and many 26:38

  whom I have made blind, lame, crippled, lepers, and tormented with tortures,

  He cured with His word.’”

  XX.2

  “Then Hell replied and said to Prince Satan, ‘Who is so powerful in words even

  though He is a man and fears death? For I have held under my power all the

  mighty princes of the earth, whom you now carry subject with your strength.

  But if you are mighty, who is this man Jesus who fears death and yet opposes

  you and your power? If He is so powerful and strong in humanity, truly I tell

  you, He is almighty in divinity and no one can oppose His strength and might.

  And if He says He fears death, then He wants to conceal the divinity of His

  might and it shall not be throughout endless ages.’ Then Satan, the Prince of

  Hell, replied and said, ‘Why do you doubt or fear to take that man Jesus, who

  acts as both my adversary and yours? For I tempted Him and aroused the

  Jewish people with excessive zeal and wrath against Him. I have sharpened the

  spear and egged on to thrust Him. I have blended gall to give Him as a drink for

&n
bsp; His thirst. I have built the wood to crucify Him and now His death is very close,

  and I will lead Him subject to you and me.’”

  Translations 169

  XX.3

  “Then Hell replied and said, ‘You told me that He is the same who drew the

  dead away from me. And there are many whom I have held subject here, who

  were taken from me when alive on earth. Who is this Jesus who with His dis-

  position and through divine prayers calls dead men to life, the Almighty who is

  the one who drew away the dead from me when I thought I would have held

  them under my power? Is He not the one who freed Lazarus, who had lain in a

  grave for four days, whom I held dead in my power, and He returned alive

  through the word of His omnipotence?’ Then Satan, Prince of Hell, replies

  and says, ‘So that is Jesus.’ And when he said this, Hell heard these things and

  said to him, ‘I adjure you through your powers and mine not to lead Him to

  me, for when I heard the strong might of His Word I became very frightened

  with trembling fear, and all the servants were shaken with me. And I could not

  hold Lazarus with all my strength and fleetness, and he sprang up whole and

  alive, and the earth itself, which held the mortal body of Lazarus, returned him

  alive. And, therefore, I know that this man who was able to do all these things

  is strong in power and mighty in humanity, saviour of all mankind, and He

  shall free those who are enclosed in the grim dungeon by the severe bonds of

  sins and lead them to the life of His divinity.’ Then at that point of the day, and

  Ap.

  19:11–17

  at that time, Heaven opened, and there came forth first a white horse and the

  Prince who rode that horse is in many respects more handsome, fair, and

  lordly than all others. His eyes were like blazing fire. He had a crown on His

  head, which displayed many tokens of victory. He had a vesture above the oth-

  ers, which was imbrued with blood. On His vesture, over the waist, these

  words were written: King of kings and Lord of lords. He led with Him a great

  army. Those who followed Him rode white horses, and all were dressed in

  white silk and were very bright. Then the most powerful supreme ruler looked

  towards Jerusalem and said: ‘The trap that is in Jerusalem shall harm the

  Midgard Serpent.’ He then lowered His hook into the carrion that was lain in

  the trap, and done that, He concealed it in such a way that it could not be seen.