3-042-471 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

The Torment of Unchaste Monks and Nuns; Les Visions du chevalier Tondal, 1475. Additional Info: The angel points out to Tondal's soul the beast that tortures unchaste priests and nuns. After the beast devours the souls, he excretes them, dropping them onto a frozen pond. Once on the ice, the souls regain their bodily forms but now both women and men are made pregnant. As multiple creatures grow inside them, they eat the sinners' entrails. The sinners eventually give birth to hideous serpents, which emerge from all parts of their bodies. This torment is reserved not only for nuns and priests but for all men and women who are guilty of the sin of lust. As punishment for his lustful life, Tondal's soul goes through one cycle of this torment before the angel rescues him and they continue their journey.