Angelology and Anthropology: A Regional Case Study of the Weighing of Souls

The article examines how the Weighing of Souls or Psychostasis, the very starting point of the afterlife, was imagined by medieval Christians in territories that belonged to Hungary from the tenth-century foundation of the state until the 1400s. Since the crucial task is traditionally assigned to Saint Michael in Christianity, the article provides a concise overview of the Archangel’s cult in the region and examines more in detail written and visual sources associating him with the Psychostasis. The examination of the source material delineates a medieval idea of the Psychostasis as a moment where Saint Michael’s warrior profile counterbalances his role in divine judgment, and fashions the Archangel as the milites Dei able and willing to provide custody against expectable machinations of evil, in earthly life and beyond. From a methodological point of view, the enquiry also highlights the complexity of text-image relationship in shaping ideas about death and the afterlife.

Keywords: Weighing of Souls; Psychostasis, Hungary; Middle Ages; Saint Michael the Archangel; Halotti beszéd és könyörgés (‘Funeral Sermon and Prayer’); Pelbartus de Themeswar, sermon; fresco; cheating devils