History of Paradise:

The Garden of Eden in Myth and Tradition

By: Jean Delumeau, Matthew O'Connell

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Paperback | 20 April 2000

At a Glance

Paperback
288 Pages

Edition Type
New edition

Dimensions(cm)
22.89 x 15.37 x 2.18

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With erudition and wit, Jean Delumeau explores the medieval conviction that paradise existed in a precise although unreachable earthly location. Delving into the writings of dozens of medieval and Renaissance thinkers, from Augustine to Dante, Delumeau presents a luminous study of the meaning of Original Sin and the human yearning for paradise.
The finest minds of the Middle Ages wrote about where paradise was to be found, what it was like, and who dwelt in it. Explorers sailed into the unknown in search of paradisal gardens of wealth and delight that were thought to be near the original Garden. Cartographers drew Eden into their maps, often indicating the wilderness into which Adam and Eve were cast, along with the magical kingdom of Prester John, Jerusalem, Babel, the Happy Isles, Ophir, and other places described in biblical narrative or borrowed from other cultures. Later, Renaissance thinkers and writers meticulously reconstructed the details of the original Eden, even providing schedules of the Creation and physical descriptions of Adam and Eve.
Even when the Enlightenment, with its discovery of fossils and pre-Darwinian theories of evolution, gradually banished the dream of paradise on earth, a nostalgia for Eden shaped elements of culture from literature to gardening. In our own time, Eden's hold on the Western imagination continues to fuel questions such as whether land should be conserved or exploited and whether a return to innocence is possible.

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''A revealing and often fascinating history of Western man's conception of a primitive paradise.'' -- Robert Bireley, Times Literary Supplement

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List of Maps and Illustrations
Introduction
The Mingling of Traditions: From Moses and Homer to St. Thomas Aquinas
Paradise as a Place of Waiting
The Earthly Paradise and Medieval Geography
The Kingdom of Prester John
Other Dreamlands
Nostalgia
The New Learning and the Earthly Paradise
Inquiries into the Location of the Earthly Paradise (from the Sixteenth to the Eighteenth Century)
Fine Points of Chronology
"As Soon as the Man Opened His Eyes, He Knew Himself to Be Happy"
The Disappearance of the Enchanted Garden
Conclusion: Another Reading of a Myth
Abbreviations
Notes
Index
Table of Contents provided by Blackwell. All Rights Reserved.

History of Paradise:

The Garden of Eden in Myth and Tradition

At a Glance

Paperback

Industry Reviews

Shipping

How to return your order

Defective items

You Can Find This Book In

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