Limbo
The edge of Hell: a theological state for the unbaptized and the righteous who died before Christ.
Limbo, in medieval Catholic theology, is an unofficial term referring to the edge of Hell. It describes the afterlife condition of those who die in original sin without being assigned to the Hell of the Damned. Some medieval theologians divided the underworld into three parts: Hell of the Damned, Limbo of the Fathers (or Patriarchs), and Limbo of the Infants.
Quick Facts
- Type
- Plane of the Dead (Afterlife)
- Ruler
- The God of the Dead
- First appears
- Planescape: Torment (1999)
- Developer
- Black Isle Studios
- Role in game
- One of eight Planar Realms
- Atmosphere
- Grey stasis
- endless fog
- bureaucratic paralysis
Lore & Background
The Limbo of the Fathers is the temporary state of Old Testament patriarchs and other friends of God who died before Jesus Christ. They could not enter heaven until Christ's death, when he descended into hell and freed them—an event known as the Harrowing of Hell. The Limbo of the Infants is a hypothetical permanent status for unbaptized infants who die too young to have committed actual sins but are not freed from original sin. Catholic doctrine neither affirms nor denies this state. The Catechism of the Catholic Church does not use the word Limbo.
Reader's Guide
It describes Limbo solely as a theological concept, not a location in any game or fictional setting.
Did You Know?
- The term Limbo comes from the Latin word for 'edge' or 'hem,' referring to the outermost part of Hell.
- Saint Thomas Aquinas taught that souls in the Limbo of the Fathers experienced no penalty of sense (fire) but only the penalty of harm (privation of the beatific vision).
More in Planar Realms & Locations
Elsewhere in Planescape Torment
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