The famous medieval historian Jacques Le Goff devotes an entire book to the phenomenon of purgatory. And this is no coincidence. Purgatory was formed gradually: initially as a belief in some possible atonement for sins after death, then as a belief in some special, middle, intermediate place where this atonement takes place. The birth of purgatory within the originally dualistic system of Christianity, which reshaped the entire geography of the other world, was a truly significant event. Le Goff explores the origins, the long process and the triumph of this birth. Third Place Part One. Otherworlds before purgatoryImaginary antiquityFathers of purgatoryEarly Middle Ages: doctrinal stagnation and excess of visionsPart two. XII century: the birth of purgatory Purgatory fire “Locus purgatorius”: a place for purification Purgatory between Sicily and Ireland The logic of purgatory Part three. The Triumph of PurgatoryScholastic OrderSocial Triumph: Pastoral Theology and PurgatoryPoetic Triumph: The Divine ComedyThe Meaning of Purgatory