Devils and Hell's flames. Belief in God, Heaven and Hell was almost universal in the Christian world in medieval times. The New Testament describes hell as a place of eternal punishment in the afterlife for unrepentant sinners. Images of devils with fangs, horns, wings, and pointed tails, and devils carrying out the torture of condemned souls (one at right), were used to reinforce this message at a time when most of the population were illiterate. This artwork is part of a 14th century fresco by Andrea di Bonaiuto in the Spanish Chapel of the Santa Maria Novella church, Florence, Italy.