Influence of Prophecy in the Later Middle Ages, The: A Study in Joachimism - Softcover

Reeves, Marjorie

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0268011702 ISBN 13: 9780268011703

Publisher: University of Notre Dame Press, 1994

Synopsis

Since the original publication of this title, the twelfth-century Calabrian Abbot Joachim of Fiore has been accorded an increasingly central position in the history of medieval thought and culture. In this classic work Marjorie Reeves shows the wide extent of Joachimist influence from the thirteenth to the sixteenth centuries and demonstrates the continuity between medieval and Renaissance thought in the field of prophecy.

Reeves pinpoints some of the most original aspects of Joachim's theology of history and traces his reputation and influence through succeeding centuries. She also explains how his vision of a final age of the spirit in history became a powerful force in shaping expectations of the future in Western Europe. The book traces in detail the development of the three great images in which these expectations came to be focused: New Spiritual Men, Angelic Pope, and Last World Emperor. In addition, Reeves illuminates how the pervading influence of Joachim's concepts of a future golden age forms the basis for an understanding of prophetic visions in later centuries.

About this title

About the Author

Marjorie Reeves (1905–1993) was former Vice-Principal and Fellow of St. Anne’s College, Oxford. She was author or co-author of several volumes, including Joachim of Fiore and the Prophetic Future and The Figure of Joachim of Fiore.

From the Back Cover

Since the original publication of this title, the twelfth-century Calabrian Abbot Joachim of Fiore has been accorded an increasingly central position in the history of medieval thought and culture. In this classic work Marjorie Reeves shows the wide extent of Joachimist influence from the thirteenth to the sixteenth centuries and demonstrates the continuity between medieval and Renaissance thought in the field of prophecy. Reeves pinpoints some of the most original aspects of Joachim's theology of history and traces his reputation and influence through succeeding centuries. She also explains how his vision of a final age of the Spirit in history became a powerful force in shaping expectations of the future in Western Europe. The book traces in detail the development of the three great images in which these expectations came to be focused: New Spiritual Men, Angelic Pope, and Last World Emperor. In addition, Reeves illuminates how the pervading influence of Joachim's concepts of a future golden age forms the basis for an understanding of prophetic visions in later centuries. In light of the current expansion of Joachimist and millenarian studies, medieval scholars and students will appreciate the renewed availability of this volume and the addition of a new annotated bibliography of material published on Joachimism between 1969 and 1992.

Edition details

• Publisher: University of Notre Dame Press
• Publication date: 1994
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0268011702
• ISBN 13: 9780268011703
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 608