Marjorie Reeves

In the twelfth century Joachim of Fiore (c.1132-1202) developed a powerful and original theology of history. In the twentieth century, particularly after the Second World War, much interest was focused on the influence of his ideas, with the result that large and sometimes exaggerated claims were made for his impact on nineteenth- and twentieth-century thought. The first version of this book (Clarendon Press, 1987) sought to distinguish between the precise, documented evidence of Joachim's influence in the modern period and the vaguer assertions which had appeared in histories of ideas. A surprising, and until now virtually unchronicled, story emerged. French romantic visionaries, English literary writers, fin de siecle figures dabbling in the occult, a Czech poet involved in resurgent nationalism - all, to a greater or lesser degree, had taken this medieval abbot as a prophet of the `new religion of humanity' which they had sought. The `Eternal Evangel' (the radical form of Joachim's doctrine) was evidently a symbol of the `new spirit' of the future for such figures as Michelet, Quinet, Leroux, Sand, Mazzini, Renan, Matthew Arnold, George Eliot, Pater, Huysmans, W. B. Yeats, and Vrchlicky. In this process, of course, the genuine thought of the medieval biblical exegete was largely lost, but the myth became a powerful inspiration. This radically revised study has been augmented with further prophetic voices and symbols from the past. Extended by more than 100 pages, it not only confirms the deep structures of visions of the future, but demonstrates and questions the persistence of Joachimist themes in the twentieth-century fin de siecle.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. To ensure a quality reading experience, this work has been proofread and republished using a format that seamlessly blends the original graphical elements with text in an easy-to-read typeface. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

A Gioacchino da Fiore, fin dagli anni immediatamente successivi alla morte (1202), vennero attribuiti testi di predizioni e di previsioni che spesso avevano assai poco riscontro con le teorie elaborate negli scritti autentici. Ben presto venne fatta circolare, con l'autorita del suo nome, anche l'idea che fosse stata elaborata una dottrina dell'Evangelo eterno, destinato a soppiantare interamente le Sacre Scritture e il messaggio evangelico. A partire dagli inizi dell'Ottocento, nel contesto della prepotente riscoperta delle radici medievali della cultura europea, a questo indeterminato gioachimismo vennero ricondotte una serie di speculazioni esoteriche di varia natura. Visionari francesi di epoca romantica, quali Leroux e Sand, letterati inglesi, come Wilde, intellettuali della fin de siecle interessati all'occultismo, come Yeats, e poeti impegnati nei nascenti nazionalismi, in particolare nell'Europa orientale, come Vrchlicky, videro in Gioacchino da Fiore una profeta della nuova religione dell'umanita e un simbolo dello spirito dei nuovi tempi. In questi ambienti il mito della dottrina dell'Evangelo eterno, attribuito all'abate calabrese, travisato e manipolato, divenne una potente forza di ispirazione ideale. Il saggio introduttivo di Fulvio De Giorgi contribuisce a gettare ulteriore luce sull'immagine di Gioacchino da Fiore nella cultura italiana del secolo XIX.

The essays here collect the author’s further researches since the publication of her pathbreaking Influence of Prophecy in the Later Middle Ages in 1969. In part stimulated by responses to the book, they also show the extent to which the field then opened up has now expanded. In the last forty years a cultural shift in the meaning of ’history’ has brought to the forefront an interest in how people have charted their future by the signs given in their historical heritage. Both pessimistic and optimistic readings of history meet in medieval Western Europe and colour the thought, art, even the politics of the Renaissance. In particular, the powerful vision of Joachim of Fiore activated a reading of history which culminates in a flowering of a ’third age’. These essays attempt to portray some of the strange and moving shapes which thronged the imagination as men and women looked to their prophetic future.

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.

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.