About this item
Highlights
- The Powers of Prophecy is an original attempt to investigate the subject of medieval eschatological prophecies: how and in what circumstances they were written; how they circulated; what they told people about the future; and how they were received.
- About the Author: Robert E. Lerner is Peter B. Ritzma Professor in the Humanities at Northwestern University.
- 264 Pages
- Religion + Beliefs, Christian Theology
Description
About the Book
The Powers of Prophecy is an original attempt to investigate the subject of medieval eschatological prophecies: how and in what circumstances they were written; how they circulated; what they told people about the future; and how they were received.
Book Synopsis
The Powers of Prophecy is an original attempt to investigate the subject of medieval eschatological prophecies: how and in what circumstances they were written; how they circulated; what they told people about the future; and how they were received. Although scholars have studied the ideas of a few outstanding medieval prophetic thinkers or the role of prophecies in heretical movements and popular insurrections, up to now there has been no attempt to study the most commonplace medieval prophetic ideas as they were communicated in the most frequently copied and widely read anonymous prophetic texts.Dedicated to pursuing the typical, Lerner's book traces the fortunes of an eschatological prophecy that was first written around 1240 and thereafter circulated throughout Western Europe for more than four centuries. Originally composed as a response to the Mongol onslaught, the prophecy was resurrected and reconceived to apply to other crises such as the fall of the Holy Land, the Black Death, and the Protestant Reformation. Although it was supposed to have descended form on high, allegedly being a message written by a disembodied moving hand over an altar during mass, countless scribes felt no qualms about recirculating the text with substantial changes. Among the many who took note of the prophecy in one or another of its numerous guises were the scholastic theological John of Paris; the Infante Peter, a prince of the house of Aragon; John Clyn, an Irish monk who entered it into his chronicle shortly before dying of the bubonic plague; and Martin Luther.
Review Quotes
The Powers of Prophecy is one of the most spellbinding studies I have read in a long time. Lerner as usual combines his mastery of the subject, superb research skills, and an exciting writing style to bring a little-known subject to life.... This is an important book for anyone who wishes to understand better the late medieval mind, who is fascinated by popular history, and for those who study the history of eschatology. It is also a book to be enjoyed by the serious scholar as well as by the general reader as it offers stimulating insights into the human mentality.
-- "American Historical Review"This volume is a delightful and somewhat amazing picture of what happened to an eschatological prophecy written about 1240 concerning the Mongol invasion of Europe. Lerner's book is of serious interest to concerned laypeople as well as to medieval historians.
-- "The History Teacher"Working as a sleuth, Robert E. Lerner has discovered and linked together many hitherto unknown renditions of what he calls the 'Cedar of Lebanon Vision, ' a mysterious astrological prophecy originally recorded by an anonymous hand in 1239 in Hungary.
-- "Speculum"About the Author
Robert E. Lerner is Peter B. Ritzma Professor in the Humanities at Northwestern University.