The End(s) of Time(s) : Apocalypticism, Messianism, and Utopianism through the Ages

In times of crises, be it about climate change, the pandemic corona virus, or democratic struggles, there is an unwaning interest worldwide in the end of times and related themes such as apocalypticism, messianism, and utopianism. This concerns scholarship and society alike, and is by no means limited to the religious field. The present volume collates essays from specialists in the study of apocalyptic and eschatological subjects. With its interdisciplinary approach, it is designed to overcome the existing Euro-centrism and incorporate a broader perspective to the topic of end time expectations in the Christian Middle Ages as well as in East Asia and Africa. Contributors include: Gaelle Bosseman, Wolfram Brandes, Matthias Gebauer, Jürgen Gebhardt, Vincent Goossaert, Klaus Herbers, Matthias Kaup, Bernardo Bertholin Kerr, Thomas Krümpel, Richard Landes, Zhao Lu, Rolf Scheuermann, and Julia Eva Wannenmacher. Dr Hans-Christian Lehner (1982) is research fellow of Medieval History at the ICRH in Erlangen. His monograph Prophetie zwischen Eschatologie und Politik (2015) was focusing on prognostics as outlined in medieval historiography. He edited, translated, and annotated the 12th century Visio Tnugdali (with Maximilian Nix, 2018). With Matthias Heiduk and Klaus Herbers he edited the handbook Prognostication in the Middle Ages (2 vols. 2021). ‎Contents 5 ‎Figures and Tables 7 ‎The End(s) of Time(s): An Introduction (Lehner) 9 ‎Part 1. 21 ‎Chapter 1. Christian Perspectives on History, Eschatology, and Transcendence in the Latin Christian Middle Ages (Herbers) 23 ‎Chapter 2. Byzantine Predictions of the End of the World in 500, 1000, and 1492AD (Brandes) 40 ‎Chapter 3. The Great Peace and the Ends of Time in Early Imperial China (Lu) 72 ‎Chapter 4. Tibetan Buddhist Dystopian Narratives and their Pedagogical Dimensions (Scheuermann) 99 ‎Chapter 5. Ragnarök: Prophecies and Notions of the End Time in Old Norse Religion (Krümpel) 123 ‎Chapter 6. An Overview of Bahá’í Eschatology, in a Tapestry of Five Strands (Kerr) 149 ‎Part 2. 181 ‎Chapter 7. Beatus of Liebana and the Spiritualized Understanding of Apocalypse in Medieval Iberia (Bosseman) 183 ‎Chapter 8. Muhammad, Mahdi, Antichrist: Muslims in Joachim of Fiore’s Apocalyptic Eschatology (Wannenmacher) 213 ‎Chapter 9. The Infernal Trinity as Passivized Pacemaker of Salvation History: Satan’s Particular Eschatological Activity in Anonymus Bambergensis’ Tracts De semine scripturarum and De principe mundi (Kaup) 229 ‎Part 3. 275 ‎Chapter 10. Competing Eschatological Scenarios during the Taiping War, 1851–1864 (Goossaert) 277 ‎Chapter 11. The Messianic Quest for an Earthly Paradise in the Modern Era of Revolution (Gebhardt) 315 ‎Chapter 12. Indigenous Millennialism: Murabitun Sufism in the Black African Townships of South Africa (Gebauer) 336 ‎Chapter 13. Apocalyptic Millennialism: The Most Powerful, Volatile, Imaginary Force in Human History (Landes) 366 ‎Index 401 The end(s) of time(s) : an introduction / Hans-Christian Lehner -- Christian perspectives on history, eschatology, and transcendence in the Latin Christian Middle Ages / Klaus Herbers -- Byzantine predictions of the end of the world in 500, 1000, and 1492AD / Wolfram Brandes -- The Great Peace and the ends of time in early imperial China / Zhao Lu -- Tibetan Buddhist dystopian narratives and their pedagogical dimensions / Rolf Scheuermann -- Ragnarök : prophecies and notions of the end time in Old Norse religion / Thomas Krümpel -- An overview of Bahá'í eschatology, in a tapestry of five strands / Bernardo Bortolin Kerr -- Beatus of Liebana and the spiritualized understanding of apocalypse in medieval Iberia / Gaelle Bosseman -- Muhammad, Mahdi, antichrist : Muslims in Joachim of Fiore's apocalyptic eschatology / Julia Eva Wannenmacher -- The infernal trinity as passivized pacemaker of salvation history : Satan's particular eschatological activity in Anonymus Bambergensis' Tracts De semine scripturarum and De principe mundi / Matthias Kaup -- Competing eschatological scenarios during the Taiping War, 1851-1864 / Vincent Goossaert -- The messianic quest for an earthly paradise in the modern era of revolution / Jürgen Gebhardt -- Indigenous millennialism : Murabitun Sufism in the black African townships of South Africa / Matthias Gebauer -- Apocalyptic millennialism : the most powerful, volatile, imaginary force in human history / Richard Landes In times of crises, be it about climate change, the pandemic corona virus, or democratic struggles, there is an unwaning interest worldwide in the end of times and related themes such as apocalypticism, messianism, and utopianism. This concerns scholarship and society alike, and is by no means limited to the religious field.0The present volume collates essays from specialists in the study of apocalyptic and eschatological subjects. With its interdisciplinary approach, it is designed to overcome the existing Euro-centrism and incorporate a broader perspective to the topic of end time expectations in the Christian Middle Ages as well as in East Asia and Africa.00Contributors include: Gaelle Bosseman, Wolfram Brandes, Matthias Gebauer, Jürgen Gebhardt, Vincent Goossaert, Klaus Herbers, Matthias Kaup, Bernardo Bertholin Kerr, Thomas Krümpel, Richard Landes, Zhao Lu, Rolf Scheuermann, and Julia Eva Wannenmacher "In times of crises, be it about climate change, the pandemic corona virus, or democratic struggles, there is an unwaning interest worldwide in the end of times and related themes such as apocalypticism, messianism, and utopianism. This concerns scholarship and society alike, and is by no means limited to the religious field. The present volume collates essays from specialists in the study of apocalyptic and eschatological subjects. With its interdisciplinary approach, it is designed to overcome the existing Euro-centrism and incorporate a broader perspective to the topic of end time expectations in the Christian Middle Ages as well as in East Asia and Africa"-- Provided by publisher