A Prophecy of Empire: The Apocalypse of Pseudo-Methodius from Late Antique Mesopotamia to the Global Medieval ImaginationThe Apocalypse of Pseudo-Methodius was one of the medieval world’s most popular and widely translated texts. Composed in Syriac in Mesopotamia in the seventh century, this supposed revelation presented a new, salvific role for the Roman Empire, whose last emperor, it prophesied, would help bring about the end of the ages. In this first book-length study of Pseudo-Methodius, Christopher J. Bonura uncovers the under-appreciated Syriac origins of this apocalyptic tract, revealing it as a remarkable response to political realities faced by Christians living under a new Islamic regime. Tracing the spread of Pseudo-Methodius from the early medieval Mediterranean to its dissemination via the printing presses of early modern Europe, Bonura then demonstrates how different cultures used this new vision of empire’s role in the end times to reconfigure their own realities. The book also features a new, complete, and annotated English translation of the Syriac text of Pseudo-Methodius. |
Contents
What is the Apocalypse of PseudoMethodius? | 4 |
Misunderstood Origins | 13 |
PseudoMethodiuss | 27 |
The Author and the Literary Context | 48 |
The Context | 76 |
A History of Gods Kingship and Daniels | 107 |
The King of the Greeks the Surrender | 129 |
The Syriac and Greek | 155 |
PseudoMethodius in the Early Medieval Latin West | 226 |
A Ghibelline Apocalypse | 232 |
PseudoMethodius and the Late Medieval Joachite Revolution | 239 |
The Habsburg Dynasty and the Fourth Monarchy Men | 247 |
The Unlikely Prophet of Christian Empire | 261 |
Appendix A Translation of the Syriac PseudoMethodius | 271 |
Appendix B Early Interpolations in the Greek PseudoMethodius | 307 |
| 339 | |
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Common terms and phrases
Antichrist Aphrahat apocalypse Apocalypse of Pseudo-Methodius Arab Armenian author of Pseudo-Methodius B+M1 Babylon Book of Daniel Byzantine Byzantium Cave of Treasures chapter Christ Christian empire Christian Roman Empire church Constantinople copied crown Daniel's fourth kingdom Daniel's prophecies diadem earth East Syrian edition Empire's eschatological Ethiopian Fifth Demonstration God’s Gog and Magog Greek Greek redaction Greek translator Hippolytus holy Homily Ibid imperial interpolation interpretation Ishmaelites Islam Jerusalem Jews John bar Penkāyē Julian Romance katechon Kebra Nagast king kingship Kmosko Kush Kusheth Kushites Last Emperor late antique Latin redaction malkutā manuscripts Mardin Martinez medieval Mesopotamia Methodius's Miaphysite MRec Muslim Nimrod Northern Mesopotamia original Persian Peshitta political theology Psalm Pseudo Pseudo-Metho Qardu Reinink Roman emperor Roman Empire Rome rule ruler Sasanian scholars seventh century Slavonic sources suggests surrender of power surrender scene survive Syriac Alexander Legend Syriac Christians Syriac literature tion Umayyad Vatican Syr vision Yonaton