Apocalyptic Thought in Late Fourteenth-Century England

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The project will assess the changing interpretation of the apocalypse within English medieval thought and culture in the latter half of the fourteenth century. It focuses on the reception of key biblical texts including the Synoptic Gospels and Revelation, the most controversial book in Christian thought. These books became part of the undercurrent to contemporary crises such as the Schism of 1378 and were important in both justifying and defying the spread of Lollardy throughout the late 1300s. Through these contemporary events, we find the continuation of a long English apocalyptic tradition, stemming from almost 700 years earlier with old texts such as the writings of Pseudo-Methodius and Berengaudus being recirculated in a new fashion in order to reflect contemporary understandings of the End. These ideas were disseminated in Latin but the period also saw the creation and compilation of Middle English texts which invite inquiry into the adaption and reception of apocalyptic thought among new, mixed lay and clerical audiences, and across the doctrinal spectrum from orthodox to Lollards. Further, this investigation of late-fourteenth century apocalypticism will explore the possible distinctiveness of an English apocalyptic tradition by setting it within current scholarly understandings of the development of a European continental apocalyptic tradition.