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Book SynopsisThe final book of the New Testament, the Apocalypse, has been controversial since its initial appearance during the first century A.D. For centuries after, theologians, exegetes, scholars, and preachers have grappled with the imagery and symbolism behind this fascinating and terrifying book. Their thoughts and ideas regarding the apocalypse—and its trials and tribulations—were received within both elite and popular culture in the medieval and early modern eras. Therefore, one may rightly call the Apocalypse, and its accompanying hopes and fears, a foundational pillar of Western Civilization. The interest in the Apocalypse, and apocalyptic movements, continues apace in modern scholarship and society alike. This present volume, A Companion to the Premodern Apocalypse, collates essays from specialists in the study of premodern apocalyptic subjects. It is designed to orient undergraduate and graduate students, as well as more established scholars, to the state of the field of premodern apocalyptic studies as well as to point them in future directions for their scholarship and/or pedagogy. Contributors are: Roland Betancourt, Robert Boenig, Richard K. Emmerson, Ernst Hintz, László Hubbes, Hiram Kümper, Natalie Latteri, Thomas Long, Katherine Olson, Kevin Poole, Matthias Riedl, Michael A. RyanTrade Review“deeply useful for scholars” Jesse Hoover, Baylor University. In: Journal of Ecclesiastical History, Vol. 68. No. 4 (October 2017), pp. 835-837.Table of ContentsMichael A. Ryan, Introduction: A Companion to the Premodern Apocalypse Part One: The Apocalypse in Premodern Society and Imagery Richard K. Emmerson, Medieval Illuminated Apocalypse Manuscripts Natalie Latteri, Jewish Apocalypticism: An Historiography Kevin Poole, The Western Apocalypse Commentary Tradition of the Early Middle Ages László Hubbes, Apocalyptic as a New Mental Paradigm for the Middle Ages Roland Betancourt, Prolepsis and Anticipation: The Apocalyptic Futurity of the Now, East and West Part Two: The Apocalypse within Premodern Europe Ernst Hintz, Muspilli: Old High German Judgment Day—Judicial Practice and Salvation in the Ninth Century Hiram Kümper, Apocalyptic Thought in Medieval German Historiography: Otto of Freising and Beyond Matthias Riedl, Apocalyptic Violence and Revolutionary Action: Thomas Müntzer’s Sermon to the Princes Robert Boenig, The Apocalypse in Medieval England Katherine Olson, Earth and Sky Will Be Ablaze: The Apocalypse, Hell, and Judgment in Premodern Britain, Ireland, and Brittany Thomas Long, Revising the Revelation: Early Modern Appropriations of Medieval Apocalypticism Index  LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Prolepsis and Anticipation: The Apocalyptic Futurity of the Now, East and West Fig. 1: Last Judgment, Santa Maria Assunta, Torcello, Italy Fig. 2: General View of the Parekklesion, Chora Monastery (Kariye Camii), Istanbul, Turkey [Photograph: Byzantine Institute. Courtesy of © Dumbarton Oaks, Image Collections and Fieldwork Archives, Washington, D.C.] Fig. 3: Virgin Blachernitissa, Exonarthex, Chora Monastery (Kariye Camii), Istanbul, Turkey [Photograph: Byzantine Institute. Courtesy of © Dumbarton Oaks, Image Collections and Fieldwork Archives, Washington, D.C.] Fig. 4: Last Judgment, Parekklesion, Chora Monastery (Kariye Camii), Istanbul, Turkey [Photograph: Byzantine Institute. Courtesy of © Dumbarton Oaks, Image Collections and Fieldwork Archives, Washington, D.C.] Apocalyptic Thought in Medieval German Historiography: Otto of Freising and Beyond Fig. 1: The martyrdom of Christians during the reign of the Antichrist, Munich, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Cgm 426, fol. 69v. by Hiram Kümper is licensed under Creative Commons License by 2.0. Fig. 2: The Antichrist’s preaching and downfall, Hartmann Schedel, Buch der Croniken und Geschichten (Nuremberg, 1493), fol. 262v. by Hiram Kümper is licensed under Creative Commons License by 2.0. Revising the Revelation: Early Modern Appropriations of Medieval Apocalypticism Fig. 1: Dispensational Chart from James Purves, Observations on the Visions of the Apostle John Compared with Other Sacred Scriptures (1793). Courtesy of the Earl Gregg Swem Library of the College of William and Mary.

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Book SynopsisThe Pahlavi Widēwdād (Vidēvdād), The Law (Serving to Keep) Demons Away, a fifth-century Middle Persian commentary on the Avestan Vidēvdād, describes rules and regulations that serve to prevent pollution caused by dead matter, menstrual discharges, and other agents. It recognizes the perpetual presence of the demons, the forces of the Evil Spirit –forces that should be fought through law-abiding conduct. In spite of its formidable textual problems, the commentary provides an invaluable quarry for the rules of the Zoroastrian community through its citation of regulations for the conduct of its members. Many topics are covered, from jurisprudence to penalties, procedures for dealing with pollution, purification, and arrangements for funerals. Viewed together, they provide the reader with an exquisite interlace of a community’s concerns.Table of ContentsAcknowledgements Introduction Chapter 1 Creation of the Different Lands Chapter 2 Jam’s Golden Rule and the Great Winter Chapter 3 Delightful and Demonic Places on Earth Chapter 4 Contracts and Offenses Chapter 5 Dead Matter and Defilement Chapter 6 Contamination of the Land by Corpses Chapter 7 On Nasuš, the She Demon of Dead Matter Chapter 8 Purification Rituals after Death Chapter 9 The Baršnūm Purification Chapter 10 Formulae Against the Demons Chapter 11 Exorcisms for Purification Chapter 12 On Ritual Observance for the Dead Chapter 13 Veneration of Dogs Chapter 14 Crime of Killing an Otter Chapter 15 Sinners Deserving a Death Sentence Chapter 16 Impurity During Menstruation Chapter 17 Proper Disposition of Hair and Nails Chapter 18 The Unworthy Priest and the Rooster Chapter 19 Temptation of Zarathushtra by the Evil Spirit Chapter 20 Zoroastrian Concepts of Medicine Chapter 21 Invocations Against the Demons Chapter 22 Antidotes Against the Evil Spirit Conclusion Glossary Bibliography

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