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Of Guillaume Postel (15 10-1581)

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Of Guillaume Postel (15 10-1581) GENDER, KABBALAH AND THE CATHOLIC REFORMATION: A STUDY OF THE MYSTICAL THEOLOGY OF GUILLAUME POSTEL (15 10-1581) YVONNE PETRY A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies in Partial FuIfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Department of History University of Manitoba Winnipeg, Manitoba (c) September, 1997 National Ubrary Bibliothèque nationale du Canada Acquisitions and Acquisitions et Bibliographie Services services bibliographiques 395 Wellington Street 395, nie Wellington OtiawaON KtAON4 Ottawa ON KlA ON4 canada Canada The author has granted a non- L'auteur a accordé une licence non exclusive licence allowing the exclusive permettant à la National Libmy of Canada to Bibliothèque nationale du Canada de reproduce, loan, distribute or seil reproduire, prêter, distribuer ou copies of this thesis in microfonn, vendre des copies de cette thèse sous paper or electronic formats. la forme de microfichelfilm, de reproduction sur papier ou sur format électronique. The author retains ownership of the L'auteur conserve la propriété du copyright in this thesis. Neither the droit d'auteur qui protège cette thèse. thesis nor substantial extracts fkom it Ni la thèse ni des extraits substantiels may be printed or otherwise de celle-ci ne doivent être imprimés reproduced without the author's ou autrement reproduits sans son permission. autorisation. THE UNIVERSITY OF bUiWïOBA FACULTY OF GRWUATE STUDIES ***a* COPYRIGEIï PERiMISSION PAGE GENDER, KbBBALAE lUSD TBE CATEOLIC REFORMATION: A STIJDY OF THE HYSTICAL TBEOLûGY OF GüILLAüHE POSTEL (1510-1581) A ThesidPracticurn submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studia of The University of Manitoba in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of DOCTOR OF ~SOPBP Yvo~ePetry 1997 (c) Permission has been granted to the Library of The University of Manitoba to lend or sel1 copies of this thesidpracticum, to the National Library of Canada to microfilm this tbesis and to lend or sel1 copies of the film, and to Dissertations Abstracts International to publish an abstract of this thesidpracticum. The author reserves other publication rights, and neither this thesis/practicum nor extensive ertracts from it may be printed or otherwise reproduced without the author's written permissioa. ABSTRACT The sixteenth century produced an array of remarkable religious figures, but few were more unusual and less orthodox than Guillaume Postel. He would suffer for the originality of his message: he was declared insane by the Venetian Inquisition, imprisoned for heresy, and spent the last eighteen years of his life under virtual house arrest in Paris. While various components of his theology were considered heretical, his most surprising claim was that a female messiah had arrived on earth. In 1547, Postel had met a pious Italian woman, named Joanna, whom he called the New Eve and considered as his own spiritual mother. His prophetic message, that she had personally ushered in a new age of political and religious harmony, was the apex of a complex system of thought which integrated aspects of mystical Judaism with Christianity. Postel is generally viewed as a marginal figure, whose unconventional religious views preclude cornparison with his contemporaries. However, this study analyzes his thought within two contexts. The first is that of Jewish mysticism; such an analysis reveals that in spite of Postel's reliance on Kabbalah, his purpose was the defense of Catholic dogma. While his theology was heterodox, it contained elements which sewed to juste those Catholic doctrines which were under attack in the sixteenth century: free will, celibacy, the Eucharist, and the Virgin Mary. This consemative element in Postel's thought is reinforced through an examination of his notions of gender within .. 11 the context of the sixteenth-century debate over the nature of Woman, the querelle des femmes. While others began questioning the view that women were categorically inferior to men, Postel used it as the starting point of his mystical theology. In terms of both his religious views and philosophical assumptions, Postel can be seen as trying to perpetuate the late-medieval world view which was breaking down during the volatile period in which he lived. His thought has relevance not only for an understanding of Jewish- Christian interaction in the Renaissance, but also for Reformation controversy and for gender studies in the early modern period. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The greatest debt of gratitude for this work is owed to my supervisor, Dr. Henry Heller, whose continuous support, encouragement and advice helped me see this project to completion. 1 would also like to thank the members of my cornmittee - Dr. John Wortley, Dr. Richard Lebrun, Dr. Alexander Gordon and Dr. Nicholas Terpstra - whose valuable comments allowed me to rehe my ideas. The History Department at the University of Manitoba has felt like home to me since the first day 1 arrived there. In particular, 1 would like to thank Dr. John Kendle, Department Head, and Dr. Lionel Steiman, Graduate Chair, for their support und encouragement. 1 would also like ta thank Dr. Don Bailey at the University of Winnipeg for having provided me with an opportunity to present my work in progress to his students. I greatly appreciate the patient and fkiendly help provided over the years by Karen Morrow, History Department Secretary. 1also thank the staff at Dafoe Library at the University of Manitoba. Many happy hours were spent in the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris, during which I relied on the services of the staff there. 1 was financially supported by the University of Manitoba and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. Without such support my work could not have been undertaken. iv My fkiends in the graduate program have seen me through those periods of self-doubt and mental fatigue that seem to go hand-in-hand with doctoral research. Linda has been my confidante, intellectual sparring partner and supportive fiiend. Graeme has shown an unwavering faith in me and my work. Maureen has always been ready with a word of encouragement. My family has always supported my academic efforts. Each of my bmthers - Norman, Robert and Roger - has contributed to my inteIlectual development through our shared conversations, to my personal growth through the mode1 of his own Me, and to my happiness through being my brother. I'm gratefid to Norm for help with p~tingout the final version. My father, who passed away during the hst year of my doctoral program, left me with his passion for learning and love of history. And my mother shows me daily, through the example of her own life, the value of having both high aspirations and the diligence to attain them. NOTE ON SOURCES There are a certain number of common problems associated with the study of sixteenth-centurytexts. Inconsistencies in spelling, punctuation and the use of accents are endemic. 1 have retained the original spellings in French and Latin, including the rather inconsistent use of accents, although 1s have been changed to Js where appropriate. Several of Postel's books were published without consistent page numbers. 1 have used whatever form of numbering exists and where there are no page numbers, I have provided chapter numbers. Where only one side of the page is numbered, in book or manuscript form, 1 have used the abbreviation fol. and indicated verso if it is on the left (unnumber5d) side of the page. I have provided full titles of sixteenth-century books in the bibliography, but have used short titles in the footnotes. Postel's manuscripts contain extensive insertions and marginal notes. In quotations fkom his rnanuscripts, 1 have indicated these marginal insertions with brackets < >. Postel's manuscripts are scattered throughout the libraries of Europe, but 1 have concentrated my research on those found in the collection of the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris (fonds latin and fonds français designated in the footnotes as BN.ms.f.lat. or fifr. respectively). 1 have provided the title of the treatises which are bound together in these manuscript collections, since they serve to indicate the nature and content of Postel's writings. Many of vi Postel's manuscripts were published by François Secret and 1 have also used these extensively. A note on spelling: some historians use Kabbalah to refer to the Jewish tradition and the latinized spelhg, Cabala, to refer to the Christian stream. 1 have chosen to use Kabbalah for both, since it is generally clear fkom the context whether 1 am referring to Christianity or Judaism. In this 1 am following the example of François Secret. who uses the same spelling for both. TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ............................................... i .. * ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ................................... iii NOTE ON SOURCES .......................................v Cha~terOne: INTRODUCTION .............................. 1 Cha~terTwo: BIOGRAPHICAL SURVEY ...................... 43 Cha~terThree: POSTEL'S POLITICAL VIEWS .................. 85 Cha~terFour: POSTEL AND RENAISSANCE KABBALAH ....... 115 Cha~terFive: POSTEL. JOANNA AND THE VIRGIN MARY ...... 153 Cha~terSix: POSTEL'S NOTIONS OF BODY AND SOUL ....... 189 Cha~terSeven: POSTEL AND THE QUERELLE DES FEMMES .... 212 BIBLIOGRAPHY .........................................265 Chanter One INTRODUCTION In 1549, Guillaume Postel wrote a letter to Andreas Masius, a Belgian Hebrew scholar and one of Postel's closest friends, describing his studies.' At that time, Postel had been reading
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