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The Emergence of Human Agency in Christian Apocalyptic

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Final Preparations: The Emergence of Human Agency in Christian Apocalyptic Speculation in the 10th and 11th Centuries A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA BY BAILEY R. POLETTI IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY KATHRYN REYERSON, JOHN WATKINS, ADVISERS November 2020 Bailey R. Poletti, 2020 © i Acknowledgements In an age when people throughout the world are asked to share the burden and responsibility of staving off a threat to all humanity, and when access to resources for academic pursuits can no longer be taken for granted, it is only right to remember those who have made this dissertation possible. Even in ideal circumstances, there is no end to the assistance necessary for a project like this to come together. At the University of Minnesota, I would like to thank in particular my advisors, Kathryn Reyerson and John Watkins, for their unending help and encouragement over the years; my committee, who had to appraise this work in rather unusual and far from ideal circumstances; the university librarians, who saw too much of me over the years; the Goodwin family and the Noonan Award in Medieval Studies, for their much appreciated generosity; the Pre-Modern Workshop, for valuable aid in helping me steer this project at an early stage in its development; my fellow graduate students, whose innumerable insightful and supportive conversations cannot be overstated; and the staff in the UMN history department, who made navigable the tedious, opaque, but necessary paperwork. I am equally indebted to many other academic institutions and groups, including: the American Society of Church History, whose trust in me as a copy-editor both exposed me to invaluable new scholarship and helped me refine my discipline as a writer; my fellow panelists and audiences at meetings of the Annual Symposium on Medieval and Renaissance Studies at Saint Louis University, Missouri, the International Congress on Medieval Studies at Kalamazoo, Michigan, and the American Society of Church History ii at the American Historical Association, whose feedback, questions, and guidance were most helpful; the Saint Louis University Pius XII Library as well as its attached Vatican Film Library, whose patient librarian suffered a fool gladly; and Washington University’s John M. Olin Library. When other sources were cut off, the Belleville (IL) Public Library and its helpful (and forgiving on late fees) librarians proved to be lifesavers. Likewise, the institutions and individuals who have made publications freely available online during quarantine are both numerous and deserving of praise, but I will make special note of the Hathi Trust and Matthew Gabriele (Virginia Tech). The “twitterstorians” of social media have also brought diverse, insightful, and encouraging perspectives on a near daily basis. Most of all, I must thank my family and friends. I would like to single out Nicholas Ehlers for venturing into the labyrinth of medieval apocalyptic speculation for a friend. But none deserve more gratitude than Steph and Maggie, whose patience has been matched only by their constant support. How many spouses can say they sheltered with an apocalypticist during a pandemic, and how many children have listened to medieval prophecies as bedtime stories? Understandably, my family has eagerly awaited the completion of this project for a long time. Because of their love and tireless help, they have made the end possible. iii Table of Contents Abbreviations………………………………………………………………..……………iv Introduction………………………………………………………………………………..1 Chapter 1: Thy Will be Done: The Early Christian and Late Antique Apocalyptic Tradition………………………………………………………………………………...…9 Chapter 2: Running to and fro: Byzantium, Ireland, and the Early Foundations of a New Apocalyptic Tradition……………………………………………………………………84 Chapter 3: Excellentissime regine: Carolingians, Ottonians, and the Mother of Medieval Apocalyptic Thought………………………….……………………………………………………...136 Chapter 4: Rhetoric, Reform, and Resistance: Apocalyptic Preaching in the 10th Century………………………………………………………………………………….187 Chapter 5: Work to be Done: The Centrality of Human Agency in Eleventh-Century Apocalyptic Thought……………………...……………………………………………261 Bibliography……………………………………………………………………………334 iv Abbreviations ANF Ante-Nicene Fathers of the Church. Edited by Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson. 10 vols. Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson, 1994–1995. CCCM Corpus Christianorum Continuatio Mediaeualis. Turnhout: Brepols, 1953–present. CCSL Corpus Christianorum Series Latina. Turnhout: Brepols, 1953–present. MGH Monumenta Germaniae Historica. AA Auctores antiquissimi. SS Scriptores. SSRG Scriptores rerum germanicarum in usum scholarum. NPNF A Select Library of the Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers of the Christian Church. Edited by Philip Schaff. 14 vols. Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson, 1994. PL Patrologia Latina. Edited by Jean-Paul Migne. 221 vols. Paris, 1844– 1864. 1 Introduction And the Pharisees and Sad′ducees came, and to test him they asked him to show them a sign from heaven. He answered them, “When it is evening, you say, ‘It will be fair weather; for the sky is red.’ And in the morning, ‘It will be stormy today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times. An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign shall be given to it except the sign of Jonah.” So he left them and departed.1 According to his followers, Jesus denounced his critics for being able to read the weather but not the prophetic significance of his ministry. The signs were there, but they failed to heed them. More recently and less seriously, the expression goes, “Everybody complains about the weather, but nobody does anything about it.” This statement accurately summarizes the first millennium of Christian apocalyptic thought. For nearly a thousand years, the apocalypse2 was something worthy of speculation, discussion, debate, and even energetic calculation. Opinions about whether it would come sooner or later, arrive suddenly or predictably, or follow one pattern or another were pursued by Christians of all stations. Some versions became widely accepted, even “orthodox,” and some were deemed heretical and/or forgotten entirely by later generations. But in all cases for nearly ten centuries, no matter how little or much people talked about the apocalypse, no one thought there was anything they could do about it. 1 Matthew 16:1–4. Biblical quotations come from the Revised Standard Edition unless otherwise noted. Exceptions to this are when Scriptural passages are contained within another quoted work. 2 “Apocalypse” can refer to an event or a text that discusses special revelation one has received. Throughout, I use the lower-case word “apocalypse” to refer to the concept of prophesied cataclysmic events related to, though distinct from, a Last Judgment; when capitalized, “Apocalypse” and “Revelation” refer to the last book of the New Testament. 2 The Christian apocalypse was like the weather: whatever it will be, it will come when it comes. It certainly will have a great effect on mortals down below when it arrives, and there are plenty of things humans can do while they wait for the rains, droughts, snows, or heat waves. But in many respects, one year is like another. Some bring ideal rains while some bring either terrible storms or hardly any water at all. But the yearly work continues of plowing, seeding, weeding, and harvesting. With the help of a prophet, one might predict a time of famine and prepare accordingly. But no one was in a position to change the weather itself. That was for God—and possibly his holy agents—to see to. He decided if the rains came early or late. But whatever the case, humans would do the same things down below. The only question was whether they would toil in joy or in sorrow. Likewise, Christian apocalyptic thinkers debated many things from the foundation of the religion in the 1st century. The answers to the questions they asked might well lead to changes on earth, but such changes were only to be adjustments to the everyday work of the community of believers. The truly important things—baptisms, basic catechism, confession of sins, fulfillment of penance, celebration of the eucharist, care for the needy, preaching of the Gospel, doing good deeds, and worship of God—were unchanging. All were necessary to guide a sinful human toward the judgment seat of God having proven their worthiness, aided by grace, to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. The more time passed after Pentecost, the more it became clear that most Christians would die long before Christ returned. Preparations for an individual’s death were ironically more universal than anything one could do for the end of the world, since all would die but not everyone would experience the apocalypse. So, when speculation on the apocalypse intruded upon Christian 3 thought and action, it nevertheless meant only fine adjustments to how Christians understood and participated in seeking each individual’s personal salvation. Christians talked about the apocalypse, and some of them changed a few of their habits, but no one did anything about the apocalypse itself. But what could they, or anyone, do about the end of the world? A quick look at the 21st century will give us some ideas. In recent times, the idea of the world coming to an end has been imagined—both religiously and secularly, seriously and fantastically—in countless
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