Introduction

Abstract

The history of expectations of the Last Days in early modern Europe was only a marginal topic in historiography about the early modern times until the middle of the twentieth century. This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book explores hitherto unknown connections between eschatological movements both within Christianity and across religious boundaries. It explores unknown connections between medieval “heresy” and radical reformation in sixteenth-century Germany, with a special emphasis on Thomas Muntzer. The book details how, in the mid seventeenth century, there was a growing awareness of the emergence and impact of millenarian movements in Judaism, Christianity and Islam. It deals with Jewish messianic-minded figures in Spanish America and the way they shared eschatological expectations with Franciscan friars.