The Calabrian Abbot: Joachim of Fiore in the History of Western Thought

Bernard McGinn is a historian of Christian apocalyptic and mystical thought, and this Macmillan book is his academic study of Joachim of Fiore, the twelfth century Calabrian abbot whose apocalyptic theology of history proved unusually influential on later Western thought well beyond his own monastic context. Its strength is tracing that influence concretely, showing specific lines of transmission from Joachim's own theological schema into later medieval and even early modern movements, rather than asserting influence in general terms. Its limit is that it is a study of Joachim's reception and influence as much as of his own original theology, so a reader wanting Joachim's own writings directly, rather than McGinn's account of how they were later read and used, needs to consult a primary translation of Joachim's own texts alongside this study.