Millenarianism and Messianism in Early Modern European Culture

This volume brings together ten essays by leading scholars about Jewish messianic ideas and movements in the early modern world. While much of the previous literature in this field has focused on the internal dynamics of Jewish thought, these essays stress the broader historical and philosophical context. The papers deal with such topics as messianic ideology in the wake of the Spanish Expulsion, messianism and Renaissance philosophy, the Sabbatean movement and its impact on Christian thought, messianism and conversion, the relationship of Christian kabbalists to Jewish messianic ideas, the Frankist movement, and Freemasonry. As a group, the essays here represent a challenge to Gershom Scholem's reading of Jewish messianism in this era, offering a rich tapestry of relationships between the religious imagination of Jews and that of their neighbors. Scholars and students of early modern history, eschatology and religion will find much food for thought here.