''The Pursuit of the Millennium: Revolutionary Millenarians and Mystical Anarchists of the Middle Ages'' (1957, revised and expanded in 1970) is

Norman Cohn Norman Rufus Colin Cohn FBA (12 January 1915 – 31 July 2007) was a British academic, historian and writer who spent 14 years as a professorial fellow and as Astor-Wolfson Professor at the University of Sussex. Life Cohn was born in London, to ...

's study of

millenarian Millenarianism or millenarism (from Latin , "containing a thousand") is the belief by a religious, social, or political group or movement in a coming fundamental transformation of society, after which "all things will be changed". Millenarian ...

cult In modern English, ''cult'' is usually a pejorative term for a social group that is defined by its unusual religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs and rituals, or its common interest in a particular personality, object, or goal. Thi ...

movements. Covering a wide span of time, Cohn's book discusses topics such as

anti-Semitism Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...

and the

Crusades The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were ...

, in addition to such sects as the

Brethren of the Free Spirit The Brethren of the Free Spirit were adherents of a loose set of beliefs deemed heretical by the Catholic Church but held (or at least believed to be held) by some Christians, especially in the Low Countries, Germany, France, Bohemia, and Nort ...

flagellants Flagellants are practitioners of a form of mortification of the flesh by whipping their skin with various instruments of penance. Many Christian confraternities of penitents have flagellants, who beat themselves, both in the privacy of their dw ...

, the

Anabaptists Anabaptism (from Neo-Latin , from the Greek : 're-' and 'baptism', german: Täufer, earlier also )Since the middle of the 20th century, the German-speaking world no longer uses the term (translation: "Re-baptizers"), considering it biased. ...

, and the Ranters. ''The Pursuit of the Millennium'' concludes with a discussion of the theocratic king

John of Leiden John of Leiden (born Johan Beukelszoon; 2 February 1509 – 22 January 1536) was a Dutch Anabaptist leader. In 1533 he moved to Münster, capital of the Prince-Bishopric of Münster, where he became an influential prophet, turned the city into ...

, who took over the city of

Münster Münster (; nds, Mönster) is an independent city (''Kreisfreie Stadt'') in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also a state di ...

in 1534.

Legacy

People influenced by ''The Pursuit of the Millennium'' include the French Marxist philosopher and writer

Guy Debord Guy-Ernest Debord (; ; 28 December 1931 – 30 November 1994) was a French Marxist theorist, philosopher, filmmaker, critic of work, member of the Letterist International, founder of a Letterist faction, and founding member of the Situation ...

, who considered the chiliastic cults discussed by Cohn something of a model for the

Situationist International The Situationist International (SI) was an international organization of social revolutionaries made up of avant-garde artists, intellectuals, and political theorists. It was prominent in Europe from its formation in 1957 to its dissolution ...

, and British author Richard Webster. Webster wrote that he was impressed by the book, and that it led him to read Cohn's other works, including '' Warrant for Genocide'' and ''

Europe's Inner Demons ''Europe's Inner Demons: An Enquiry Inspired by the Great Witch-Hunt'' is a historical study of the beliefs regarding European witchcraft in Late Medieval and Early Modern Europe, with particular reference to the development of the witches' sabba ...

''. Reading those books helped convince Webster that "the principal reason why we should study the witch-hunts of the past is to enable us the better to recognise and oppose the witch-hunts of the present and the future", and led to his interest in the problem of false abuse allegations. John Gray cites Cohn in '' Black Mass: Apocalyptic Religion and the Death of Utopia''.

Richard Cavendish (occult writer) Richard Cavendish (12 August 1930 – 21 October 2016) was a British historian who was considered Britain's foremost authority on the subjects of occultism, religion, the tarot, and mythology. Personal life Cavendish was born in 1930 at H ...

also cites Cohn in ''

The Powers of Evil in Western Religion and Folk Belief ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

''.

References

External links

''The Pursuit of the Millennium: Revolutionary Millenarians and Mystical Anarchists of the Middle Ages'' at Internet Archive
1957 non-fiction books 20th-century history books History books about Christianity Books about crowd psychology {{Hist-book-stub

Legacy

See also

References

External links