Apocalyptic Concepts in the Middle Ages

The book is dedicated to the peculiar adventures of the Apocalypse. The author analyzes myths, legends, canonical and visual texts, folklore, and apocrypha, identifying the traditional and the explicit, the official and the marginal, the hidden and the fantastical, the ideological and the political — dimensions of the representation of the Apocalypse. Special attention in the book is given to the specific experiences on the eve of the Early Modern period, the analysis of the works of Hieronymus Bosch, his unique visionary eschatology, the surprising nuances and aspects of his artistic universe, as well as the figure of Ivan the Terrible and the embodiment of utopian ambitions to create a New Jerusalem on earth, which must be preceded by apocalyptic chaos and the Last Judgment. The book is addressed to both the general reader and the specialist.