Gender, Kabbalah and the Reformation: The Mystical Theology of Guillaume Postel (1510-1581)

Erscheinungsjahr 2004
ISBN: 978-90-04-13801-8
Verlag: Brill

Buch, Englisch, Band 98, 198 Seiten, Format (B × H): 162 mm x 241 mm, Gewicht: 451 g

Reihe: Studies in Medieval and Reformation Traditions

This study examines one of the most unusual figures of the sixteenth century, Guillaume Postel, who believed that a female messiah had arrived on earth who would usher in a new age of political and religious harmony. He grounded this prophecy in the Kabbalah, the Jewish mystical tradition, and relied extensively on its use of gender symbolism. Postel has often been viewed as a marginal figure, whose unconventional views preclude comparison with his contemporaries. However, this study suggests that Postel used his prophecy to participate in two arenas: Reformation controversy and the querelle des femmes or debate about women. His thought has relevance not only for an understanding of Renaissance Kabbalah, but for Reformation history and for early modern gender studies.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Petry, Yvonne

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Geschichtliche Themen Mentalitäts- und Sozialgeschichte
• Geisteswissenschaften Christentum, Christliche Theologie Praktische Theologie Christliche Spiritualität, Christliche Mystik
• Geisteswissenschaften Jüdische Studien Jüdische Studien Jüdische Spiritualität & Mystik (Kabbala, Chassidismus)

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Acknowledgements
Preface

Introduction

1. History, Prophecy and Mysticism
2. The Formation of Postel’s Theology
3. Postel on Gender, Politics and the French Monarchy
4. Postel and Renaissance Kabbalah
5. Mother Joanna, Joan of Arc and the Virgin Mary
6. Body, Soul and the Sacraments
7. Postel and the Querelle des Femmes
8. Gender and the Reformation

Conclusion

Bibliography
Index

Über Autor(innen)

Petry, Yvonne
Yvonne Petry, Ph.D. (1997) in History, University of Manitoba, is Professor of History at Luther College, University of Regina. She has recently contributed several chapters to a collaborative work entitled 'Webs of Reality: Social Perspectives on Science and Religion' (Rutgers, 2002).