Joachim of Fiore | |
|---|---|
 Joachim of Flora, in a 15th-century woodcut | |
| Born | 1135 (1135) |
| Died | 1202 (aged 66–67) |
| Philosophical work | |
| Era | Medieval philosophy |
| Region | Western philosophy |
| School | Joachimitism Historicism |
| Notable ideas | Premillennialism Three Eras |
Joachim of Fiore, also known asJoachim of Flora (Italian:Gioacchino da Fiore;Latin:Ioachim Florensis;c. 1135 – 30 March 1202), was an ItalianChristian theologian, a Catholicabbot, and the founder of the monastic order ofSan Giovanni in Fiore.[1] According to theologianBernard McGinn, "Joachim of Fiore is the most importantapocalyptic thinker of the whole medieval period."[2] TheDivine Comedy ofDante Alighieri is one of the most famous works possibly inspired by his ideas.[3]Later followers, inspired by his works inChristian eschatology andhistoricist theories, are calledJoachimites.
Born in the small village ofCelico nearCosenza, inCalabria[1] (at the time part of theKingdom of Sicily), Joachim was the son of Mauro de Celico, a well-placed notary,[4] and Gemma, his wife. He was educated at Cosenza, where he became first a clerk in the courts, and then a notary himself. In 1166–1167 he worked forStephen du Perche, archbishop of Palermo (c. 1167–1168) and counsellor ofMargaret of Navarre, regent for the youngWilliam II of Sicily.
About 1159 he went onpilgrimage to theHoly Land, where he experienced a spiritual crisis and conversion inJerusalem that turned him away from worldly life. When he returned, he lived as ahermit for several years, wandering and preaching before joining theCistercian abbey ofSambucina nearLuzzi in Calabria, as a lay brother without taking the religious habit.[4] There he devoted his time to lay preaching. With the ecclesiastical authorities raising objections to his mode of life, Joachim joined the monks of theAbbey of Corazzo, and was ordained a priest, apparently in 1168. He applied himself entirely to Biblical study, with a special view to uncovering the arcane meanings he thought were concealed in the Scriptures,[4] especially inthe apostle John's Revelation. To his dismay, the monks of Corazzo proclaimed him their abbot (c. 1177). He then attempted to join the monastery to theCistercian Order, but was refused because of the community's poverty. In the winter of 1178, he appealed in person to William II, who granted the monks some lands.
In 1182 Joachim appealed toPope Lucius III, who relieved him of the temporal care of his abbey, and warmly approved of his work, bidding him to continue it in whatever monastery he thought best. Joachim spent the following year and a half at the CistercianAbbey of Casamari,[1] where he engaged in writing his three great books. There the young monk, Lucas (afterwardsArchbishop of Cosenza), who acted as his secretary, was amazed to see so famous and eloquent a man wearing such rags, and the wonderful devotion with which he preached and said Mass.[4]
In 1184 he was in Rome, interpreting an obscure prophecy found among the papers of Cardinal Matthew of Angers, and was encouraged byPope Lucius III. Succeeding popes confirmed the papal approbation, though his manuscripts had not begun to circulate. Joachim retired first to the hermitage of Pietralata, writing all the while, and then founded the Abbey of Fiore (Flora) in the mountains of Calabria. He refused the request of KingTancred of Sicily (r. 1189–1194) to move his new religious foundation to the existing Cistercian monastery ofSanta Maria della Matina.
On Good Friday in 1196,Empress Constance, also Queen of Sicily, summoned Joachim of Fiore to Palermo to hear her confession in thePalatine Chapel. Initially, the empress sat on a raised chair, but when Joachim told her that as they were at the places of Christ andMary Magdalene, she needed to lower herself, she sat on the ground.[5]
Fiore became the centre of a new and stricter branch of the Cistercian order, approved byCelestine III in 1198.[4]
In 1200 Joachim publicly submitted all his writings to the examination ofInnocent III,[1] but died in 1202 before any judgment was passed. The holiness of his life was widely known:Dante affirmed that miracles were said to have been wrought at his tomb,[citation needed][6] and, though never officially beatified, he is still venerated as abeatus on May 29.[4]
He theorized the dawn of a new age, based on his interpretation of verses in theBook of Revelation, in which theChurch would be unnecessary and in which infidels would unite with Christians. Members of thespiritual wing of theFranciscan order acclaimed him as a prophet. However, Joachim denied being a prophet himself.[7] His popularity was enormous in the period.Richard the Lionheart met with him in Messina before leaving for theThird Crusade of 1189–1192 to ask for his prophetic advice.[2]
His famous Trinitarian "IEUE" interlaced-circles diagram was influenced by the different 3-circles Tetragrammaton-Trinity diagram ofPetrus Alphonsi, and in turn led to the use of theBorromean rings as a symbol of the ChristianTrinity (and possibly also influenced the development of theShield of the Trinity diagram).[8]
The mystical basis of his teaching is his doctrine of the "eternal gospel", founded on an interpretation of Revelation 14:6 (Rev 14:6, "Then I saw another angel flying in midheaven, with an eternal gospel to proclaim to those who live on the earth—to every nation and tribe and language and people." NRSV translation.).
His theories can be consideredmillenarian; he believed that history, by analogy with theTrinity, was divided into three fundamental epochs:
Joachim's idea of the Age of the Holy Spirit would also later greatly influence theCult of the Holy Spirit which would in later centuries have a considerable impact inPortugal and its colonies, and would suffer severe persecution by thePortuguese Inquisition.
According to Joachim, only in this third age will it be possible to truly understand the words of God in their deepest meanings, and not merely literally. In this period, instead of theparousia (second Advent of Christ), a new epoch of peace and concord would begin; also, a new religious "order" of spiritual men would arise, thus making the present hierarchy of the Church almost unnecessary.
Joachim distinguished between the "reign of justice" or "of law" in an imperfect society, and the "reign of freedom" in a perfect society.[11]
Joachim saw that a pope will be the Antichrist and that Rome represents Babylon.[12]
The thought of Joachim of Fiore inspired numerous historical figures, includingChristopher Columbus. As Columbus's writings testify, he was aware of Joachim's prophecies about the end times and the coming of the Time of the Holy Spirit. In theComplete Collection of the Writings of Christopher Columbus, in which he illustrates and documents the discovery of America, it is written: "I say that I owe to the Holy Spirit all my navigation from my youth onwards."[13]Not only does Columbus cite Joachim of Fiore in theBook of Prophecies (Libro de las Profecías), but also in theComplete Collection of the Writings of Christopher Columbus, in the letter extracted from the Colombina Library in Seville (138 n. 25). Columbus recognized the symbolic meaning of Mount Zion in the Bible, the hill to the east of heavenly Jerusalem, the ideal and spiritual city: "Abbot Joachim said, he who has to rebuild the house of Mount Zion must leave Spain."[14]
Joachim's theories were disputed byThomas Aquinas in hisSumma Theologica (written 1265–1274). In contrast,Dante Alighieri situated Joachim in theParadiso of hisDivine Comedy (composed c. 1320). Among the Spirituals, the stricter branch of theFranciscans, a Joachite group arose, many of whom saw Antichrist already in the world in the person ofFrederick II, Holy Roman Emperor (who died in 1250).
As the appointed year (1260) approached, spurious works began to circulate under Joachim's name:De Oneribus Prophetarum, anExpositio Sybillae et Merlini ("Exposition of theSibyl andMerlin") and commentaries on the prophecies of Jeremiah and Isaiah. TheFourth Council of the Lateran, in 1215, condemned some of his ideas about the nature of the Trinity. In 1263, thearchbishop Fiorenzo enhanced the condemnation of his writings and those of his followerGerardo of Borgo San Donnino, joining a commission in theSynod of Arles, in which Joachim's theories were declaredheretical. The accusation was of having an unorthodox view of theHoly Trinity.
His views also inspired several subsequent movements: theAmalricians, theDulcinians and theBrethren of the Free Spirit. All of these were eventually declared heretical by the Catholic Church. Joachimite interpretations became popular in theProtestant Reformation,[15] and even influenced some Protestant interpretations.[16] Joachim also possibly influencedDante.[17]
Of importance is the fact that Joachim himself was never condemned as a heretic by the Church; rather, the ideas and movement surrounding him were condemned. Joachim the man was held in high regard during his lifetime.
During an event in Rome, June 25, 2025, MonsignorAntonio Staglianò (President of the Pontifical Academy of Theology) explained that Joachim of Fiore was never condemned, but "the accusation that Joachim of Fiore had made against Peter Lombard, who at the time was the great master of judgments, was rejected![18]" and that Joachim of Fiore's Trinitarian thought was correct.
It has been argued that theDivine Comedy ofDante Alighieri is largely inspired by the ideas of the Abbot using the interpretation given by his follower Pietro di Giovanni Olivi, active in Florence at the end of the 13th century.[3]
Joachim may be referred to by the 16th century English cartographer and court magicianJohn Dee, who refers in his influential 1570 workPreface to Euclid to "Ioachim the Prophesier" who "byNumbers Formall, Naturall, and Rationall, forseyng, concludyng, and forshewyng great particular euents, long before their comming."[19] (Rendered in contemporary English: "Joachim the Prophet, who by numbers formal, natural, and rational, foreseeing, concluding, and foretelling, great particular events, long before their coming.")
Joris-Karls Huysmans' novellaLà-bas makes reference to Joachim de Fiore's millenarian eschatology in its concluding scenes, with several characters espousing similar views; presaging the protagonist's conversion to Catholicism.
W. B. Yeats's short story "The Tables of the Law" tells about a single surviving copy of a certain book by Joachim of Flora and its powerful effects on its owner.[20][21]
Joachim, referred to as Joachim Abbas, is referenced inJames Joyce'sUlysses andGiacomo Joyce andStephen Hero.
Joachim is mentioned inUmberto Eco's medieval mysteryThe Name of the Rose. His influence on the Franciscan Spirituals and the rediscovery of his books foreseeing the advent of a new age are part of the book's background story in which an inquisitorial debate is held in a remote monastery where a number of murders take place.
The sprawling conspiracy satire entitled theIlluminatus! trilogy of novels byRobert Anton Wilson andRobert Shea also reference Joachim of Fiore repeatedly. His writings fit well with theeschatological tone of the story. The authors attempt to confuse matters and give an air of authenticity to the madness of the various plotlines by including references to real people and events.[citation needed]
In 2023, a film inspired by the life of JoachimJoachim and the Apocalypse was produced.[22]
Lesser works include:
One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Gardner, Edmund (1910). "Joachim of Flora". In Herbermann, Charles (ed.).Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 8. New York: Robert Appleton Company.Joachimite interpretation itself prefigured later developments in Protestant and romantic hermeneutics.
