Review of 'The Pursuit of the Millennium : Revolutionary Millenarians and Mystical Anarchists of the Middle Ages' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
A dense history, but a fascinating one. I was expecting a book on a tough subject like this written over 50 years ago to be a tough read, but Cohn's style is very clear and focused on the topic, yer written with a lightness of tone and a strong command of the language. This helps make the lives and beliefs of those living hundreds of years ago comprehensible as well as exploring how the beliefs of the millenarians arose out of those times.
There's a lot of detail here, exploring a lot about events that aren't much explored or well remembered but Cohn doesn't get lost in detail, telling a series of stories that illustrate his wider points.
The events he describes are fascinating and have a lot of resonance with modern and contemporary history. Indeed, it's interesting to note that we see similar movements of both a religious and …
A dense history, but a fascinating one. I was expecting a book on a tough subject like this written over 50 years ago to be a tough read, but Cohn's style is very clear and focused on the topic, yer written with a lightness of tone and a strong command of the language. This helps make the lives and beliefs of those living hundreds of years ago comprehensible as well as exploring how the beliefs of the millenarians arose out of those times.
There's a lot of detail here, exploring a lot about events that aren't much explored or well remembered but Cohn doesn't get lost in detail, telling a series of stories that illustrate his wider points.
The events he describes are fascinating and have a lot of resonance with modern and contemporary history. Indeed, it's interesting to note that we see similar movements of both a religious and non-religous nature, be they the Khmer Rouge, ISIS, QAnon or long-running conspiracy theories about elites preventing a Golden Age.
Fascinating reading, definitely recommended.