Since the original publication of this title, the 12th-century Calabrian Abbot, Joachim of Fiore, has been accorded an increasingly central position in the history of medieval thought and culture. In this work, Marjorie Reeves shows the wide extent of Joachimist influence from the 13th to the 16th centuries and demonstrates the continuity between medieval and Renaissance thought in the field of prophecy. Reeves pinpoints some of the most original aspects of Joachim's theology of history and traces his reputation and influence through succeeding centuries. She also explains how his vision of a final age of the Spirit in history became a powerful force in shaping expectations of the future in Western Europe. The book traces in detail the development of the three great images in which these expectations came to be focused: New Spiritual Men, Angelic Pope, and Last World Emperor. In addition, Reeves illuminates how the pervading influence of Joachim's concepts of a future golden age forms the basis for an understanding of prophetic visions in later centuries.In the light of the current expansion of Joachimist and millenium studies, medieval scholars and students should find the renewed availability of this volume useful, with the addition of an annotated bibliography of material published on Joachimism between 1969 and 1992.