“Super Hieremiam” - Prophecy and Politics in the 13th century
The Peudo-Joachite Commentary, “Super Ieremiam” is Joachim of Fiore’s most influential as well as his most neglected work. For centuries, everybody believed it to be Joachim’s – and maybe only because the “Super Ieremiam” was so highly popular did Joachim’s authentic writings survive, together with the pseudepigraphic ones. Among the variety of texts which are linked with the name of Joachim of Fiore, the “Super Ieremiam” plays an eminent role. It is unique not only in the sense that none of the pseudepigraphic works have been transmitted in closer relation to the authentic works – the word here is intertextuality –, that none of Joachim’s works, either authentic or pseudeopigraphical, or any other of Joachim’s or Joachite text has been the object of more heated debate than the “Super Ieremiam”; none has gained Joachim’s name and reputation more friends and disciples, and none more and fiercer enemies.
Late in the 19th century, scholars agreed that the “Super Ieremiam” was not authentic but pseudepigraphical, and since then it has been more or less out of the focus of scholarly interest. At present, most scholars agree that the “Super Hieremian” fails to meet the scholarly standards of Joachim‘s authentic writing, and is a far cry from his distinctly subtle and academic exegesis. Why then was the “Super Ieremiam” able to gain such great influence, draw so much attention, and attract such fierce enemy fire? Through my research on the “Super Ieremiam”, I will try to find answers to these questions, and to make available the text of the shorter and as yet unpublished version.
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