Introduction: The Scope of this Book. The Tradition of Apocalyptic Prophecy. Jewish and early Christian apocalyptic. The apocalyptic tradition in medieval Europe. The Tradition of Religious Dissent. The ideal of the apostolic life. Some early messiahs. The Messianism of the Disoriented Poor.
The impact of rapid social change. The poor in the first crusades. The Saints Against the Hosts of Antichrist. Saviours in the Last Days. The demonic hosts. Phantasy, anxiety and social myth. In the Backwash of the Crusades. The last crusades of the poor. The Emperor Frederick as Messiah. Joachite prophecy and Frederick II. The resurrection of Frederick. Manifestos for a future Frederick. An Elite of Self-immolating Redeemers.
The genesis of the flagellant movement. Revolutionary flagellants. The secret flagellants of Thuringia. An Elite of Amoral Supermen i. The heresy of the Free Spirit. The Amaurians. The sociology of the Free Spirit. An Elite of Amoral Supermen ii. The spread of the movement. The way to self-deification. The doctrine of mystical anarchism. The Egalitarian State of Nature. In the thought of Antiquity. In patristic and medieval thought. The Egalitarian Millennium i.
The Taborite Apocalypse. Anarcho-communism in Bohemia. The Egalitarian Millennium ii. The Drummer of Niklashausen.
The Egalitarian Millennium iii. Anabaptism and social unrest. The messianic reign of John of Leyden. The Ranters described by their Contemporaries. Extracts from the Writings of the Ranters. Notes and Bibliography. The publication of a third edition of The Pursuit of the Millennium has provided an opportunity for a thorough revision.
