Joachim of Fiore (c.1135–1202)

Joachim was a charismatic monastic reformer and inventive scriptural exegete whose study of the Bible led him to propound complex theories of history. Especially interested in the Apocalypse as a guide to history, he believed that the advent of the Antichrist and a violent end of the age were imminent. Contemporaries considered him a prophet, and this reputation – furthered by spurious works attributed to him – endured for four centuries. His theology, however, was widely criticized by such authoritative thinkers as Aquinas, Bonaventure and Bradwardine.