Apocalypse of Pseudo-Methodius

The Apocalypse of Pseudo-Methodius is a 7th-centuryapocalypsethat shaped the eschatologicalimagination of Christendomthroughout the Middle Ages. The work was written in Syriacin the late 7th century, in reaction to the Islamic conquest of the Near East, and is falsely attributedto the 4th-century Church FatherMethodius of Olympus. It depicts many familiar Christian eschatologicalthemes: the rise and rule of Antichrist, the invasions of Gog and Magog, and the tribulationsthat precede the end of the world. Entirely new was its legend of the Messiah-like Last Roman Emperor, who would be a central figure in apocalyptic literatureuntil the end of the medieval period.

See also: Tiburtine Sibyl

References

• Alexander, Paul J. "The Medieval Legend of the Last Roman Emperor and Its Messianic Origin". Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes, Vol. 41. (1978), pp. 1–15
• Tolan, John V. Saracens: Islam in the Medieval European Imagination (NY, Columbia University Press, 2002)

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