Валерия Косякова – Apocalyptic Concepts in the Middle Ages (страница 1)
Валерия Косякова
Apocalyptic Concepts in the Middle Ages
Apocalyptic Concepts
in the
Middle Ages
Valeria Kosiakova
Apocalyptic Conceptsin the Middle Ages. — М.: BookVedy, 2026.
The book is dedicated to the peculiar “adventures” of the Apocalypse. The author analyzes myths, legends, canonical and visual texts, folklore, and apocrypha, identifying the traditional and the explicit, the official and the marginal, the hidden and the fantastical, the ideological and the political — dimensions of the representation of the Apocalypse. Special attention in the book is given to the specific experiences on the eve of the Early Modern period, the analysis of the works of Hieronymus Bosch, his unique visionary eschatology, the surprising nuances and aspects of his artistic universe, as well as the figure of Ivan the Terrible and the embodiment of utopian ambitions to create a New Jerusalem on earth, which must be preceded by apocalyptic chaos and the Last Judgment. The book is addressed to both the general reader and the specialist.
Valeria Kosiakova, Associate Professor and PhD, Russian State University for the Humanities, Moscow.
Academic reviewers: Dmitry Pozdnyakov, Nikita Gaidykov.
ББК 87.65
УДК 291.13
e-ISBN 978-5-4465-2326-9
К72
© Valeria Kosiakova, 2026
Contents
From the author
Chapter 1. Apocalypse Forever
An archaic myth about the end of the world
Monotheistic End of the World
The Apocalypse of Christ
How the Book of Revelation of John the Theologian is structured
Alpha and Omega
Metamorphoses of Perception
Apocalypse in pictures: visualization
Picturesque Last Judgment
Chapter 2. Hieronymus Bosch's Apocalypse
Bosch and the 20th century
The World of Hieronymus Bosch
The devil is in the details
Three triptychs of the apocalypse
Hay and Monkeys: Vanity and Demons
The Last Judgment: Instruction
The Garden of Earthly Delights. Apocalypse 18+
Chapter 3. The Apocalypse of Moscow Kingdom
The conception of the eschatology of Rus'
Ivan the Terrible – Horseman of the Apocalypse
Imaginary and fantastic architecture
Apocalyptic donkey
Apocalyptic war
All roads lead to the Heavenly Jerusalem
Apocalypse in action
Links
From the author
This book explores a crucial concept, especially in the medieval era—the End of the World, the anticipation of it. The book's protagonist, as well as its primary image, is the Apocalypse. But what is the Apocalypse? How did it arise? What are its origins? Why did the image of total collapse become so ubiquitous and even appealing? What do the Book of Revelation, the paintings of Hieronymus Bosch, and the sinister political activities of Ivan the Terrible have in common? An examination of three characters, still iconic today, allows us to see the dynamics of the medieval idée fixe, the obsession with the idea of the End of the World. Initially a myth and oral tradition, this concept was gradually fueled by preaching, then cemented by writing, transformed into a text called the "Apocalypse," which soon acquired canonical status. This powerful and figurative prophecy influences minds and imaginations, causing people to fear, dream, and create a visual equivalent of the nightmarish visions of the inevitable future described by the author of "Revelation." The pictorial canon forms yet another dimension to the idea of the End Times, which increasingly takes on "flesh." The Apocalypse draws ever closer to humanity, tightening its grip on them, becoming real, present, and actual. The representation, reinforced by textual and visual canons, which enter into a dialectical interaction and mutual influence, becomes a powerful intellectual tool, generating a unique ideological discourse. Finally, the representation, having passed through the stages of myth, dream, text, and image, transforms into direct political action on a national scale, implemented by the Russian Tsar.
The concept of the apocalypse is one of the fundamental algorithms of European culture. This concept troubled not only Christians at the dawn of the new era, theologians, and ordinary believers, but also thinkers of the new generation—from Isaac Newton to Stephen Hawking. Many contemporary works of fiction (and not so fiction) (texts, films, games), both popular and elite, cannot exist without the inclusion of an eschatological code. In difficult times of adversity, crises of various kinds, cultural depressions, and revolutions, this code once again acquires strength and symbolic significance. Mikhail Bulgakov's "The Master and Margarita" or "The Golden Calf" by Ilya Ilf and Yevgeny Petrov, Boris Pasternak's "Doctor Zhivago" or Venedikt Erofeyev's "Moscow-Petushki," the novels of Yuri Mamleev or Viktor Erofeyev, Vladimir Orlov's "Viola Player Danilov" or Vladimir Sorokin's "Ice," etc.—Russian literature of the 20th century is particularly replete with apocalyptic images, manifested in direct or veiled allusions, travesty-like or very peculiar interpretations of figures from the eschatological code, not to mention the reception and reflection of utopian messianism and the role of Rus'/Russia in the fate of the world.
All illustrations in this book can be enlarged and viewed in more detail using the internet—for this purpose, they are provided with detailed bibliographic information. A list of sources at the end of the book and a set of page-by-page notes can direct the most assiduous reader to more detailed interpretations and explanations not included in this book.
In conclusion of these brief introductory remarks, the author expresses his deepest gratitude to all those people who made it possible for this work to appear in print.
Chapter 1. Apocalypse Forever
Where to begin a narrative about the apocalypse? Isn't it with the fact that the idea of the End of the World has been an integral part of every culture since time immemorial? The forms of representation of this idea are varied: from the eschatological myth of an ancient people or an archaic religious object in a museum display case to the latest blockbuster with a moralizing subtext, depicting a world on the brink of extinction. Common colloquial formulas such as "apocalyptic landscape," "apocalyptic," or "post-apocalyptic" express the idea of finality, desolation, and despair. Many literary texts of the 20th and 21st centuries narrate the decline of family and country, the existential crises of heroes, the sense of the end of history, the decline of civilization, the "death of the author," "death of the reader," "death of the subject," and so on. Even if "apocalypse" doesn't become the main theme of such works, it ominously looms between the lines, creating a disturbing atmosphere. What is apocalypse? Are the metamorphoses of history, the entropy of social formations, wars, crises, and the doom of man to death perceived through a universal eschatological symbolic code, or is it a purely European cultural trait, constructed by Christian dogma? Can we say that apocalypse is a rational universal, or is it an unconscious sublimation of hidden human anxieties, fears, and fantasies? Be that as it may, the artifacts included in the apocalyptic imagery are countless, and the field of research is endless.
Concepts of the End of the World have their roots in archaic cultures. Eschatological myths and legends (from the ancient Greek ἔσχατον — "final," "last" and λόγος — "word," "knowledge") tell of fatal catastrophes and natural disasters that wipe out the human race. Many mythological systems describe the creation and birth of the world, the establishment of cosmic order, the struggle with chthonic beings, and the exploits of heroes. But if existence or life had a divinely given beginning, then, according to the logic of myth, an ending is inevitable: just as all life comes to an end, so too will the universe in
An archaic myth about the end of the world
Most myths of New Guinea, Mesoamerica, Native Americans, and other archaic and primitive cultures, when telling about the End of the World, assume a cyclical structure: the world is destroyed by God due to some ritual violations or due to the old age and fatigue of the world itself, but a global, most often natural, catastrophe is followed by a new creation. According to Aztec beliefs, for example, the world had already been destroyed three or four times, and a fourth (or fifth) destruction was expected in the future, associated with the disappearance of the sun and a total flood, after which, however, one pious couple would survive. The Choctaw Indian tribe believed that the world, having already suffered a flood, would be destroyed by fire, but the souls of the dead would return, their bones would become fleshy, and the resurrected people would once again find themselves in their former habitats 2. A similar myth can be found among the Eskimos: people will be resurrected, gaining life from their bones (a belief typical of hunting tribes). Let us also recall the ancient Egyptians, who so carefully created mummies: they preserved each organ of the deceased in separate jars, inserted eyes, painted anthropomorphic sarcophagi - and all this so that the soul would not get lost after death and would return, recognizing and reviving its owner.