Vol. 4 No. 1 (2023): Apokaliptika
Studies

The last and final great battle of the Saints: Armageddon theories about the Ottoman expansion in the Czech literature (16th–17th centuries)

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Eszter Kovács
Pázmány Péter Katolikus Egyetem Bölcsészet- és Társadalomtudományi Kar — Budapest; Országos Széchényi Könyvtár — Budapest
DOI: https://doi.org/10.61176/Axis.2023.4.1.10

Published 2023

Keywords

  • Ottoman expansion,
  • Czech humanists,
  • Armageddon theories

How to Cite

Kovács, E. (2023). The last and final great battle of the Saints: Armageddon theories about the Ottoman expansion in the Czech literature (16th–17th centuries). Axis – Journal of Religious History and the History of Ideas, 4(1), 121–128. https://doi.org/10.61176/Axis.2023.4.1.10

Copyright (c) 2023 Kovács Eszter

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Abstract

In the 16th–17th centuries the interpretation of the Ottoman expansion became one of the most difficult questions in Hungary and the Czech lands as well. All intellectuals were looking for an answer to the question: If the Christian faith is the true religion, why does God allow this chatastrophe? The most accepted theories are the following: 1. theory of crime and punishment (Biblical parallels); 2. Apocalyptical interpretation; 3. humanists’ explanation that the Ottoman expansion is a foreign political and not a theological-philosophical problem. In my study the apocalyptical interpretation by Czech Scholars will be presented, especially the motif of final battle at Armageddon. The most important sources about it are: Václav Budovec z Budova: Antialkorán, Jiřík Johannides: Dwogj spis včiněný, [Anonymous]: Obaudwauch Antykrystůw, Konstantynopolitanského a Ržjmského, Partlic ze Špicberka, Šimon: Flagellum Dei. Bič aneb metla Božj and Metamorphosis mundi.

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