The end is nigh! Or so they’ve been saying since the year 1000 A.D. Today, Neil Eckart of the podcast War and Conquest tells us about millenarianism, the medieval idea that the world was coming to crashing halt at the end of the millennium. So, how did medieval folks party like it was 999? They went crusading! Discover the connection with the crusades in today’s episode.

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Music and graphic design by Rachel Westhoff. Maps, pics, references and more at http://www.deadideas.net.

Time/place: Medieval Europe, c. 1000 CE

Dead Idea: Millenarianism

Main Sources

Holland, T. (2008). The Forge of Christendom: The End of Days and the Epic Rise of the West. London: Little, Brown.

Rubenstien, J. (2011). Armies of Heaven: The First Crusade and the Quest for the Apocalypse. Philadelphia, PA: Basic Books.