Gender, Kabbalah, and the Reformation: The Mystical Theology of Guillaume Postel, 1510-1581

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BRILL, Jan 1, 2004 - Religion - 191 pages
This study examines one of the most unusual figures of the sixteenth century, Guillaume Postel, who believed that a female messiah had arrived on earth who would usher in a new age of political and religious harmony. He grounded this prophecy in the Kabbalah, the Jewish mystical tradition, and relied extensively on its use of gender symbolism. Postel has often been viewed as a marginal figure, whose unconventional views preclude comparison with his contemporaries. However, this study suggests that Postel used his prophecy to participate in two arenas: Reformation controversy and the "querelle des femmes" or debate about women. His thought has relevance not only for an understanding of Renaissance Kabbalah, but for Reformation history and for early modern gender studies.

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Contents

History Prophecy and Mysticism
5
The Formation of Postels Theology
25
Postel on Gender Politics and the French
51
Postel and Renaissance Kabbalah
71
MotherJoannaJoan of Arc and the Virgin Mary
95
Body Soul and the Sacraments
117
Postel and the Querelle des Femmes
131
Gender and the Reformation
151
Conclusion
163
Index
185
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About the author (2004)

Yvonne Petry, Ph.D. (1997) in History, University of Manitoba, is Professor of History at Luther College, University of Regina. She has recently contributed several chapters to a collaborative work entitled Webs of Reality: Social Perspectives on Science and Religion (Rutgers, 2002).

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