The Apocalypse of Pseudo-Methodius was one of the medieval world’s most popular and widely translated texts. Composed in Syriac in Mesopotamia in the seventh century, this supposed revelation presented a new, salvific role for the Roman Empire, whose last emperor, it prophesied, would help bring about the end of the ages. In this first book-length study of Pseudo-Methodius, Christopher J. Bonura uncovers the under-appreciated Syriac origins of this apocalyptic tract, revealing it as a remarkable response to political realities faced by Christians living under a new Islamic regime. Tracing the spread of Pseudo-Methodius from the early medieval Mediterranean to its dissemination via the printing presses of early modern Europe, Bonura then demonstrates how different cultures used this new vision of empire’s role in the end times to reconfigure their own realities. The book also features a new, complete, and annotated English translation of the Syriac text of Pseudo-Methodius.
Christopher J. Bonura is Assistant Professor of History at Mount St. Mary’s University in Maryland.
"This is the best kind of history. Bonura has gone back to the sources, waded through the historiography, and emerged here with a transformative reading of Pseudo-Methodius, both in the moment of its creation as well as in its later transmission. Anyone who works on almost anything related to the medieval world will learn something important from this book."—Matthew Gabriele, Professor of Medieval Studies, Virginia Tech
"A very impressive and wide-ranging study. Bonura convincingly re-contextualizes Pseudo-Methodius in the full depth of its Syriac context and provides an important new translation of the text."—Philip Wood, Tejpar Professor of Inter-Religious Studies, The Aga Khan University
372 pp.6 x 9Illus: 11 b/w figures, 2 maps, 2 tables
9780520418257$95.00|£80.00Hardcover
Nov 2025