Prophecy and the Battle for Spiritual Authority, 1360–1400

Abstract At the end of the fourteenth century, there was a surge of people who claimed to have the gift of prophecy. These individuals came from diverse backgrounds and included clergy members, princes, hermits, and illiterate laywomen. Their announcements of prophetic insights prompted reconsiderations of spiritual authority as the Middle Ages came to a close. People debated who could know the word of God and how such claims could be proven or disproven. This book explores three perspectives—those of prophets, their opponents, and their supporters. It first considers new types of people (women, outsiders, and reformers) who asserted prophetic gifts. In particular, the book highlights the way that women used prophecy to exert influence and challenge authority. It then discusses the adversaries of new prophetic claimants, who insinuated that prophecy was the product of demonic influence and therefore a hazard to the public. Finally, the book reveals the presence of an international network of clerical men who wrote in support of female prophecy, advocating for new voices. This book challenges the historical convention that clerical misogyny silenced women at the end of the Middle Ages, arguing that defenses for female prophecy had an enduring impact, affording spiritual authority to outsiders wishing to disrupt the status quo for centuries to come.