Apocalittica e profezia negli scritti dei frati Predicatori

The topic of prophecy and apocalypticism among the Dominicans is not often discussed in their historiography. Since their early history, Dominicans have dealt with the repression of heresy, and their masters have become models for orthodox theology – particularly in the last hundred and fifty years. On the other hand, prophets used to be thought of as antagonists, and were often in opposition to political and ecclesiastical hierarchies of power. Indeed, these disputable schemes of prophetism and apocalypticism do not take into consideration the phenomenon of apocalypticism and prophecy among the Order of Preachers. We find many examples of these speculations in the Order from the beginning, and they appear to be well integrated with people’s relationships with ecclesiastical powers, and particularly with the papacy. To mention a very important case, the text of Dominic of Caleruega’s bull of canonisation is full of references to the imminent end of time, and to the role of Dominic and the Order in this matter; the liturgy for the feast of the Saint is built on the idea that he was the forerunner to the second coming of Jesus Christ, a sort of new John the Baptist. This paper shows how this tension can be found all over the history of the Dominican Order – including in famous characters such as Catherine of Siena and Girolamo Savonarola.