Thiota

Thiota (German pronunciation: [ˈtjo:ta]; fl. 847 AD) was a Christian woman and false prophetess of the ninth century convicted of heresy.[1][2] She was originally from Alemannia (then part of East Francia),[3] and in 847 she began prophesying that the world would end that year.[4]

Biography

Her story is known from the Annales Fuldenses[5] which record that she disturbed the diocese of Bishop Salomon, that is, the Diocese of Constance, before arriving in Mainz. A large number of people were persuaded by her words, as well as even some clerics. In fear, many gave her gifts and sought prayers.[4] Finally, the bishops of Gallia Belgica ordered her to attend a synod in St Alban's church in Mainz. She was eventually forced to confess that she had made up her predictions at the urging of a priest and for lucrative gain. She was publicly flogged and stripped of her ministry, which the Fuldensian annalist says she had taken up "unreasonably ... against the customs of the church"–possibly a reference to her being a woman who claimed religious authority for herself.[2] Ashamed, she ceased to prophesy thereafter.

References

1. Dutton, Paul Edward (1994-01-01). The Politics of Dreaming in the Carolingian Empire. U of Nebraska Press. ISBN 978-0-8032-1653-2.
2. Nelson, Jinty (2010-07-15). Frankish World, 750-900. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 978-0-8264-2212-5.
3. Smelyansky, Eugene (2020). Intolerant Middle Ages: A Reader. University of Toronto Press. ISBN 978-1-4875-2412-8.
4. Gillis, Matthew Bryan (2017-02-09). Heresy and Dissent in the Carolingian Empire: The Case of Gottschalk of Orbais. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-251827-9.
5. Studies, Society for the Promotion of Eriugenian (2002). History and Eschatology in John Scottus Eriugena and His Time: Proceedings of the Tenth International Conference of the Society for the Promotion of Eriugenian Studies, [held At] Maynooth and Dublin, August 16-20, 2002. Leuven University Press. ISBN 978-90-5867-241-4.

• The Annals of Fulda. (Manchester Medieval series, Ninth-Century Histories, Volume II.) Reuter, Timothy (trans.) Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1992.
• Landes, Richard. Heaven on Earth: The Variety of the Millennial Experience. New York: Oxford University Press, 2011), pp. 81–83.
• Palmer, James. The Apocalypse in the Early Middle Ages. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2015.