I am trying to put together a unit on Millennialism for an upcoming seminar. While I am having no trouble at all finding sources that credit the idea that Medieval Folks were all going bonkers round about 1000 (thanks Ademar and Ralph Glaber) I am having a much harder time finding accessible source (both primary and secondary) which critique or question the Millennial Theory.
Anyone have any suggestions either for primary readings or places to start?
The two essential books on this subject are:
Richard Landes, Andrew Gow, David Van Meter (Editors), The Apocalyptic Year 1000 : Religious Expectaton and Social Change, 950-1050 (Oxford University Press, 2003)
Thomas F. Head, Richard Allen Landes (Editors), The Peace of God: Social Violence and Religious Response in France Around the Year 1000 (Cornell University Press, 1992)
Both are fantastic sets of essays and crucial for understanding the period; Peace of God in particular has an essay dedicated to overview of historiography. Landes is a specialist on this and has written monographs that might be of interest, but I think the essays are more accessible for seminars.
As well, for some other perspectives on medieval eschatology versus millenialism you can consult:
There's also Michael Frassetto, ed., The Year 1000: Religious and Social Response to the Turning of the First Millennium (Palgrave, 2002). Ed Peters' introduction is particularly useful.
There's also this brief bibliography - http://medapocalypse.wordpress.com/bibliography/
I can add to this if you want but a note on level and potential languages would be useful.