Radicalism and Pauline Thought in Pedro de la Cavallería’s Zelus Christi contra Iudaeos, Sarracenos et infideles

Abstract

The reference to Saint Paul (2 Cor. 10:2) that we find in the prologue to Zelus Christi contra Iudaeos, Sarracenos et infideles (mid-fifteenth century) is an early indication of the authority that Pedro de la Cavallería seems to attribute to Paul, and in my opinion this authority is relevant for interpreting the work. In this study, the different allusions and references to Saint Paul throughout the Zelus Christi will be identified and analyzed (primarily the use of his epistles but also other terminology). My objective is to determine to what degree this treatise adopts Pauline thinking, which will later become a central feature of convert circles in Iberia.