Perpetua : The Woman, the Martyr.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Ruden, Sarah.

Series:

Ancient Lives Series

Language:

English

Physical Description:

1 online resource (208 pages)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

New Haven : Yale University Press, 2025.

Summary:

An intimate and human portrait of Perpetua, a third-century woman author who was idealized as a Christian martyr On March 7, 203, in the monumental amphitheater at Carthage, Vibia Perpetua was one of five Christians who met their deaths after refusing to venerate the Roman emperor Septimius Severus and his son. Perpetua stood out from the other four, and in fact from all the other martyrs of her era and before: she was an aristocratic married woman with an infant son, and she is the first female prose author whose work survives. Offering a probing new translation of Perpetua's extraordinary prison diary and situating the life behind that diary within the turbulent late Roman Empire, Sarah Ruden tells the story of Perpetua's remarkable feat of self‑invention as a martyr. As she builds on Perpetua's own words and integrates them into their religious and historical contexts, Ruden shines a light on Perpetua's disarming candidness, her brashness, and her naïvété. In contrast to traditional portrayals of the saint as a brave but submissive young woman, Ruden's narrative reveals a complex individual who flaunts a vivid public persona as a martyr while at the same time navigating the emotions of a mother, daughter, sister, and friend approaching death.

Contents:

Cover

Half Title

Title Page

Copyright Page

Dedication

CONTENTS

PREFACE

Introduction

Chapter One. Born, Educated, Married

Chapter Two. Converging Forces

Chapter Three. Her Own Hand, Her Own Impressions

Chapter Four. I Knew I Spoke with the Master

Chapter Five. Fattened for a Sacrifice to Caesar

Chapter Six. A Picture with the Face Torn Out

THE SUFFERING OF THE HOLY PERPETUA AND FELICITAS

SOURCE NOTES

NOTES

INDEX.

Notes:

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

ISBN:

0-300-28609-0

OCLC:

1532790302