Martyrdom as witness in late ancient Christian literature / Virginia Burrus

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Burrus, Virginia, author.

Series:

Cambridge elements. Elements in religion in late antiquity

Cambridge elements. Elements in religion in late antiquity, 2633-8602

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Christian martyrs--Rome.

Christian martyrs.

Rome (Empire).

Physical Description:

1 online resource

Place of Publication:

Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2026

Summary:

''Witness' is not merely an etymological trace but central to late ancient Christian understandings of martyrdom. Drawing on dual traditions of elite parrhesia, or free speech, and the torture of enslaved witnesses, martyrs testified through their suffering and deaths to their own worthiness, the tyrannical violence inflicted upon them, and the possibility of a more just world. Literature became the medium of this threefold witness. This study offers close readings of well-known martyrdom accounts from the period before the Great Persecution, including Acts of the Scillitan Martyrs, Acts of Justin, Letter of the Martyrs of Vienne and Lyons, Passion of Perpetua and Felicitas, Martyrdom of Polycarp, and Acts of Thecla. It highlights recurring themes of interrogation, torture, contest, sacrifice, and sexual violence, showing how these texts reflect on questions of power and agency, and concludes with an exploration of their contemporary relevance through the art of Kehinde Wiley"-- Cambridge Core

Contents:

Interrogation : Acts of the Scillitan Martyrs and Acts of Justin

Torture : Letter of the Martyrs of Vienne and Lyons

Contest : Passion of Perpetua and Felicitas

Sacrifice : Martyrdom of Polycarp

Sexual violence : Acts of Thecla

Conclusion : Bearing witness, now

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references

Online resource; title from PDF title page (Cambridge Core, viewed July 23, 2026)

Other Format:

Print version: Burrus, Virginia Martyrdom as witness in late ancient Christian literature

ISBN:

9781009886567

1009886568

9781009886895

1009886894

OCLC:

1594457515

Publisher Number:

CIPO000404253

CIPO000406844

Access Restriction:

Restricted for use by site license