Female Identity and Agency in the Cult of the Martyrs in Late Antique North Africa Heather Barkman

305 Pages·2016·6.42 MB·English

Female Identity and Agency in the Cult of the Martyrs in Late Antique North Africa
Heather Barkman

Thesis submitted to the
Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies
In partial fulfillment of the requirements
For admission to the degree of
Doctorate of Philosophy in Religious Studies

Department of Classics and Religious Studies
Faculty of Arts
University of Ottawa

© Heather Barkman, Ottawa, Canada, 2016
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Table of Contents
Table of Contents ii
Abstract iv
Acknowledgements v
Introduction 1
Outline of the Chapters 9
Identity, Agency, and Power: Women’s Roles in the Cult of the Martyrs 14
Methodology 14
i. Intermittent Identities 14
ii. Agency 23
iii. Power 28
Women’s Roles 34
Wife 35
Mother 40
Daughter 43
Virgin 49
Mourner 52
Hostess 56
Widow 59
Prophet 63
Patron 66
Martyr 71
Conclusion 75
Female Martyrs and the Rejection/Reconfiguration of Identities 78
Martyrdom in North Africa 80
Named North African Female Martyrs 87
i. Januaria, Generosa, Donata, Secunda, Vestia (Acts of the Scillitan Martyrs) 87
ii. Perpetua and Felicitas (Passion of Perpetua and Felicitas) 87
iii. Quartillosa (Martyrdom of Montanus and Lucius) 89
iv. Crispina (Passion of Crispina) 90
v. Maxima, Donatilla, and Secunda (Passion of Saints Maxima, Donatilla, and Secunda) 91
vi. Salsa (Passion of Saint Salsa) 92
vii. Victoria, Maria, and Januaria (Acts of the Abitinian Martyrs) 93
Private Identities of North African Female Martyrs 95
Wife 95
Mother 106
Daughter 119
Private/Public Identities of North African Female Martyrs 135
Virgin 135
Public Identities of North African Female Martyrs 140
Bride of Christ 141
Prophet 148
Imitator of Christ 158
Conclusion 162
Patrons, Clients, and Imitators: Female Venerators in the Cult of the Martyrs 166
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Patron 168
Client 175
i. Kissing 176
ii. Visiting Shrines 182
iii. Publishing Miracles 185
Imitator 188
Conclusion 196
Women’s Roles in Communal Meals, Funerary Feasts, and Martyr Veneration 200
Greco-Roman Banquets 203
Christian Banquets 207
Banquets in Martyr Texts 214
Greco-Roman Funerary Banquets 220
Christian Funerary Banquets 227
Commemorative Martyr Banquets 238
Conclusion 251
General Conclusion 255
Roman and Christian Identities 257
Christian Identities 265
Identities Specific to the Cult of the Martyrs 267
Methodological Advances 269
Bibliography 273
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Abstract
This thesis investigates the dual roles that women played in the cult of the martyrs in Christianity
in Late Antiquity: as martyrs worthy of admiration and as venerators engaged in acts of
celebration. The investigation is driven by questions regarding the identity, agency, and power of
women in the cult of martyrs, focusing on late antique (second- to fifth-century) North Africa.
Late antique Christians expressed their veneration of the martyrs in a variety of ways,
including (but not limited to) special church services, praying for the martyrs, visiting martyrs’
shrines to ask for miracles (often healing in nature), and partaking in commemorative feasts at
the martyrs’ graves on the anniversaries of their deaths. In all of these modes of veneration,
women took on various roles that were analogous with other roles outside of the cult of the
martyrs, such as wife, mother, patron, or client. Female martyrs are also identified using these
roles, and thus this provides a useful area of comparison. By exploring these roles, this thesis
arrives at a more nuanced understanding of women’s agency and power in traditional contexts
and how such agency and power were transferred, continued, and challenged within the cult of
the martyrs.
The thesis engages in textual and discourse analysis of the relevant primary sources,
particularly the martyr texts, sermons, letters, and treatises by North African writers. In the
secondary literature, this study engages with the diverse works of classicists, historians,
archaeologists, religious studies scholars, and feminist theorists. The interdisciplinary approach
of the thesis is further nuanced by an examination of the concepts of identity, agency, and power.
Applying these analyses to the context of women’s participation in the cult of the martyrs
provides new insights into how we can uncover women’s experiences in ancient sources, where
women’s voices are almost always obscured by male discourses.
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Acknowledgements
Throughout this process, I have encountered many people who offered advice, read parts of the
dissertation, and who helped to shape my research, and I am indebted to them for their
contributions in finishing this project. I would first like to offer special thanks to my supervisor,
Theodore de Bruyn. I am grateful for your thoughtful comments on the various iterations of my
work throughout this process, and for always being a source of encouragement and support. Your
guidance and expertise have improved my scholarship greatly, and it has been a pleasure
working with you throughout my doctoral programme.
Additionally, I would like to thank all of my colleagues in the Department of Classics and
Religious Studies for their collaboration and stimulating conversations over the years. In
particular, I would like to thank Jitse Dijkstra, Adele Reinhartz, Pierluigi Piovanelli, and
Geoffrey Greatrex for their expertise and encouragement, and Sabrina Higgins and Nadya
Pohran for being great motivators and incredible friends. I am also grateful to the numerous
scholars who offered feedback on my research that was presented at conferences around the
world.
I have been fortunate to receive funding from several organizations. This support has
greatly enriched my doctoral experience and I would like to take the opportunity to acknowledge
these groups for their contributions. First, I would like to thank the Social Sciences and
Humanities Research Council of Canada for the Doctoral Scholarship and the Ontario Ministry
of Colleges and Universities for the Ontario Graduate Scholarship. Both of these organizations
provided generous support that allowed my focus to remain on my research. In addition, I am
grateful to the University of Ottawa for their Admissions and Excellence Scholarships and for
the conference travel grants funded by the Faculty of Graduate Studies and CUPE.
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I am also thankful to have been the recipient of the 2015 Dissertation Research Grant
provided by the North American Patristics Society, which allowed me to travel to Tunisia for a
research trip. I would like to thank NAPS for providing this support to scholars at the end of their
PhD programmes and am grateful to be a part of such a supportive and engaging scholarly
community. Finally, I received funding to attend the Summer School on Religion and Violence
in 2015 at the Universitair Centrum Sint-Ignatius Antwerpen. I am grateful to UCSIA for
arranging the session and for providing funding, as the experience working with other scholars of
religious violence had a positive impact on my research and will continue to influence my future
projects.
And finally, I am lucky to have a wonderfully supportive family who have encouraged me
every step of the way. I am forever grateful to my husband, Sid, for his love and unwavering
belief in me. I am so happy to have shared in this adventure with you and I would not have been
able to complete this thesis without your support. I am also thankful for my parents, Joneen and
Doug, for instilling in me a love of learning and for always being interested in my work. I would
not be here without you. Thank you also to my brother Cory, for always being there, and to
Cindy and Andre for your love and support, particularly during my time in Ottawa.
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Introduction

It is a warm spring day in Carthage. The cool breeze from the sea is welcome, tempering the
heat coming from the furnus as the Christian woman stands nearby, kneading the dough that
would soon become loaves of bread. She spent the morning ensuring that her slaves had
purchased the proper ingredients for the evening’s meal and organizing the supplies. Normally,
the preparation of the food would be left up to them as well, but for meals such as this one, she
prefers to do it herself. This particular evening’s meal would be in commemoration of some of
the most important martyrs in Carthage, Perpetua and Felicitas; she wants to feel a connection
to the food that would be consumed in their honour. As she works her fingers into the dough, she
prays that her efforts will be worthy of being consumed on such an important day. She
remembers how her mother had done the same.
She remembers when she was a child, sitting in the corner and observing in silent awe as
her mother commanded the room and ensured that the slaves were doing things in the correct
order. Her mother always made sure that everything was cooked properly, packed up, and made
ready to take to the family tomb. When the evening came, the entire family would make the
journey to the tomb by torchlight. She remembers a feeling of excitement and anticipation. When
they arrived, the food was quickly unpacked and she was able to sit with her parents and siblings
and share the meal. Her parents and the other adults took turns pouring bits of wine and other
liquids into the tubes that emerged from the ground. As a child, she knew that these offerings
were for the deceased and always had an image in her mind of someone just below the surface,
eagerly sipping the wine that was offered and yet unable to come and join them.
She remembers laughter and loud voices. The people who they were honouring occupied a
strange place in her mind. She knew that they were her ancestors and she knew what some of
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them looked like, thanks to the busts that furnished the atrium in her home, but the stone faces
and the stories told of their exploits while they were at the tomb made them feel larger than life
to her. They existed in a space between her parents and the legendary Dido. They were real and
yet not real, human and not human.
She remembers singing and dancing and running around with the other children. She
remembers how some of her cousins would make games out of hiding among the other tombs,
how her older brothers liked to jump out and scare her. She remembers rushing back to the
comfort of her mother’s arms, wanting desperately to stay awake and listen to the adult
conversations that swirled around her. She remembers always waking up only when she was
being placed back in her own bed at home.
She remembers how, after the death of her father, her mother began spending time with the
neighbour, a fellow widow who belonged to the group of Christians. She remembers her mother
teaching her new stories and new rituals that she learned from the neighbouring widow. She
remembers continuing to go to the tombs of her family members, but now singing new songs. She
remembers going to different tombs of people who were not related to them by blood but who
were relatives all the same.
She emerges from her memories when she receives a message from one of her fellow
Christians. She and many of the other women in the congregation had been in conversation all
week in preparation for tonight’s banquet, arranging and co-ordinating all the food and supplies
that were necessary. She is confident that all would run smoothly.
That evening, she journeys to the shrine along with her husband and children. She is joined
by the other men, women, and children in the congregation, all of whom she thinks of as an
extended family. Once there, like her mother once did, she helps to lay out the food and drink on
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the wooden tables supplied by other members of the community. When everything is ready, one
of the other women—a wealthy widow who used to open her home as a place for their evening
gatherings—moves to the position of honour. Raising her cup, she leads the group in a brief
prayer and a joyful toast in celebration of the martyrs. This noble woman then passes the cup
around, and everyone takes a sip of wine.
Another member of the group, a leading man of the city, reads passages aloud from the
Passion of Perpetua. The woman holds her daughter close as they hear of Perpetua’s anguish at
being separated from her infant son. The crowd rejoices in the courage of Perpetua and Felicitas
as they gave up their children in order to remain faithful to God. Perpetua’s visions are
especially popular, and young boys leap from their parents’ arms to re-enact Perpetua’s defeat
of the fearful Egyptian in the candlelight. Although the persecutions have ceased, the
amphitheatre in which Perpetua and her companions had suffered still stands; for the woman, it
is a visible and imposing reminder of all the suffering that her predecessors endured. She
reminds herself to emulate Perpetua’s confidence in God and to be patient in all things. As the
reading draws to a close, the woman wraps her mantle around her more tightly; Perpetua’s
bravery at guiding the sword of the gladiator to her throat never failed to send a shiver down her
spine.
Soon after, the reading ends with another prayer of thanksgiving, and the night air is filled
with the sounds of boisterous conversation, laughter, and the occasional hymn. She knows that
some bishops do not approve of this kind of commemoration, that they prefer for people to
gather together in the church to pray in quiet reflection. She knows that some of her peers think
that way too, as a quick glance around the group reveals several notable absences. But for her
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part, she cannot imagine honouring the holy dead in any other way, and she finds comfort in
knowing that her daughter will continue these traditions when she has gone.
*****
This imaginative reconstruction of the way that a Christian woman might have viewed her role in
the martyr cult is drawn from evidence that will be presented in this thesis.1 The anonymous
woman depicted above is reflective of the central ideas that this thesis puts forward. She
demonstrates a measure of agency within the cult of the martyrs by engaging in practices that
were related to her roles within the household and society more generally.2 She sees her
behaviour as a continuation of the actions of her mother before her, demonstrating the
importance of tradition even when individuals convert to Christianity. The actions that she
undertakes in preparing the martyr feasts are ones that are associated with the typical roles of
wife and mother, but are transformed within the cult of the martyrs to have greater meaning and
prominence. Her agency in choosing to prepare the meal herself speaks to a specific, personal
understanding of her role as a venerator/mourner; other women were certainly content with
allowing others to prepare the food or with simply attending without providing any contribution
to the meal. Furthermore, the woman’s actions are intrinsically connected to the typical
expectations placed upon her as a wife, as she would have been expected to oversee meal

1 The inspiration for this reconstruction came from William Tabbernee, Prophets and Gravestones: An Imaginative
History of Montanists and Other Early Christians (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 2009). His work presents a history
of Montanism through a series of vignettes that are based on carefully-considered evidence. The creativity with
which the information is presented allows for the evidence to be viewed differently and for a more well-rounded
picture to emerge. As Tabbernee notes, “Every account of an event in the past is an exercise of imagination, no
matter how well supported by direct or contextual data, because the full knowledge of a given event and the context
that surrounds it, as though contained in some cosmic spreadsheet, lies outside human capacity to comprehend as
raw data” (xxiii). Thus, while the rest of this thesis takes a more straightforward approach in using imagination to
interpret evidence, the consolidation of the available data into a short, imaginative vignette seemed a suitable place
to start.
2 This woman is depicted anonymously to represent the multitude of unnamed venerators of which only glimpses
can be seen in the sources.