Saint Perpetua across the Middle Ages: Mother, Gladiator, Saint

176 Pages·2016·1.58 MB·English

by  Margaret Cotter-Lynch (auth.)

T H E N E W M I D D L E A G E S
SAINT PERPETUA

across the
Middle Ages
MOTHER GLADIATOR SAINT
, ,
Margaret Cotter-Lynch
The New Middle Ages
Series Editor
Bonnie   Wheeler
English & Medieval Studies
Southern Methodist University
Dallas ,   Texas, USA
The New Middle Ages is a series dedicated to pluridisciplinary studies
of medieval cultures, with particular emphasis on recuperating women’s
history and on feminist and gender analyses. This peer-reviewed series
includes both scholarly monographs and essay collections.
More information about this series at
h ttp://www.springer.com/series/14239
Margaret   Cotter-Lynch
Saint Perpetua across
the Middle Ages
Mother, Gladiator, Saint
Margaret   Cotter-Lynch
Department of English, Humanities, and Languages
Southeastern Oklahoma State University
Durant, Oklahoma , USA
The New Middle Ages
ISBN 978-1-137-47963-1 ISBN 978-1-137-46740-9 (eBook)
DOI 10.1057/978-1-137-46740-9
Library of Congress Control Number: 2016952836
© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2 016
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For Mabel and Ruby

A
CKNOWLEDGMENTS
It takes a village to write a book, as it does to raise a child, and I owe
many debts of gratitude for help and support. Joe Pucci fi rst introduced
me to Perpetua when I was an undergraduate, and has encouraged me in
my love for the Latin Middle Ages ever since. Catherine Brown, Peggy
McCracken, and Charles Witke nurtured my interest in Perpetua in gradu-
ate school, even when she turned out to be a project too big for my disser-
tation. Cathy Sanok guided me through the intricacies of how to research
medieval saints and think through their gender. Bonnie Wheeler has con-
sistently and fi ercely believed in this book, and me, for years. Her constant
insistence that one can simultaneously write a book, raise two kids, and
teach a 4-4 load has been inspirational. Irina Dumitrescu kindly listened to
and provided input on my reading of the O ld English Martyrology . Felice
Lifshitz generously and carefully read the entire draft and provided invalu-
able suggestions. In addition, numerous colleagues, at numerous confer-
ences over the years, have offered support and asked probing questions to
help further my thinking on these texts; all of their help is appreciated. Of
course, any errors that remain are fully my own.
My students at Southeastern Oklahoma State University and Southern
Methodist University (SMU) have also helped me to think and reminded
me why it is worth doing. I particularly thank the students in my medieval
Latin seminar at SMU, who helped me to work through close readings
of several of these texts, and Hannah Jones, who had the (mis)fortune of
writing her honors thesis on Augustine at the same time as I was revising
Chap. 3 , and who helped me to grapple with Augustine’s positions on
gender and martyrdom.
vii
viii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Thanks are due to the Newberry Library, the National Humanities
Center, the South Central Modern Language Association, the Center for
Research on Women and Gender at the University of Michigan, and the
Organized Research Fund at Southeastern Oklahoma State University for
grant funding.
Finally, and most importantly, thanks to the team who keeps me going
on a daily basis. Alistair Maeer and Amy Hoffman offered constant encour-
agement; when I didn’t trust myself, I still trusted them, and so kept
going. I am very fortunate to have a deeply supportive family, including
those both near and far. Joan and Barry Cotter put in extra grandparent
duty as I fi nished the manuscript, and Ruby and Mabel are excited that
Mommy is writing (and fi nishing!) a book. Most importantly, I thank
Sean, for all the small and big things, every day, that make this book and
so much else possible, and especially for feeding me yummy Indian food.
C
ONTENTS
Introduction: Remembering Perpetua 1
1 The Passio Perpetuae 15
2 The Acta Perpetuae 43
3 Saint Augustine’s Sermons on Perpetua 63
4 Perpetua in the Early Middle Ages 87
5 Perpetua in Medieval England 113
6 Dominican Legendaries and the Legenda Aurea 137
ix