Yale University Library Research Guides: Early Christianity and Patristics: Martyrdom

Introduction to Martyrdom

Martyrdom: A Guide for the Perplexed by Paul Middleton This book aims to illuminate the way these conflict stories have been told and function (principally, though not exclusively) within Christian, Jewish, and Islamic communities. Online available.
Martyrdom: A Very Short Introduction by Jolyon Mitchell What is martyrdom? Why are some people drawn towards giving up their lives as martyrs? What place does religion play in inciting and creating martyrs? How are martyrs made? Why are some martyrs and martyrdoms remembered more than others? historical analysis to shed light on how the concept and practice of martyrdom has evolved, as well as the different ways in which it is used today. Online available.

Early Christian Martyrs

The Encyclopedia of Christian Martyrs by Mark Water comprehensive resource that records Christian martyrdom over the last two thousand years. Contents are arranged chronologically and divided into five parts: Bible martyrs, martyrs under the Roman Empire, martyrs from the fifth to the fifteenth centuries, martyrs from the Reformation era, and martyrs from the seventeenth to the twentieth centuries. bibliography and index.

Martyrdom in Early Christianity

The Myth of Persecution: How Early Christians Invented the Story of Martyrdom by Candida Moss how the early church exaggerated, invented, and forged stories of Christian martyrs . there was no sustained 300-year-long effort by the Romans to persecute Christians. Instead, these stories were pious exaggerations; highly stylized rewritings of Jewish, Greek, and Roman noble death traditions; and even forgeries designed to marginalize heretics, inspire the faithful, and fund churches.
Martyrdom and Memory: Early Christian Culture Making by Elizabeth Castelli Martyrs are produced not by the lived experience of particular historical individuals but by the stories that are later told about them. explores the central role of persecution in the early development of Christian ideas, institutions, and cultural forms and shows how the legacy of Christian martyrdom plays out in today's world. Online available.
Martyrdom and Persecution in the Early Church by William Frend Persecution was seen by early Christians, as by later historians, as one of the crucial influences on the growth and development of the early Church and Christian beliefs. argues that the Christian concept of martyrdom can only be understood as springing from Jewish roots. explores a number of major persecutions, such as that in Lyons in the second century, the Decian Persecution in the third, and the Great Persecution under Diocletian in the fourth.

Martyrdom in Late Antique Christianity

Christian Martyrdom in Late Antiquity (300-450 Ad) by Peter Gemeinhardt et al. multifaccetted discourse on Christian martyrdom in Late Antiquity. While martyrdom accounts remain a central means of defining Christian identity, new literary genres emerge, e.g., the Lives of Saints (Athanasius on Antony), sermons (the Cappadocians), hynms (Prudentius) and more. deals with methodological questions of research of such sources. Online available.
Architects of Piety: The Cappadocian Fathers and the Cult of the Martyrs by Vasiliki M. Limberis cult of the martyrs was so popular among all social levels of Christians, including the Cappadocian Fathers, that it formed the rudimentary framework for Christian piety in the fourth century. Cappadocians' tireless promotion of martyr piety through careful expositions of the ritual of the panegyris and importance of the calendar, their pastoral teachings through panegyrics to the martyrs, and the triumphs and frustrations of building a martyrium. Online available.
Christian Persecution, Martyrdom, and Orthodoxy by Geoffrey de Ste. Croix scrutinizes the evidence to reveal the significant role of Christians themselves, first as volunteer martyrs and later, after the triumph of Christianity in the early fourth century, as organizers of much more effective persecutions. Online available.
Martyrdom and Persecution in Late Ancient Christianity by J. Leemans range from New Testament writings to the Byzantine period. contains editions (Metrophanes of Smyrna), translations (Severus of Antioch), thematic studies (Socrates and the martyrs; credal statements in the martyr acts; Christian reception of the martyr Cyprian), analyses of texts (Martyrium Pionii 1.2; Eusebius' Martyrs of Palestine), and archaeological findings (the Antiochene church of Qausiyeh).
Making Martyrs in Late Antiquity by Lucy Grig artistic and textual representations to investigate the making of martyrs in the fourth- and fifth century Latin West. shows that this 'making' of martyrs played a crucial role in the process of Christianisation during the post-Constantinian period. Between the chapters are short pieces focusing on individual martyrs. Online available.

Martyrdom Sources

The Roman martyrs : introduction, translations, and commentary by Michael Lapidge
The Acts of the Christian Martyrs by Herbert A. Musurillo Out of print. Not available at Yale. Critical for research.
Donatist Martyr Stories by Maureen A. Tilley Donatism regains its voice and its hagiography is available in English for the first time. glimpse the daily life of the church which for over a century was the faith of the majority of North African Christians. Online available.
The Passion of S. Perpetua by J. A. Robinson The story of the two women martyrs S. Perpetua and her slave S. Felicitas (d. 203 CE). Greek and Latin texts of the Passio based on newly discovered manuscripts, as well as the original Latin text of the Scillitan Martyrs. Online available.
Pre-Decian Acts of Martyrs and Commentarii by Gary A. Bisbee
The Roman Martyrs by Michael Lapidge forty Latin passiones of saints who were martyred in Rome or its near environs, during the period before the "peace of the Church" (c. 312). Each of the translated passiones is accompanied by an individual introduction and commentary; Online available.
Martyrs and Archangels: Coptic Literary Texts from the Pierpont Morgan Library by Matthias Müller from the monastery of St Michael at Hamuli. The first work, a passio of a soldier named Phoibamon, is a native Coptic composition that provides a prime example of the so-called 'epic' type of Egyptian martyrdom literature. The second text, another martyrdom of three saintly soldiers, Theodore, Leontius, and Panigerus, shows interesting deviations from the more standard mould of Coptic martyrdoms.