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Towards a Reading of Augustine's Female Martyrs Durham E-Theses Sanctae Famulae Dei: Towards a Reading of Augustine's Female Martyrs MARTIN, ELENA,RITA How to cite: MARTIN, ELENA,RITA (2009) Sanctae Famulae Dei: Towards a Reading of Augustine's Female Martyrs, Durham theses, Durham University. Available at Durham E-Theses Online: http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/50/ Use policy The full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-prot purposes provided that: • a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in Durham E-Theses • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. Please consult the full Durham E-Theses policy for further details. Academic Support Oce, Durham University, University Oce, Old Elvet, Durham DH1 3HP e-mail: [email protected] Tel: +44 0191 334 6107 http://etheses.dur.ac.uk Sanctae Famulae Dei: Towards a Reading of Augustine’s Female Martyrs Elena Martin PhD Thesis Department of Theology and Religion Durham University 2009 The material in this thesis is my own work, and has not been submitted for a degree in this or any other university. The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. No quotation should be published in any format, including electronic, and the Internet, without the author‟s prior written consent. All information derived from this thesis must be acknowledged appropriately. ABSTRACT Augustine of Hippo‟s depictions of female martyrs have eluded scholarly attention despite recent interest in his attitudes towards women and his involvement with the cult of the martyrs. The present thesis addresses this oversight by resituating Augustine‟s representations of female martyrs within the corpus of his works. It shows how Augustine‟s representations of female martyrs are not simple auxiliary illustrations or marginal notes tangential to his main concerns, but rather they are complex images that reveal a depth of thought in their construction and employment, and which, therefore, deserve our attention in their own right. Perceiving the female martyrs within the wider context of his life, his moral and theological writings, and his pastoral ministry, this study explores how Augustine used the female martyrs to contemplate, articulate, and communicate theological beliefs, ecclesiological concerns, eschatological hopes, and moral teachings. Elena Martin Department of Theology and Religion, Durham University Sanctae Famulae Dei: Towards a Reading of Augustine’s Female Martyrs ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank the Arts and Humanities Research Council for the financial support that has enabled me to undertake this project. I am also extremely grateful to Durham University for awarding me with a Durham Doctoral Fellowship, which has been a great source of encouragement throughout my research. Much of the research that is presented in this thesis has been improved by discussions at various conferences, which I have been able to attend thanks to the generous bursaries of the Ecclesiastical History Society, the British Association for the Study of Religion, and Durham University‟s Department of Theology and Religion. I am most grateful to my supervisor, Dr Carol Harrison, for her constructive advice and supportive encouragement, which has helped me to understand more about Augustine‟s female martyrs. I am thankful to my secondary supervisor, Professor Andrew Louth, and to Dr Alec Ryrie and Dr Krastu Banev, who read and commented on different chapters of this thesis. I also extend my warmest thanks to Father Michael Lewis, who kindly gave up his Saturday mornings to introduce me to the study of Latin. Sanctae Famulae Dei: Towards a Reading of Augustine’s Female Martyrs CONTENTS Abbreviations ............................................................................................................. i INTRODUCTION: Holy Women of God ................................................................ 1 PART ONE: ABSTRACTING IMAGES AND BLURRING PORTRAITS Introduction: Painting Portraits of the Martyrs ..................................................... 12 CHAPTER 1: The Influence of the Audience .................................................... 16 Martyr Festivals............................................................................................. 17 Fashioning Popular Portraits........................................................................ 22 Adaptation and Modification ......................................................................... 25 Beyond the Thoughts of the Flesh .................................................................. 27 Controlling the Fear of Death ....................................................................... 29 Textual Representations................................................................................. 35 Defending the Cult of the Martyrs ................................................................. 39 True and False Martyrs ................................................................................. 41 Conclusion: Martyrdom in Context ............................................................... 47 CHAPTER 2: Methods of Representation .......................................................... 49 Removing Narrative Structure ....................................................................... 50 An Exception: Lawrence ................................................................................ 53 Avoiding Descriptions of the Tortured Body ................................................. 56 An Exception: Vincent ................................................................................... 61 Censoring Female Nudity .............................................................................. 64 Deleting the Speeches of the Martyrs ............................................................ 69 Exceptions: Lawrence, Fructuosus, and Donata ........................................... 73 Abstracting the Martyrs‟ Personal Names ................................................... 75 Conclusion: Abstraction or Erasure? ............................................................ 82 PART TWO: DEPICTING FEMALE MARTYRS Introduction: Gender Distinction in Martyrdom Narratives .................................. 85 CHAPTER 3: Thinking with Women ................................................................. 92 Representation and Reality ............................................................................ 94 Uncovering Real Women? ............................................................................. 99 Women in the Bible ...................................................................................... 102 Biblical Women as Exemplars ..................................................................... 106 Full of Mysteries and Pregnant with Symbols ............................................. 116 Female Martyrs: figurae / formae Ecclesiae? ............................................. 122 Blessed Daughters of Mother Church ......................................................... 127 Conclusion: Expanding the Narrative ......................................................... 130 Sanctae Famulae Dei: Towards a Reading of Augustine’s Female Martyrs CHAPTER 4: Ambivalent Images: Weak Female Bodies .............................. 133 Church Fathers and Women Martyrs .......................................................... 136 Strength for Struggling Souls ...................................................................... 145 Making Sense of Weak Women Martyrs ...................................................... 148 Weakness and Subordination? ..................................................................... 150 Womanly Weakness and Female Frailty ..................................................... 153 Revelations of Divine Truth ......................................................................... 155 Moulding and Manipulating Memory .......................................................... 159 From Weakness to Strength ......................................................................... 169 Conclusion: Accepting the Ambivalence ..................................................... 181 CHAPTER 5: Exemplarity, Imitation, and Emotional Engagement ............. 182 Exemplarity and Imitation ........................................................................... 184 Engaging the Emotions ................................................................................ 188 Blush for Shame, Bearded Men! .................................................................. 194 Examples for Women ................................................................................... 203 Excursus: Do not Imitate the Martyrs! ........................................................ 215 Conclusion: Depicting Martyrs, Transforming Christians ......................... 219 CONCLUSION: Reflecting on Augustine‟s Female Martyrs.............................. 221 Appendix: The Main Sources for Augustine‟s Female Martyrs ............................... iv Bibliography ............................................................................................................. xi Sanctae Famulae Dei: Towards a Reading of Augustine’s Female Martyrs ABBREVIATIONS ACW Ancient Christian Writers (New York: Paulist Press, 1946-). ANCL Ante-Nicene Christian Library
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