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

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Female Identity and Agency in the Cult of the Martyrs in Late Antique North Africa 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 ii 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 iii 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 iv 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. v 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. vi 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. 1 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 2 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.
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