"This book traces the reinterpretations of the famous North African martyr text Passio Perpetuae et Felicitatis in the literature of the early Church from the 3rd century up to the times of Augustine. This recontextualization reaches its peak in the so-called Acta Perpetuae that…
"Peter and Paul are the two most famous and arguably the most important of all Christian martyrs. In spite of their notoriety, no contemporary accounts of their deaths survive, so historians depend on later narratives for reconstructing the ends of the apostles' lives. Tradition…
Introduction -- "The devil spoke from Scripture" : boundary maintenance and communal integrity in late antiquity -- "The living voice of kindred blood" : narrative, identity, and the primordial past -- "What has the pious in common with the impious?" : Ambrose, Libanius, and the…
"The Islamic resurgence in modern times has received extensive treatment in scholarly literature. Most of this literature, however, deals with the concept of jihad and disputes between radicals and their rivals over theological and political issues, and far less with martyrdom a…