An insightful, moving account of the death of an
early-third-century Christian martyr, based on her own diary. Vibia
Perpetua was the daughter of an old respected Roman family of
Carthage and, although raised in accordance with the pagan
religious traditions of Rome, converted to Christianity, one of
many faiths competing for devotees in the Roman Empire. Just 22
years old, she was arrested with several other converts to
Christianity and, because she refused to acknowledge the divinity
of the emperor Septimus Severus (and even though she was the mother
of an infant), was sentenced to be killed by beasts in the
Carthaginian arena. Salisbury (Medieval History and
Humanities/Univ. of Wisconsin, Green Bay) uses the text of
Perpetua's diary, written in prison, to explore this extraordinary
young woman's decision to renounce her prosperous life and embrace
a horrible death, and to depict in vivid and fascinating detail the
world of pagan Rome and the insular community of the early Church,
with its emphasis on prophecy and speaking in tongues. Salisbury
notes the contrast between the Roman religion, with its thousands
of household gods, and monotheistic/trinitarian Christianity with
its claim to be the only universally true religion. Also, the
patriarchy of traditional Roman society, which restricted women to
the roles of wife and mother, stood in stark contrast with the
egalitarian promise of Christianity, which taught that all persons
were equal before God and often gave women a leading role. Using
Perpetua's text, Salisbury shows that, despite the dangers, the
young woman turned her back on her affectionate family and infant
son to become a Christian because of her profound conviction that
she was experiencing the presence of God. A uniquely absorbing and
poignant study of the vanished world of the early martyrs. (Kirkus
Reviews)
This book studies the third-century martyrdom of a young woman and places it in the intellectual and social context of her age. Conflicting ideas of religion, family and gender are explored.
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