Description
Book SynopsisSuggests that Martyrs are produced, not by lived experience of particular historical individuals but by the stories that are later told about them. This work 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 the world.
Trade ReviewCastelli has written a masterful book about the way early Christians used martyrdom to construct a collective memory of religious suffering. Choice Castelli succeeds brilliantly in her aim to reveal the way martyrdom constructed a new ideology... that subverted Roman notions. -- Kimberly B. Stratton Biblical Theology Bulletin A required reading for anyone who studies and teaches on this problem from the past that remains distressingly present. -- Chris Frilingos Religious Studies Review Castelli's stimulating and provocative study is a creative contribution to this flourishing area. -- Judith Lieu Ecclesiastical History
Table of ContentsCollective Memory and the Meanings of the Past Performing Persecution, Theorizing Martyrdom The Martyr's Memory: Autobiography and Self-Writing in Ignatius, Perpetua, and Pionius Martyrdom and the Spectacle of Suffering Layers of Verbal and Visual Memory: Commemorating Thecla the Protomartyr Religion as a Chain of Memory: Cassie Bernall of Columbine High and the Contemporary American Legacy of Early Christian Martyrdom
