Thecla and Medieval Sainthood : The Acts of Paul and Thecla in Eastern and Western Hagiography

"Saint Thecla was one of the most prominent figures of early Christianity who provided a model of virginity and a role-model for women in the early Church. She was the object of cult and of pilgrimage and her tale in the Acts of Paul and Thecla made a tremendous impact on later hagiographies of both female and male saints. This volume explores this impact on medieval hagiographical texts composed in Armenian, Coptic, Ethiopic, Greek, Irish, Latin, Persian, and Syriac. It investigates how they evoked and/or invoked Thecla and her tale in constructing the lives and story worlds of their chosen saints and offers detailed original readings of the lives of various heroines and heroes. The book adds further depth and nuance to our understanding of Thecla's popularity and the spread of her legend and cult."-- Provided by publisher Cover 1 Half-title 3 Title page 5 Copyright information 6 Contents 7 List of Contributors 9 Acknowledgments 11 List of Abbreviations 13 Introduction 15 The Acts of Thecla: A Tale of Reversals, Replacements, and Disruptions 18 The Tale of Reversal Continues: Imitatio Theclae or Stories of Imitation and Emulation 27 The Aims of the Volume 33 Bibliography 41 Part I An Act to Follow 47 Chapter 1 A Cainite Invocation of Thecla?: The Reception of the Acts of Paul in North Africa as Exemplified in Tertullian's de Baptismo 49 Introduction and Apologia 49 Putting Together Tertullian's de Baptismo, the Acts of Paul, and the Gospel of Judas 54 Baptism within the Gospel of Judas and the Acts of Paul 58 Tertullian's Underlying Issue 64 Conclusion 69 Bibliography 70 Chapter 2 Saint Thecla in Geʿez Hagiographical Literature: From Confessor to Martyr 75 Thecla in the Ethiopic Synaxarium: The ''Crown of Confessors'' 77 An Unlabeled Martyr: Thecla in the Mashafa Tēqalā or Book of Thecla 81 The Epistle of Pelagia: Thecla as a Model for an Undying Martyr 88 An Inspiring Martyr: The Figure of Thecla in the Geʿez Martyrdom of Cyrus and John 92 Conclusion 94 Bibliography 95 Chapter 3 Versified Martyrs: The Reception of Thecla from the Latin West to Medieval Ireland 99 Versified Martyrology 100 Vernacular Biblical Verse Narrative 105 Poetry in Praise of Virginity 108 Rites for the Dying 113 Rhythmic Prayers and Devotional Litanies 116 Bibliography 120 Chapter 4 The Reception of the Acts of Thecla in Armenia: Thecla as a Model of Representation for Holy Women in Ancient Armenian Literature 124 The Armenian Translation of the Syriac Acts of Thecla 125 The Paradigm of the Holy Virgin and the Figure of Saint Hip'sime in Agathangelos' History as an Epigone of Thecla 127 The Paradigm of the Holy Preacher, Modeled on Thecla, in the Martyrdom of Thaddaeus and Sanduxt 136 The Martyrdom of Photine 142 Thecla, Patroness of Nicene Orthodoxy, in the History of Armenia by Faustus of Byzantium: The Miracles of Thecla by Pseudo-Basil as a Source 144 Conclusion 147 Bibliography 148 Chapter 5 Thecla beyond Thecla: Secondary Characters in Syriac Hagiography 156 Secondary Characters: An Indirect, Reinforcing, and Flexible Form of Reception 157 Corresponding Imitation 1: Thomais, a Second Tryphaena in the Martyrdom of Febronia 160 Corresponding Imitation 2: Abuzard the Predator in the Martyrdom of Bassus and Susanna 167 Contrasting Imitation 1: A Supporting Partner and an Accepting Mother in the Life of John of Tella 173 Contrasting Imitation 2: Paul the Executioner in the Martyrdom of Thecla and Her Companions 181 Conclusion 184 Bibliography 185 Chapter 6 Shifting the Poetics of Gender Ambiguity: The Coptic Naturalization of Thecla 189 Conclusion 204 Bibliography 205 Part II An Act to Surpass 209 Chapter 7 Thecla, the First Cross-Dresser?: The Acts of Paul and Thecla and the Lives of Byzantine Transvestite Saints 211 The APT Revisited 214 Thecla in the Greek Tradition 219 Thecla and the Transvestite Saints 223 From the APT to the Transvestite Saints: New Perspectives 230 Conclusion 241 Bibliography 242 Chapter 8 From Diotima to Thecla and Beyond: Virginal Voice in the Lives of Helia and Constantina 247 Before Thecla: Diotima and Leucippe 250 Thecla: Acts and Dialogue 255 An Act to Follow Thecla's: Helia 260 A Speech to Follow Thecla's: Constantina 265 Girls with No Doors on Their Mouths 267 Bibliography 268 Chapter 9 Reception and Rejection: Thecla and the Acts of Paul and Thecla in the Passion of Eugenia and Other Latin Texts 270 Introduction 270 Thecla as an Accepted Model and the APT as a Problematic Text 273 Reception and Rejection: Thecla and the APT in the Passions of Eugenia 279 Concluding Remarks 290 Bibliography 291 Chapter 10 A Medieval Sufi Thecla?: Female Civic and Spiritual Leadership in ?Attar's ''Tale of the Virtuous Woman'' and the Life and Passion of Eugenia 296 Introduction: The ''Tale of the Virtuous Woman'' and Christian Lives of Female Saints 296 ʿAttār and the Various Versions of the ''Tale of the Virtuous Woman'' 307 The Circulation of the APT and Life of Eugenia across the Iranian World 310 The Ilahinamah and the Ideal Sufi King 313 Female Leadership, Independently Attained 318 Conclusion 327 Bibliography 328 Afterword: Thecla and the Power of an Open Story 332 Bibliography 340 Appendix 343 1 Jeremy W. Barrier, ''A Cainite Invocation of Thecla? The Reception of the Acts of Paul in North Africa as Exemplified in Tertullian's de Baptismo'' 343 2 Damien Labadie, ''Saint Thecla in Geʿez Hagiographical Literature: From Confessor to Martyr'' 344 3 Caitríona Ó Dochartaigh, ''Versified Martyrs: The Reception of Thecla from the Latin West to Medieval Ireland'' 345 4 Valentina Calzolari, ''The Reception of the Acts of Thecla in Armenia: Thecla as a Model of Representation for Holy Women in Ancient Armenian Literature'' 346 5 Flavia Ruani, ''Thecla Beyond Thecla: Secondary Characters in Syriac Hagiography'' 347 6 Arietta Papaconstantinou, ''Shifting the Poetics of Gender Ambiguity: The Coptic Naturalization of Thecla'' 349 7 Julie Van Pelt, ''Thecla, the First Cross-Dresser? The Acts of Paul and Thecla and the Lives of Byzantine Transvestite Saints'' 349 8 Virginia Burrus, ''From Diotima to Thecla and Beyond: Virginal Voice in the Lives of Helia and Constantina'' 350 9 Klazina Staat, ''Reception and Rejection: Thecla and the Acts of Paul and Thecla in the Passion of Eugenia and Other Latin Texts'' 352 10 Ghazzal Dabiri, ''A Medieval Sufi Thecla? Female Civic and Spiritual Leadership in ʿAttār’s ''The Tale of a Virtuous Woman'' and The Life and Passion of Eugenia 352 Index 354 "It is an old, yet powerful story. A beautiful young woman falls in love, and try as they might, her disapproving family and friends fail to dissuade her from that love or keep her from her beloved. Persistent and uncompromising, the young woman disrupts the social order of her world, be it that of high school or high society. And by tale's end, either the lover and her beloved are integrated back into society, or a new world order arises (uneasily sometimes) out of the ashes. Perusing through a list of popular young adult novels, teen movies, and ancient romances, one may be struck by the sheer number of stories that follow this arc. The same storyline was also popular in the late antique and medieval periods. A subset of the latter, however, follow a slightly different track. They detail the lives and trials of women who have fallen deeply and irrevocably in love with the transcendental, namely the word of God, and some, even on pain of torture and death, claim Christ as their eternal bridegroom"-- Provided by publisher Saint Thecla, an immensely popular figure of early Christianity, inspired bishops, saints, emperors, church fathers, ordinary readers, and hagiographers who viewed her as an exemplary model. This volume explores the impact of her story on medieval hagiography written in a variety of languages across Eurasia and North Africa.