Cobb Dying to Be Men

Gender and Language in Early Christian Martyr Texts
1. Auflage 2008
ISBN: 978-0-231-51820-8
Verlag: De Gruyter
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: Adobe DRM (»Systemvoraussetzungen)

E-Book, Englisch, 224 Seiten, EPUB, Format (B × H): 152 mm x 229 mm

Reihe: Gender, Theory, and Religion

At once brave and athletic, virtuous and modest, female martyrs in the second and third centuries were depicted as self-possessed gladiators who at the same time exhibited the quintessentially "womanly" qualities of modesty, fertility, and beauty. L. Stephanie Cobb explores the double embodiment of "male" and "female" gender ideals in these figures, connecting them to Greco-Roman virtues and the construction of Christian group identities.

Both male and female martyrs conducted their battles in the amphitheater, a masculine environment that enabled the divine combatants to showcase their strength, virility, and volition. These Christian martyr accounts also illustrated masculinity through the language of justice, resistance to persuasion, and-more subtly but most effectively-the juxtaposition of "unmanly" individuals (usually slaves, the old, or the young) with those at the height of male maturity and accomplishment (such as the governor or the proconsul).

Imbuing female martyrs with the same strengths as their male counterparts served a vital function in Christian communities. Faced with the possibility of persecution, Christians sought to inspire both men and women to be braver than pagan and Jewish men. Yet within the community itself, traditional gender roles had to be maintained, and despite the call to be manly, Christian women were expected to remain womanly in relation to the men of their faith. Complicating our understanding of the social freedoms enjoyed by early Christian women, Cobb's investigation reveals the dual function of gendered language in martyr texts and its importance in laying claim to social power.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Cobb, L. Stephanie

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Christentum, Christliche Theologie Kirchengeschichte Hagiographie
• Geisteswissenschaften Christentum, Christliche Theologie Systematische Theologie
• Sozialwissenschaften Soziologie | Soziale Arbeit Soziale Gruppen/Soziale Themen Gender Studies, Geschlechtersoziologie
• Geisteswissenschaften Religionswissenschaft Religionswissenschaft Allgemein Religionsgeschichte
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Alte Geschichte & Archäologie

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Acknowledgments
Abbreviations
Introduction: Constructing Identity Through Cultural Appropriation
1. What Is a Christian? Constructing a Christian Identity
2. Noble Athletes: Gladiatorial, Athletic, and Martial Imagery in the Martyr Acts
3. Be a Man: Narrative Tools of Masculinization in Early Christian Martyr Acts
4. Putting Women in Their Place: Masculinizing and Feminizing the Female Martyr
Conclusion: Gender and Language in Early Christian Martyr Acts
Bibliography
Index

Über Autor(innen)

L. Stephanie Cobb is assistant professor of New Testament and Early Christianity in the Religion Department at Hofstra University.