The New Middle Ages Series Editor Bonnie Wheeler English & Medieval Studies Southern Methodist University Dallas, Texas, USA
The New Middle Ages is a series dedicated to pluridisciplinary studies of medieval cultures, with particular emphasis on recuperating women s history and on feminist and gender analyses. This peer-reviewed series includes both scholarly monographs and essay collections. More information about this series at http://www.springer.com/series/14239
Margaret Cotter-Lynch Saint Perpetua across the Middle Ages Mother, Gladiator, Saint
Margaret Cotter-Lynch Department of English, Humanities, and Languages Southeastern Oklahoma State University Durant, Oklahoma, USA The New Middle Ages ISBN 978-1-137-47963-1 ISBN 978-1-137-46740-9 (ebook) DOI 10.1057/978-1-137-46740-9 Library of Congress Control Number: 2016952836 The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2016 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. Cover image National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C. Printed on acid-free paper This Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by Springer Nature The registered company is Nature America Inc. New York
For Mabel and Ruby
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS It takes a village to write a book, as it does to raise a child, and I owe many debts of gratitude for help and support. Joe Pucci first introduced me to Perpetua when I was an undergraduate, and has encouraged me in my love for the Latin Middle Ages ever since. Catherine Brown, Peggy McCracken, and Charles Witke nurtured my interest in Perpetua in graduate school, even when she turned out to be a project too big for my dissertation. Cathy Sanok guided me through the intricacies of how to research medieval saints and think through their gender. Bonnie Wheeler has consistently and fiercely believed in this book, and me, for years. Her constant insistence that one can simultaneously write a book, raise two kids, and teach a 4-4 load has been inspirational. Irina Dumitrescu kindly listened to and provided input on my reading of the Old English Martyrology. Felice Lifshitz generously and carefully read the entire draft and provided invaluable suggestions. In addition, numerous colleagues, at numerous conferences over the years, have offered support and asked probing questions to help further my thinking on these texts; all of their help is appreciated. Of course, any errors that remain are fully my own. My students at Southeastern Oklahoma State University and Southern Methodist University (SMU) have also helped me to think and reminded me why it is worth doing. I particularly thank the students in my medieval Latin seminar at SMU, who helped me to work through close readings of several of these texts, and Hannah Jones, who had the (mis)fortune of writing her honors thesis on Augustine at the same time as I was revising Chap. 3, and who helped me to grapple with Augustine s positions on gender and martyrdom. vii
viii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Thanks are due to the Newberry Library, the National Humanities Center, the South Central Modern Language Association, the Center for Research on Women and Gender at the University of Michigan, and the Organized Research Fund at Southeastern Oklahoma State University for grant funding. Finally, and most importantly, thanks to the team who keeps me going on a daily basis. Alistair Maeer and Amy Hoffman offered constant encouragement; when I didn t trust myself, I still trusted them, and so kept going. I am very fortunate to have a deeply supportive family, including those both near and far. Joan and Barry Cotter put in extra grandparent duty as I finished the manuscript, and Ruby and Mabel are excited that Mommy is writing (and finishing!) a book. Most importantly, I thank Sean, for all the small and big things, every day, that make this book and so much else possible, and especially for feeding me yummy Indian food.
CONTENTS Introduction: Remembering Perpetua 1 1 The Passio Perpetuae 15 2 The Acta Perpetuae 43 3 Saint Augustine s Sermons on Perpetua 63 4 Perpetua in the Early Middle Ages 87 5 Perpetua in Medieval England 113 6 Dominican Legendaries and the Legenda Aurea 137 ix
x CONTENTS Conclusion: Perpetua Remembered 155 Bibliography 157 Index 165