Holy Mothers in Pain: Childbearing and Breastfeeding in Byzantine Martyrdom Narratives

• Autores: Christodoulos Papavarnavas
• Localización: Byzantinoslavica, ISSN 0007-7712, Vol. 81, Nº. 1-2, 2023, págs. 80-104
• Idioma: inglés
• Enlaces
  • Texto Completo Ejemplar
• Resumen

  • The goal of this article is to study the nexus between motherhood and martyrdom through a close reading of two early and middle Byzantine narratives whose protagonists are mothers and martyrs: the Passion of Perpetua and Felicity (BHG 1482, translated from the Latin original), and the Passion of Pistis, Elpis, Agape, and their mother Sophia in its pre-Metaphrastic and Metaphrastic versions (BHG 1637z and 1638). A literary-critical approach to these martyr narratives will show two seemingly opposed perceptions of motherhood: being a mother as a serious obstacle to martyrdom and sainthood, and being a mother as a prerequisite for achieving holiness. In both cases, the separation of the mother from her child proves to be a sign of spirituality. Overall, the investigation of these examples from Greek Passions contributes to a more nuanced understanding of the concept of motherhood in a Christian religious and literary context