Greek and Latin Narratives about the Ancient Martyrs ed. by Éric Rebillard (review)

In this volume Éric Rebillard collects accounts about eleven martyrs or groups of martyrs that meet all of the following criteria: 1) The martyrs reportedly died prior to 260 c.e., the date of the rescripts of Gallienus granting toleration to Christians. 2) The narrative must be "isolated, or stand-alone," meaning that he does not include "extracts from historians, preachers, or poets" (21). 3) The narrative must have "external attestation" (21) from either Eusebius or Augustine. Rebillard uses Eusebius's Ecclesiastical History to reconstruct what was included in the chronicler's lost Collection of Ancient Martyrdoms. Augustine's sermons on feast days are his other source, for the bishop often refers to the liturgical reading of martyr acts. This third criterion requires still further specification: the narrative has to be a version known to either Eusebius or Augustine. Thus, even if a text exists about a martyr who otherwise fits the criteria, if that particular narrative was not demonstrably known to either author, it is not included. 4) The narrative had to be produced before the middle of the fifth century. Later texts or texts of dubious date are not included.

Rebillard begins his Introduction with a brief history of collections of martyr acts, from Eusebius to Hippolyte Delehaye. Rebillard sees Eusebius's lost Collection of Ancient Martyrdoms as unique in antiquity. While in many cases "the development of the liturgical reading of martyr narratives led to the composition of passionaries" (4), Eusebius engaged in a "singular project . . . compiled with a historical goal" (6). Rebillard's sweeping narrative highlights a number of humanists whose names are largely (and unfortunately) lost to the memory of the guild, e.g., Bonino Mombrizio, whose Sanctuarium (published 1478) is based on close philological work done on manuscripts. As Rebillard tells it, the rejection of traditional hagiography by the Reformers, born out of anti-Catholic bias and an emphasis on the reliability of the authors, in turn gave rise to a Catholic "militant hagiography" (8; a phrase Rebillard borrows from Sofia Boesch Gajano); stories of ancient saints were used as ammunition against the Protestant heretics. Rebillard reserves some of his highest praise for Thierry Ruinart (1657–1709), who, in rejection of the Bollandist model, applied critical standards to his work and returned his collection to a Eusebian-style historical project, not a theological or polemical one. Ruinart's method, Rebillard contends, continues to cast a helpful shadow over subsequent work, including his own.

While Rebillard sees his project as historical, it is not driven by historical positivism. He rejects the idea that official court records could have been the source of martyrdom accounts for those dying before 260 c.e., because he doubts that such records would have been widely available. (He does accept that informal accounts may have informed some narratives, but the extent of this is unknowable.) Thus, one must read ancient accounts with a critical eye. However, he equally rejects the notion that all ancient accounts should be considered forgeries or fictions, for such a reading mistakenly "participates in exactly the same assumption of authenticity" (21).

Based on the application of his criteria, Rebillard is left with the following list (presented in the volume in alphabetical order): Apollonius (although no text is included because the accounts that survive were not the one known to Eusebius); Carpus, Papylus, and Agathonice; Pionius of Smyrna; Polycarp of Smyrna; the martyrs of Lyon and Vienne; Marian and James; Cyprian of Carthage; Fructuosus of Tarragona and his companions; Montanus, Lucius, and their companions; Perpetua, Felicity, and their companions; the Scilitan martyrs.

Each entry follows the same pattern of presenting these "hagiographical dossiers" (a term he borrows from the Bollandists). A short introduction summarizes the source of the narrative and any external evidence related to the date of the text. Rebillard provides, when there is ample evidence, a succinct but detailed discussion of the transmission history of the account. He also includes notes...