The Linguistic Turn and the Expanding Horizons of Early Christian Martyrdom

Abstract

This article examines the impact of martyrdom literature on the formation of Christian identity in the earliest centuries. Taking a cue from insights from the “linguistic turn” in scholarship, the article examines the function of martyr traditions in identifying suffering as the evidence of true Christian identity, in transforming the martyrs into a perceived elite class of Christians to be emulated, and in promoting a strong, anti-imperial rhetoric. Questions of historical veracity in these texts therefore give way to an analysis of the rhetorical and ideological impact of these stories.