From Library Journal
In her study of the life and death of Perpetua, a third-century Christian martyr, Salisbury (history and humanities, Univ. of Wisconsin, Green Bay) examines the cultlike mentality that drove a 22-year-old woman with an infant son to turn away from her family and accept with enthusiasm a horrific death for her faith. Salisbury describes the social, political, and religious climate in Carthage that made Christianity so appealing to its disillusioned youth. In addition, pagan Rome's emphasis on magic and omens combined with the North African tradition of noble suicide to create a social dynamic in which public death in the arena would be viewed as not only acceptable but also desirable. Utilizing Perpetua's prison diary as well as an eyewitness account of her final hours, Salisbury analyzes the martyr's "passion," her recorded dreams and visions, in relation to these existing forces. The impact of her death on those who witnessed the event as well as those who heard about it became apparent in the veneration bestowed on Perpetua by her contemporaries and in the efforts of patriarchal church leaders like Augustine, who tried to minimize her strength and leadership qualities. This remarkably objective, insightful piece of scholarship is highly recommended for all public and academic libraries.?Rose Cichy, Osterhout Free Lib., Wilkes-Barre Pa.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Kirkus Reviews
An insightful, moving account of the death of an early-third- century Christian martyr, based on her own diary. Vibia Perpetua was the daughter of an old respected Roman family of Carthage and, although raised in accordance with the pagan religious traditions of Rome, converted to Christianity, one of many faiths competing for devotees in the Roman Empire. Just 22 years old, she was arrested with several other converts to Christianity and, because she refused to acknowledge the divinity of the emperor Septimus Severus (and even though she was the mother of an infant), was sentenced to be killed by beasts in the Carthaginian arena. Salisbury (Medieval History and Humanities/Univ. of Wisconsin, Green Bay) uses the text of Perpetua's diary, written in prison, to explore this extraordinary young woman's decision to renounce her prosperous life and embrace a horrible death, and to depict in vivid and fascinating detail the world of pagan Rome and the insular community of the early Church, with its emphasis on prophecy and speaking in tongues. Salisbury notes the contrast between the Roman religion, with its thousands of household gods, and monotheistic/trinitarian Christianity with its claim to be the only universally true religion. Also, the patriarchy of traditional Roman society, which restricted women to the roles of wife and mother, stood in stark contrast with the egalitarian promise of Christianity, which taught that all persons were equal before God and often gave women a leading role. Using Perpetua's text, Salisbury shows that, despite the dangers, the young woman turned her back on her affectionate family and infant son to become a Christian because of her profound conviction that she was experiencing the presence of God. A uniquely absorbing and poignant study of the vanished world of the early martyrs. (11 illustrations, not seen) -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
Review
"...this book is a very pleasant and engaging read, both for the neophyte and for the expert who has come to relish the clarity, precision, and courage of [Salisbury]." -- Religious Studies Review
"...a compelling read..." -- Journal of Women's History
"Salisbury provides well-founded responses to a number of long-standing issues." -- Trinity Seminary Review
"Salisbury's investigation of a Christian martydom in 203 and its subsequent impact appeals beyond its apparent natural audience of scholars because it is an engagingly told story." -- Booklist
"Salisbury has performed the important work of bringing the story of Perpetua to a much-deserved wider reading audience. She has also invited readers unfamiliar with the ancient world into its vibrancy and complexity, and she has done so with a good deal of insight and lively narrative style." -- Women's Review of Books
"This remarkably objective, insightful piece of scholarship is highly recommended for all public and academic libraries." -- Library Journal
"Joyce Salisbury takes us on a short but fascinating journey back into time during the early centuries of Christianity, when the new faith was little more than an upstart troublesome cult. Salisbury draws a rich and fully rounded picture of second and third century Carthage...Perpetua's Passion is one of the most readable books I have found on early Christianity in a long time. It will be of interest to anyone concerned with the origins of Christianity, the Roman Empire after the time of Christ, or just general students of religion and history." -- American Reporter
"[A] beautifully written, carefully researched, meticulously documented study...Salisbury's portrait of this remarkable young woman will interest students and scholars of religion and society, the history of Christianity, and women's studies, to be sure, but it is also a great story, engagingly told, one that deserves a larger, general readership, too." -- Booklist
"In a refreshing contrast with countless insipid hagiographies, Salisbury's well-annotated look at Perpetua's martyrdom is clear, thorough, insightful and less a portrait of the person than of the socio-politico-religious context in which she lived and died. Salisbury's sharp analysis strips away generations of patriarchal revisionism to let the young roman matron speak for herself." -- Publisher's Weekly
"An insightful, moving account of the death of an early-third-century Christian martyr, based on her own diary...A uniquely absorbing and poignant study of the vanished world of the early martyrs." -- Kirkus
"Fusing history with biography Salisbury demonstrates how a seismic shift in western culture impinged in a single consciousness. She accomplishes this clearly, elegantly, and with respectful sympathy for its human protagonists."
"...lively and provocative..." -- Globe & Mail
"The strength of this book is in helping modern readers see martyrdom as less freakish and more palatable within a framework of intelligibility and meaning. It is readable and does not assume developed knowledge of the period or of early Christianity." -- Church History
About the Author
Joyce E. Salisbury holds the Frankenthal Professorship of Medieval History and Humanities at the University of Wisconsin, Green Bay. She is widely published in the fields of religion and medieval studies, and her most recent books include The Beast Within: Animals andBestiality in the Middle Ages (Routledge, 1994) and Church Fathers, Independent Virgins (1992).
