Thrilled that the 1st piece I ever submitted is out at last!
It deconstructs the composition history of a Syriac martyr act of a Jewish boy who converts to Christianity, & what it teaches about the transmission of knowledge, scribal creativity, & the formation of a genre.
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It deconstructs the composition history of a Syriac martyr act of a Jewish boy who converts to Christianity, & what it teaches about the transmission of knowledge, scribal creativity, & the formation of a genre.
🧵
The article focuses on the History of the Slave of Christ (HoSoC). It stars Asher, a Jewish boy, who converts to Xtianity, changes his name to Slave of Christ, & is killed by his father on the Sabbath.
Aaron Butts & I published an edition, translation, & intro to this text.
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Aaron Butts & I published an edition, translation, & intro to this text.
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Few had discussed the martyr act before, & those who had assumed it contained historical information about real Jews in N. Iraq in the 4th cent.
But over the past few decades, scholars have grown aware of the often highly constructed and tendentious nature of martyr acts.
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But over the past few decades, scholars have grown aware of the often highly constructed and tendentious nature of martyr acts.
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Particularly influential works include those by Elizabeth Castelli & @candidamoss. Some, like Judith Lieu, focused on the "Jew" in martyr acts, & the function they often play.
The question was simple: was there any facticity behind the HoSoC? Was there a "real Jew" there?
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The question was simple: was there any facticity behind the HoSoC? Was there a "real Jew" there?
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There is plenty of internal evidence that reflects the constructed nature of the narrative.
It is highly stylized, contains type-scenes etc.
But it also has some curious details, esp. that male Jews did not pierce their ears b/c they considered it the mark of enslaved men.
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It is highly stylized, contains type-scenes etc.
But it also has some curious details, esp. that male Jews did not pierce their ears b/c they considered it the mark of enslaved men.
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As we worked on the project, I began to search more broadly for similar stories elsewhere.
Then I came across the tale of the Judenknaben (Jewish youth), with the same plot, which originated in late antiquity and became increasingly popular through the middle ages.
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Then I came across the tale of the Judenknaben (Jewish youth), with the same plot, which originated in late antiquity and became increasingly popular through the middle ages.
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The earliest Greek and Latin sources, from the late 6th century, tell of a Jewish boy, whose father was a glassblower, who converted to Xtianity at the hands of other boys.
The father fails to kill his son in the glassblowing oven, & dies in it himself.
Daniel 3 is invoked.
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The father fails to kill his son in the glassblowing oven, & dies in it himself.
Daniel 3 is invoked.
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But there's another Greek source. Here the father, identified as chief rabbi, is a shepherd, the boy meets Xtian boys playacting the Eucharist. To join, the boy converts, & refuses to eat w/Jews. His father fails to kill him in a bathhouse oven (shoutout Dan. 3), but is beheaded.
This version clearly reworks the previous one. Notice the vestigial features: the father is now a shepherd, not a glassblower, but we still have an oven, but in a bathhouse.
The story also includes new details, like Christian boys playacting the Eucharist, father as chief rabbi.
The story also includes new details, like Christian boys playacting the Eucharist, father as chief rabbi.
Yet the details unique to this source are shared in the HoSoC!
The father is a shepherd! The boy meets Christians youths playacting the eucharist! He converts, refuses to eat with his parents, is chased by his father.
But...in the Syriac account, the boy is killed!
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The father is a shepherd! The boy meets Christians youths playacting the eucharist! He converts, refuses to eat with his parents, is chased by his father.
But...in the Syriac account, the boy is killed!
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What I argue is that the HoSoC is a reworking of this final source.
While it shares the details mentioned above, it reworks them in a number of crucial ways.
First, instead of the boy's miraculous survival, it turned the story into a tale of the boy's determined martyrdom.
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While it shares the details mentioned above, it reworks them in a number of crucial ways.
First, instead of the boy's miraculous survival, it turned the story into a tale of the boy's determined martyrdom.
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Daniel 3 & the oven is no longer relevant, since the boy won't be saved.
HoSoC replaces the oven with a knife, just like Abraham used on Isaac! Instead of Daniel's three youthful - and miraculously surviving - companions, HoSoC invokes Babylas and the three martyred youths!
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HoSoC replaces the oven with a knife, just like Abraham used on Isaac! Instead of Daniel's three youthful - and miraculously surviving - companions, HoSoC invokes Babylas and the three martyred youths!
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HoSoC also shows knowledge of a Syriac genre known as the Persian Martyr Acts (PMA).
PMA often take place before the Sasanian king on a Zoroastrian festival.
The martyr is a Zoroastrian who converts & changes their name.
S/he defeats the king in a debate, & is then killed.
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PMA often take place before the Sasanian king on a Zoroastrian festival.
The martyr is a Zoroastrian who converts & changes their name.
S/he defeats the king in a debate, & is then killed.
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All of these occur in the HoSoC, but applied to Jews.
The boy, Asher, changes his name to the Slave of Christ.
He debates his father on Shabbat.
He embodies his new identity with an earring, a taboo for free Jewish men, reflecting his new identity as a "Slave" of Christ.
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The boy, Asher, changes his name to the Slave of Christ.
He debates his father on Shabbat.
He embodies his new identity with an earring, a taboo for free Jewish men, reflecting his new identity as a "Slave" of Christ.
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The HoSoC is a fictional work.
It reflects how Syriac Christians were participants in the circulation and reworking of hagiography around the Mediterranean.
It shows how, by the time the work is produced, the composer has an idea of a genre of "Persian Martyr Acts."
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It reflects how Syriac Christians were participants in the circulation and reworking of hagiography around the Mediterranean.
It shows how, by the time the work is produced, the composer has an idea of a genre of "Persian Martyr Acts."
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Check out other stellar articles in the volume, including @jedwardwalters problematizing "Aphrahat" & "his corpus" (@GlobalLateAntiq); @ErinCGW studying the Canaanite woman in Syriac poetry, & Reyhan Durmaz (@upennrels) on stories traveling across religious borders!
Fin.
Fin.
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