Acta Martyrum Scillitanorum: A Literary Commentary

The Acta Martyrum Scillitanorum is the first martyr text in Latin, and one of the earliest documents in Christian Latin. This short text presents a group of young Christians facing trial in Carthage before a Roman judge on July 17th, 180 A.D. This is the first full commentary on this important text in English. It studies the fiery altercation between the defendants and the Roman proconsul, highlighting the rhetorical and narrative aspects of the original Latin (and the Greek translation from late antiquity). Throughout the book, much attention is paid to the communication, or miscommunication, between antagonists. For this dramatic and narrative approach to the text, the Acta Martyrum Scillitanorum may be taken as it is: a coherent body of text, describing an altercation that either took place exactly like that, or was deemed by the author to be probable and natural, that is, a plausible and convincing dialogue between contrasting characters in a Roman judicial context.