The Latin Martyrdom of *Crispina (of Thagora, martyred at Theveste, S00905) tells of her repeated refusal to sacrifice to the gods and her death by beheading in Theveste (Numidia, central North Africa). Written presumably in North Africa, possibly in the 4th c.
Evidence ID
E07611
Type of Evidence
Literary - Hagiographical - Accounts of martyrdom
Martyrdom of Crispina
Short summary:
On the Nones of December (5 December) in the year 304 (the ninth consulate of Diocletian and eighth of Maximianus), Crispina of Thagora is brought before Anullinus, the proconsul of Africa in Theveste. She repeatedly refuses to sacrifice to the gods and Anullinus, after commanding that her head be shaved in order to humiliate her, eventually condemns her to death by decapitation.
Text: J.L. Maier.
Summary: Stanisław Adamiak.
Festivals
Saint’s feast
Protagonists in Cult and NarrativesWomen
Source
The text has been transmitted in four manuscripts, the earliest of which (from the library of the seminary of Autun) comes from the ninth century.With its lack of embellishment and supernatural elements, it appears to be closely based on notarial minutes of the trial of Crispina, and is probably early in date.
Discussion
The text has sometimes been considered to be Donatist, or interpolated by the Donatists. The only evidence for this would be the expression of Crispina after learning about her condemnation: 'Deo laudes' (Glory be to God). Although this expression has often been seen as a marker of Donatism, it is, firstly, not sufficiently indicative, and secondly, it is found in only one of the manuscripts. In others, there is the expression 'Deo gratias' (Thanks be to God), considered 'more Catholic'.Cult of Crispina in Africa is confirmed by sermons of Augustine (E01771, E01775, E02323, E03498), and she was known in sixth-century Ravenna, as she appears as one of the twenty-two female saints processing towards the Virgin and Child in the church of Sant' Apollinare Nuovo (E06046).
There is evidence, from entries for 5 December in the Calendar of Carthage (E02203) and in the Martyrologium Hieronymianum (E05042), that suggests that Crispina was one of a group of martyrs from Thagora (see the Discussion at E02203). These companions (if Crispina is the same martyr) do not feature in her Martyrdom, perhaps in the interest of creating a tighter and more coherent story of female defiance.
Bibliography
Edition:Franchi de' Cavalieri, P., Nuove note agiografiche (Roma, 1902), 31-35.
Maier, J.L., Le dossier du donatisme. I. Des origines à la mort de Constance II (303-361) (Texte und Untersuchungen zur Geschichte der Altchristlichen Literatur 134; Berlin: Akademie-Verlag, 1987), 107-112.
Further reading:
Fialon, S., Mens immobilis. Recherches sur le corpus latin des actes et des passions d'Afrique romaine (IIe-VIe siècles) (Collection des Études Augustiniennes. Série Antiquité 203; Paris: Institut d'Études Augustiniennes, 2018), 175-178.
Franchi de' Cavalieri, F., "Osservazioni sopra gli Atti di s. Crispina", in: Nuove note agiografiche, (Roma, 1902), 23-30.
Record Created By
Stanisław Adamiak
Date of Entry
07/06/2019
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S00905 | Crispina, of Thagora, martyred at Theveste, with companions | Crispina | Certain |
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