Dalla martire bambina alla martire della castità: mutazioni di un modello

Hagiography inherently serves a performative function, reflecting the society that produces it while simultaneously offering models to emulate. Through an analysis of female characters celebrated in the Latin Christian literature of the 4th and 5th centuries, this paper examines the transition from the model of the child martyr to that of the martyr of chastity. This evolution is linked to the emergence and spread of ascetic ideals, and it may reveal the Roman society’s anxiety about its women, who were becoming increasingly independent and autonomous.