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Chapter 5 - Thecla beyond Thecla

Secondary Characters in Syriac Hagiography

from Part I - An Act to Follow

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 May 2022

Ghazzal Dabiri
Affiliation:
University of Maryland, College Park
Flavia Ruani
Affiliation:
Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Paris
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Summary

In recent years, the reception of Thecla and her tale, the Acts of Paul and Thecla, in Syriac Christianity has been the object of scholarly attention. Indeed, the presence of Thecla in various cultural mediums (literature, cult/liturgy, manuscripts, etc.) throughout the Syriac world seems to have been explored exhaustively and at different levels. However, the impact of the Acts of Paul and Thecla on the process of writing Syriac hagiography still needs to be addressed. This chapter, therefore, focuses on a form of reception which is less direct than those that already have been identified: in other words, it is not concerned with Thecla herself, but with other characters. The chapter illustrates that secondary characters from a selection of Syriac hagiographical texts are constructed based on those of the Acts of Paul and Thecla. The analyses demonstrate that the reception of Thecla goes beyond direct references to the heroine and concerns the construction of stories in deeper, more structural ways.

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Thecla and Medieval Sainthood
<I>The Acts of Paul and Thecla</I> in Eastern and Western Hagiography
, pp. 142 - 174
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2022

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  • Thecla beyond Thecla
  • Edited by Ghazzal Dabiri, University of Maryland, College Park, Flavia Ruani, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Paris
  • Book: Thecla and Medieval Sainthood
  • Online publication: 06 May 2022
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009008631.007
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  • Thecla beyond Thecla
  • Edited by Ghazzal Dabiri, University of Maryland, College Park, Flavia Ruani, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Paris
  • Book: Thecla and Medieval Sainthood
  • Online publication: 06 May 2022
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009008631.007
Available formats
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Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Thecla beyond Thecla
  • Edited by Ghazzal Dabiri, University of Maryland, College Park, Flavia Ruani, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Paris
  • Book: Thecla and Medieval Sainthood
  • Online publication: 06 May 2022
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009008631.007
Available formats
×