Heather Barkman: "Stubborn and Insolent" or "Enfeebled by Riches"?: The Construction of Crispina's Identity

As Eric Rebillard has recently argued in Christians and Their Many Identities in Late Antiquity, Christians (both men and women) adopted different identities depending on their context. For late antique Christian women, this fluidity influenced the level of power and agency they were able to exercise in specific situations. Modern sociological examinations of women's power and agency can provide insights into the ways individual women participated in late antique Christianity. This presentation will explore these concepts through the example of the fourth-century martyr Crispina.
Crispina is known from a martyrdom account and through five of Augustine's sermons (Serm. 286, 313G, 354; Psal. 120, 137). The Passio Sanctae Crispinae focuses on Crispina's long conversation with the proconsul, Anullinus. From Crispina's words and Anullinus' reactions it is possible to draw some conclusions about the identity she attempts to claim for herself and that which the proconsul tries to impose on her. This can be fruitfully compared with Augustine's descriptions, which differ significantly from the Passio. While it is possible that Augustine had a different version of the Passio than the one that is extant, his discussion may also be read as a rhetorical strategy to re-form Crispina into something more accessible for his audience. Placing the depictions of Crispina in conversation with the concepts of identity, agency, and power will allow for a more nuanced understanding of the way female martyrs were used in Christian communities in late antiquity.