Children and Violence in Syriac Sources: the Martyrdom of Mar Talya of Cyrrhus in the Light of Literary and Theological Implications
2010
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Parole de 1 'Orient 31 (2006) 309-326
CHILDREN AND VIOLENCE IN SYRIAC SOURCES:
THE MARTYRDOM OF MAR TALYA' OF CYRRHUS
IN THE LIGHT OF LITERARY AND THEOLOGICAL
IMPLICATIONS
BY
Cornelia B. horn
Scope of Discussion
This article investigates the characterization of the child-martyr in the
Martyrdom of Mar Talya' of Cyrrhus. A careful study of the language and
imagery of the text reveals that the author was motivated not exclusively, but
still distinctly by theological concerns when choosing to present the story of
the suffering and death of a child.
In modern times, the child-martyr Mar Talya' is an almost unknown
saint in the Syriac tradition. Among modern-day Syrian Christians, the story
of a martyred child that most promptly comes to people's minds is that of
the three-year-old Cyriacus and his mother Julitta1. Bedjan's Acta Sancto-
rum et Martyrum Syriace likely has a share in keeping knowledge of their
story alive in the communities2, a story which otherwise is also known from
1) Attested by personal communication with several of the parishioners at Mar Barsai-
mo Syrian Orthodox Church in Scarborough, ON, Canada. i am very grateful for the warm
welcome that the members of that church, young and old, under the leadership of Fr. Stepha-
nos, extended to me at the occasion of a visit in early January, 2003. For a discussion of cases
and principles of the presentation of the martyrdom of children in early Christianity see
Cornelia Horn and John martens, «Let the Little Ones Come to Me»: Children in the Early
Christian Community (Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press,forthcoming), ch. 6.
2) See ^^■^« - ai_sirfnc\ oQcuLfnaa ,nm lineman rica±=r& ,ctciu^j-a ^u^jlAi (ed. Paulus
Bedjan, Acta Martyrum et Sanctorum Syriace [O. Harrassowitz, Paris and Leipzig, 1890-
1897; reprinted G. Olms, Hildesheim, 1968], vol. 3, pp. 254-283); see also Bibliotheca Ha-
giographica Orientalis (= BHO), Subsidia Hagiographica 10 (Apud Editores [i.e., Socii Bol-
landiani], Bruxelles, 1910), p. 47, entry 194. Of the three Syriac manuscript witnesses to the
text that are discussed in A. Dillmann, «Uber die apokryphen Martyrergeschichten des Cyra-
cus mit Julitta und des Georgius», Sitzungsberichte der Berliner Akademie der Wissenschjf-
ten, Phil.-hist. Classe (1887) 339-356, Bedjan published only the witness of the Berlin MS
Sachau 222. For a description of that manuscript, see Eduard Sachau, Verzeichniss der
Syrischen Handschriften (Asher & Co., Berlin, 1899), vol. 1, pp. 289-291, especially here 290.
310
CORNELIA B. HORN
Armenian, Coptic, and Arabic sources , and which ultimately may have had
its origins in a composition in Greek by the sixth-century Theodore of Ico-
nium4.
A preliminary study of the stories of both of these child-martyrs sug-
gests that the Martyrdom of Mar Talyd1 of Cyrrhus was one of the literary
sources used for the composition of the Martyrdom of Cyriacus and Julitta
as told in Syriac. A full source-critical study of the Syriac Martyrdom of
Cyriacus and Julitta cannot be provided here5. Rather, a careful investiga-
tion of the Martyrdom of Mar Talyd' of Cyrrhus is one of the necessary steps
on the way towards clarifying and perhaps resolving the question of what the
interdependence of martyrdom accounts of children in the Syriac tradition
upon one another may have been.
This contribution first addresses the manuscript sources available for
the Martyrdom of Mar Talyd' of Cyrrhus. Then it presents highlights of the
text's literary structure while at the same time investigating some of the cha-
racteristics of the portrayal of the child-martyr as presented in the account.
This discussion also involves the study of theological implications that un-
3) For the Armenian text of the Martyrdom of Cyriacus and Julitta, see Uuifip bt
ilLjutjuipuubriLfapLbp uppng ^suulpqbtppp puur[buj[p fr 6iu/2qbtppiug[Vark' ew vkayaba-
nut^iwnk' srbots: hatentir k'aghealk" Icharentrats], [Vitae etpassiones sanctorum selectae ex
Eclogariis], ed. by Ghewond M. Alishan, 2 vols. (Mechitarists, Venice, 1874), vol. 1, pp. 691-
697; see also BHO, pp. 46-47, entry 193. For the edition of what likely are fragments of a
Coptic tradition of the Martyrdom of Cyriacus, see Elinor M. Husselman, «The Martyrdom
of Cyriacus and Julitta in Coptic», in Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt 4
(1965) 79-86 with plates xxxi-xxxii. GeorgGRAF, Geschichte der christlichen arabischen Li-
teratur, vol. 1: Die Ubersetzungen, Studi et Testi 118 (Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Citta
del Vaticano, 1944), 500, has identified seven different recensions of the martyrdom account
in Arabic, preserved in nine different manuscripts
4) See Hans-Georg Beck, Kirche und theologische Literatur im Byzantinischen Reich,
Byzantinisches Handbuch 2.1 (C. H. Beck'sche Verlagsbuchhandlung, Munich, 1959), 406.
For identifications of the relevant texts as well as elements of the larger hagiographical text
corpus on Cyriacus and Julitta, see Francois Halkin, Bibliotheca Hagiographica Graeca,
Subsidia Hagiographica, n° 8a, 3 vols. (Societe des Bollandistes, Bruxelles, 3rd ed. 1957), vol.
l,pp. 111-112, entries 313y-318e.
5) Of particular interest thus far has been the so-called «Prayer of Cyriacus», for which
W. E. Crum, Review of «Coptic Texts in the University of Michigan Collection, edited by W.
H. Worrell and collaborators, pp. xiii + 375. (University of Michigan Studies, Humanistic Se-
ries, vol. xlvi.) Ann Arbor, 1942. $5», in Journal of Theological Studies 44 (1943) 122-128,
here 122-123, sees parallels in the «Hymn of the Soul» (or perhaps better known as the
«Hymn of the Pearl») contained in the Acts of Thomas. For a discussion of Jewish origins of
the Martyrdom of Cyriacus and Julitta see Hugo GRESSMANN, «Das Gebet des Kyriakos», in
Zeitschrift fur die neutestamentliche Wissenschaft und die Kunde der dlteren Kirche 20
(1921) 23-35, especially 30-34.
CHILDREN AND VIOLENCE IN SYRIAC SOURCES
311
derlie the author's choice in focusing his hagiographical work on the presen-
tation of the life-witness of a child. Finally, the article will briefly and mere-
ly in a preliminary fashion address certain parallels in structure and motifs
between the Martyrdom of Mar Talyd' of Cyrrhus and the Martyrdom of
Cyriacus and Julitta. The final word on this last question has to be reserved
for future studies.
The Martyrdom of Mar talya' of Cyrrhus: Textual Sources
The Martyrdom of Mar Talya' of Cyrrhus is attested in three Syriac ma-
nuscripts5. Syriac MS BM Add. 12,174, a collection of lives of saints and
martyrdom accounts written in Estrangela and dated to 1508 A. Gr. / 1197
A.D.7, contains the complete text of the martyrdom on fols. 426r-430r. A si-
gnificantly earlier, but largely corrupted witness to the text is preserved on
three vellum leaves, constituting MS BM Add. 14,670. The leaves are num-
bered fols. 23-25. Based on the shape of the Estrangela script, Wright dated
this second manuscript to the sixth or seventh century8. The manuscript
contains only a few fragments of the Martyrdom of Mar Talya1 of Cyrrhus.
Yet the text is badly damaged, partially stained and mutilated, and thus ra-
ther difficult to read.
Jean Maurice Fiey, who did not seem to be aware of the manuscript
6) Jean Maurice FlEY, «Talia (di Cyr)», in Enciclopedia dei Santi. Le Chiese Orientali,
Bibliotheca Sanctorum Orientalium (= BSO) vol. 2 (Citta Nuova, Roma, 1999), cols. 1140-
1141, here 1140, assumed that an Arabic version of the Martyrdom of Mar Talya' of Cyrrhus
was preserved at Saint Mark's Monastery in Jerusalem in Karshuni MS38, a collection of 125
saints' lives translated from Syriac into Arabic by the monk Besara of Aleppo in the Monaste-
ry of Deir az-Zacfaran between 1732 and 1733. See Anton Baumstark, Georg Graf, and
Anton Rucker, «Die literarischen Handschriften des jakobitischen Markusklosters in Jerusa-
lem», in Oriens Christians n.s. 2 (1912) 120-130 and 317-333; n.s. 3 (1913) 128-134 and
311-327; here n.s. 3 (1913), 312. According to Baumstark, Graf, and Rucker, «Die litera-
rischen Handschriften», n.s. 3 (1913) 325, entry # 101, however, this story is to be identified
as a Karshuni version of the Martyrdom of Cyriacus and his mother Julitta. For bibliographi-
cal access to the manuscripts at St. Mark's Monastery, see also AlainDesreumaux and Fran-
coise Briquel-Chatonnet, Repertoire des Bibliotheques et des Catalogues de Manuscrits
Syriaques (Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Paris, 1991) 151-152.
7) MS BM Add. 12.174, fol. 452v. See also W. WRIGHT, Catalogue of the Syriac Ma-
nuscripts in the British Museum, vol. 3 (London, 1872) 1123 and 1137. Two notes on that
same page inform the reader of an attestation by Michael the Great, Patriarch of Antioch from
1478-1511 A. Gr. / 1167-1200 A.D., that the deacon Saliba of the monastery of Barsauma in
Melitene paid for the writing of the manuscript, while Saliba's cousin, the monk Joseph, was
the actual scribe.
8) Wright, Catalogue, 1153.
312
cornelia b. horn
evidence to the story preserved at the British Museum9, indicated the exis-
tence of a further witness to the Syriac text. A manuscript from the Monaste-
ry of Deir az-ZaTaran, also dated to 1197 A.D., which is said to be preserved
at the Syrian Patriarchate in Damascus, also appears to contain the complete
text10.
While MS BM 12,174 fol. 452v preserves information about the scribe
of the manuscript, a certain monk by the name of Joseph11, evidence from
within that manuscript's text of the Martyrdom of Mar Talya1 of Cyrrhus al-
so contains some information about the original author of the martyrdom ac-
count. The concluding remarks of the text mention a certain Hakkema, an
eyewitness of the events, who afterwards collected Talya"s relics, and
brought them to a city named Romania12, where he erected a martyrion for
the dead child13. Fiey made a case for situating Romania in the region of the
Tur cAbdin, even finding the ruins of a church, which he thought might fit
the context, between Sawur and Qullet14. It would be desirable to pursue and
explore his suggestion further15. According to the martyrdom account, an
annual feastday in commemoration of the little martyred boy attracted the
attention and participation of people from far and wide in ancient days16.
While Hakkema seems to have been the original author of the mar-
tyrdom account, the present form in which the text appears is redacted, in-
cluding comments towards the end of the text on Hakkema's death as well as
a description of benefits Talya"s devotees could expect to receive. Of these
additional comments, a first should be ascribed to the redactor17, and a se-
cond one to the scribe18.
9) Fiey, «Talia (di Cyr)», 1140.
10) Fiey, «Talia (di Cyr)», 1140. See Desreumaux and Briquel-Chatonnet, Reper-
toire des Bibliotheques, 125-128, for bibliographic access to the collection of Syriac manus-
cripts there. Thus far, I have not been able to verify or further specify Fiey's information.
11) See also above, n. 7, for Michael the Great's witness to Joseph's identity as cousin
of the deacon Saliba.
12) MS BM 12.174, fol. 429v, col. B.
13) MS BM 12.174, fol. 429v, col. B.
14) Fiey, «Talia (di Cyr)», 1140-1141.
15) Andrew Palmer, Monk and mason on the Tigris frontier: The early history of Tur
'Abdin, University of Cambridge Oriental Publications 39 (Cambridge University Press,
Cambridge, England and New York, 1990), fig. 1, following p. xix, spells the names as Sawro
and Qeleth, locating them about 30 to 35 km north-north east of Mardin. Palmer does not
identify any site in that area as «Romania».
16) MS BM 12.174, fol. 429v, col. B.
17) MS BM 12.174, fol. 430r, cols. A-B.
18) MS BM 12.174, fol. 430r, col. B.
children and violence in syriac sources
313
Characteristics of the Child-Martyr: Literary Representation
and Theological Implications of the Theme in the Martyrdom of
Mar Talya' ofCyrrhus
That a young child is suffering martyrdom is communicated to the rea-
der of the Martyrdom of Mar Talya' of Cyrrhus at least on two levels. The
first is a literal, explicit way, in which themes expressive of ideas and expe-
riences related to "childhood" are stated directly in the text. A second way
by which the concern with the theme of the child as martyr is present in the
text is in the form of allusions to motifs that are expressive of notions or
motifs of childhood. Some of these motifs are drawn from biblical models,
others become decipherable if one considers basic elements of child psycho-
logy and child behavior, which, as one may argue, have remained fairly
constant throughout the centuries19.
Already from the text's headline, the reader of Syriac notices that the
martyrdom to be recounted is that of a child. The name of the martyr is sta-
ted as «Talya'», or «Child»20. This designation is not meant to be merely an
epithet. Rather Talya' is explained as being the boy's baptismal name, which
he received when he was Christened shortly after birth21. The name fulfills a
double role in the story, on the one hand simply naming the boy, on the
other hand programmatically identifying his deeds and sufferings as those of
the blameless and blessed child, a figure who is representative of the fulfill-
ment of God's promise of redemption to mankind22. The author's reference
19) For a list of seemingly constant patterns in children's experience that «transcend| ]
the boundaries of time and culture», including the role of the experience of gender, the fact
that children play, as well as their experience of some kind of abuse, see briefly N. RayHiNER
and loseph M. Hawes, «Standing on Common Ground: Reflections on the History of Chil-
dren and Childhood)), in Children in Historical and Comparative Perspective. An Internatio-
nal Handbook and Research Guide, ed. by loseph M. Hawes and N. Ray Hiner (Greenwood
Press, New York, Westport, Connecticut, and London, 1991), 1-9, here 6.
20) MS BM 12.174, fol. 426r, col. a.
21) MS BM 12.174, fol. 426v, col. a. As much as the comment regarding Talya"s bap-
tism right after birth may indeed reflect a practice of baptizing children early on, in the con-
text of the martyrdom account, and in the light of other parallels to the infancy narrative in
Luke's gospel, instances of which will be discussed below, this baptismal reference here
could also be understood as establishing a literary parallel to lesus's circumcision eight days
after his birth, i.e., in immediate proximity to his birth. See Luke2:21.
22) Christianity did not invent the motif of the child as bringer of blessings or salvation.
Famous, for example, is the child in Virgil's fourth eclogue. See Virgil, Eclogae 4.1-63 (ed.
Robert Coleman, Vergil: Eclogues, Cambridge Greek and Latin Classics [Cambridge Uni-
versity Press, Cambridge and New York, 1977], 52-54). For a helpful study of that passage in
its classical context, see Eduard Norden, Die Geburt des Kindes. Geschichte einer religiosen
Idee (Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, 1st edition Darmstadt, 1924, 3rd reprint of the 1st
314
cornelia b. horn
to the incarnation of the Son of God through Mary, which is incorporated
into a basic outline of Christ's life and death23, and which is placed before
the account of the promise and birth of the martyr Talya' himself, early on
already alerts the reader to the possibility of a parallel between Christ and
the child-martyr.
According to the hagiographer, Talya" s birth happened in response to
fifty-two years of prayer on the part of his parents, a couple who until then
had been childless24. A voice had announced before his birth that as a two-
year-old one Talya' would put unjust kings to death and ((overturn their
idols»25. For the reader who is familiar with Simeon's prophecy over the
child Jesus as the one «destined for the falling ... of many in Israel» (Luke
2:34), the prediction made with regard to Talya'does not sound that much
different from Simeon's statement. Opposition between the supporters of the
cause of the seemingly weak and powerless ones and the people and forces
at the center of secular and religious power in a world not saturated by the
Christian faith was predicted in both cases. Talya"s martyrdom account
heightened this contrast by situating the conflict more immediately during
the earliest years of the life of the protagonist. Thus, a result that seemed
predictable, in the end turned upside down. The child that should have been
on the losers' side overturned seemingly unalterable reality through its victo-
ry. As unpredictable as his birth was - a miracle in the case of Talya'as
much as in the case of Jesus - so also was the effect of the child's activities
not calculable by human reasoning.
The prediction of Talya" s birth was announced by the voice of a
lamb26. An early Christian audience would not only have noticed the sym-
bolism of a young animal as a sign of helplessness and dependence on adults
for food and shelter, but would readily have understood the image of the
lamb as a symbol of Christ and his sacrificial suffering. Alongside Justin
Martyr in his Dialogue with Trypho, for example, some may even have
thought of the image of the paschal lamb27, or may have contrasted the
edition, 1958). See also Coleman, Vergil: Eclogues, 150-154.
23) MS BM 12.174, fol. 426r, col. B.
24) MS BM 12.174, fol. 426v, col. A.
25) MS BM 12.174, fol. 426v, col. A.
26) MS BM 12.174, fol. 426v, col. A.
27) Justin Martyr, Dialogue with Trypho 40 (ed. Miroslav Marcovich, Iustini Mar-
tyris. Dialogus cum Tryphone, Patristische Texte und Studien 47 [Walter de Gruyter, Berlin
and New York, 1997], 136-137; tr. Thomas B. Falls, rev. and with a new introduction by
Thomas P. Halton, ed. by Michael Slusser, St. Justin Martyr. Dialogue with Trypho, Se-
children and violence in syriac sources
315
«voice of the lamb» with the voiceless «sheep that is silent before its shea-
rers» (Isaiah 53:7), an image that from the time of the discussion between
the apostle Philipp and the Ethiopian eunuch in Acts 8:27-35 on would be
readily applied to the suffering Christ in the Christian tradition28.
The parallel to be drawn between Talya' and Christ is supported by a
further observation. When the voice of the lamb greeted the parents with the
words, «Behold, great joy is to you», an audience well-versed in Scripture
may have felt reminded of the angel's words, «Behold, I am bringing you
good news of great joy for all the people» (Luke 2:10), words announced to
the shepherds who were keeping watch with their flock on the fields outside
of Bethlehem29. Not only the wording of the greeting, but also the author's
choice of a lamb, as opposed to any other kind of animal, reinforced the pa-
rallel to the scriptural scene of the shepherds watching their flock at the time
of Christ's birth.
At their first, confrontational encounter, the two-year-old Talya" s ap-
pearance before the governor was accompanied by the destruction of sixty of
the two hundred idols in the governor's temple30. Revealing his ignorance of
a connection between the demolition of the idols and Talya"s practice of
mocking the gods, the governor addressed Talya' merely as «Infant», a term
that shows that the governor thought Talya' was harmless and not to be taken
seriously. He was only concerned with what he had heard about Talya"s
mocking of the gods. The questions he asked also show that he assumed that
lections from the Fathers of the Church 3 [The Catholic University of America Press, Wa-
shington, D.C., 2003], 61-62). See also the edition and commentary in Philippe BOBICHON,
Justin Martyr: Dialogue avec Tryphon. Edition critique, traduction, commentaire, Paradosis
47.1-2 [Departement de Patristique et d'Histoire de l'Eglise de l'Universite de Fribourg /
Academic Press Fribourg, Fribourg, 2003), vol. 1, pp. 282-284 and vol. 2, 689-694. See also
the discussion in Robin Margaret Jensen, Understanding Early Christian Art (Routledge,
London and New York, 2000), 141-143, especially 142.
28) See, for example, Gregory of Nyssa, De tridui spatio. For discussion, see Stuart
G. HALL, «The Interpretation of the Old Testament in the Opening Section of Gregory of
Nyssa, De Tridui Spatio (De Tridui Spatio 273,5-277,9)», in The Easter Sermons of Gregory
of Nyssa: Translation and Commentary, Proceedings of the Fourth International Colloquium
on Gregory of Nyssa, Cambridge, England, 11-15 September, 1978, ed. by Andreas Spira and
Christoph Klock, with an introduction by G. Christopher Stead, Patristic Monograph Series9
(Philadelphia Patristic Foundation, Cambridge, Mass., 1981), 139-152, here 145-147; Franz
NlKOLASCH, Das Lamm als Christussymbol in den Schriften der Vater, Wiener Beitrage zur
Theologie 3 (Verlag Herder, Wien, 1963), 25-40; and Hubertus Drobner, Gregor von Nyssa:
Die drei Tage zwischen Tod und Auferstehung unseres Herrn Jesus Christus, eingeleitet,
ubersetzt undkommentiert (Brill, Leiden, 1982), 62.
29) Luke 2:4, 2:6, and 2:8.
30) MS BM 12.174, fol. 426v, col. B.
316
cornelia b. horn
the child had to have learned how to mock idols from someone else and had
to have been encouraged by someone else to do so. Whether children could
be held responsible and thus accountable for what they did was not clear to
him31. His comments to Talya' grant the reader insight into some of the ideas
about children that were held at the time of the composition of the text. The-
se comments also allow one to see that in settings of persecutions of chil-
dren, at least in the minds of some, questions arose with regard to whether or
not a young person could be held responsible for the convictions he or she
expressed or for the actions arising from such convictions. Implied here was
the question of whether or not one was justified to persecute and thus to
exert violence in the first place also upon children.
The governor assumed that Talya' had learned from his parents to scoff
at the gods and confess Christ. This comment indicates that religious forma-
tion and education was seen as part of the responsibility of the parents and as
one of the customary realms of the parents'exercise of influence over their
children. In the ancient world, parents were not the only, but significant
transmitters of religion from one generation to the next32. Potential changes
of religion therefore affected and had to be dealt with within the context of
family actions and decisions. This view of parental influence and responsi-
bility, embodied in the governor's comments, elicited daring, even insulting
comments from Talya" s side. Although Talya'did not reject his family of
birth, he saw himself primarily as a member of another family, namely
God's.
The author of the Martyrdom of Mar Talycf of Cyrrhus portrayed his
young hero as responding to the governor with great assurance. Talya' is
made to sound more like a self-conscious adult than a young, perhaps still
somewhat unpolished believer. When asked for his name, he identified him-
self as a «servant of our Lord Jesus Christ» and explained that his name,
31) Ancient discussions of human development do not readily appear to have included
considerations of this question. See, for example, Philo of Alexandria, On the Creation of
the Cosmos 103-105 (tr. David T. runia, Philo of Alexandria. On the Creation of the Cosmos
according to Moses. Introduction, Translation and Commentary. Philo of Alexandria Com-
mentary Series 1 [Brill, Leiden, Boston, and Koln, 2001], 74-75), who discusses a division of
ten developmental stages a ten years. See also the discussion in Horn and Martens, "Let the
Little Ones Come to Me, " ch. 1.
32) For a recent study of the role of the family in the transmission of religious identity
in Greek and Roman antiquity see also Jan N. Bremmer, «The family and other centers of
religious learning in antiquity», in Centres of Learning: Learning and Location in Pre-
Modern Europe and the Near East, ed. by Jan Willem Drijvers and Alasdair A. MacDonald,
Brill's Studies in Intellectual History 61 (E. J. Brill, Leiden and New York, 1995), 29-38.
children and violence in syriac sources
317
Talya', was supplied to him by the Holy Spirit . The arrangement of these
statements certainly demonstrates self-esteem on the part of the speaker. Yet
its significance goes beyond that. Rather, the author of the martyrdom shows
Talya' as revealing his awareness of his exclusive reliance on the two basic
sources of strength and support a Christian has, Christ and the Holy Spirit.
Moreover, the reference to the explicit selection of Talya"s name by the
Holy Spirit at baptism underscores Talya" s pronounced understanding of
himself as God's child. He felt claimed by God, because God, as opposed to
his physical parents, had named and thus claimed him. The source of
strength this child-martyr ultimately had in his struggles and sufferings was
in part this awareness of his being a «child of God».
Assumptions about little children permeate the text, both explicitly and
implicitly, and help to illustrate how being a child was not and did not at all
have to be a defining moment of whether or not one was able to act with po-
wer and strength. While continuing in his attempt to convince Talya' to desist
from his resistance, the governor reminded the boy of his young age and that
therefore he did not know what he was saying. For a while, Talya' tricked the
governor by pretending to agree to the governor's evaluation and suggestions
with regard to how to change the situation. Whereas the text does not spell it
out, the reader nevertheless notices that the governor's inability to perceive
the deception in Talya" s behavior was a sign that not Talya1 but the governor
was the ignorant one. The governor, still not knowing what was going on, first
alerted the public to Talya" s presumed change of mind and then publicly
«walked [with Talya'] to the house in which the gods were»34. By way of the
description of audible signs, the reader then receives confirmation of what he
or she has suspected already all along the way, namely that despite their outer
appearance, Talya' and the governor had switched roles. Perhaps one might
also say that the visible, outer characteristics of their appearance were insuffi-
cient to explain and define their real level of understanding and control of the
situation. Once inside the temple of the gods, Talya' spoke with a loud voice,
asking for strength from God in order not to be a weak child but a strong per-
son. Indeed, the idols fell down and were destroyed through the child's pre-
sence. What the idols could not do on their own, namely fall to the ground35,
Talya' through God's strength made them do. For once, this showed that even
the idols were dependent upon the child Talya'.
33) MS BM 12.174, fol. 426v, col. B.
34) MS BM 12.174, fol. 427r, col. B.
35) See also MS BM 12.174, fol. 427r, col. A.
318
cornelia b. horn
There are other aspects of the overturning of perceived realities that are
embedded in the scene. Some of these might also be qualified as elements of
action comedy. When the governor36 saw what had happened to his gods, he
loudly cried out, «A11 my gods were cast down»37 thus acting not much dif-
ferent from a little child whose toys had just been destroyed. The judgment
on that behavior followed immediately in the form of Talya' responding,
«Did I not say to you that your gods have no use?» Thus he showed not only
to the governor but also to everyone else, who really was the ignorant one
and who was not. This episode is one of the means by which the author calls
into question the applicability of customary definitions of what a child is and
what a child might be good for. Quite skillfully, the author here advanced
the case for the compatibility of the categories of «martyr» and «child», gi-
ven that a child was not necessarily to be defined as an ignorant, weak hu-
man being.
Among the biblical images that support and strengthen the identity of
the martyr as a child is that of the Three Youths in the fiery furnace, known
from the Book of Daniel38. Already when reference is made in the Mar-
tyrdom of Mar Talya1 of Cyrrhus to the heating of the oven for tortures39, a
Christian or Jewish audience would have recalled the scene in Daniel 3:19.
When the governor reminded individual inhabitants of his kingdom that they
and their children and wives depended on the governor and the sacrifices to
the gods for food, and thus ought to participate in the state-sponsored cult of
the gods, inspired by Talya" s daring response other formerly compliant citi-
zens also declared the gods to be useless40. They elaborated that Talya"s
God was the really mighty one, given that he had delivered his protegee
from the furnace, as he had delivered Daniel, and that he had raised him
from death, as he had done so for Jesus. Although neither Daniel nor Jesus
are named explicitly, it is clear that their experience is the foil against which
one is supposed to read the references. Later on, when Talya' was praying to
God in the midst of his sufferings, he directly referred to the Three Youths in
36) The text here speaks of a «judge», yet it seems that «judge» and «governcr» desi-
gnate one and the same person in this text.
37) MS BM 12.174, fol. 427r, col. B.
38) See Daniel 3:19-30. Among patristic authors, John Chrysostom seems to be the one
who emphasized most the possibility of seeing the three youths as children. For a recent study
of Daniel 3 in Chrysostom, see L. Brother, «'Et la fournaise devint source', L'episode des
trois jeunes gens dans la fournaise (Dan. 3) lu par Jean Chrysostome», in Revue d'histoire et
dephilosophie religieuse 71 (1991) 309-327.
39) MS BM 12.174, fol. 427r, col. A.
40) MS BM 12.174, fol. 428v, col. A.
children and violence in syriac sources
319
the fiery furnace . As in Daniel, also in Talya"s case a heavenly being came
for his rescue. In the Martyrdom of Mar Talyd' of Cyrrhus, however, the
surprise rescue took place in a rather comical scene, in which an angel came
down with a water pitcher from which he sprinkled water onto the heated
gridirons. This repeated insertion of potentially funny scenes into the text
gives rise to the question of what kind of entertainment quality and purpose
the text was intended to serve. It is not unlikely that the author also had en-
visioned and anticipated children among his audience.
Despite the author's interest in elevating the child-martyr above and
beyond the restraints of the accustomed and expectable behavior of
«normal» children, the text also contributes some data towards answering
the question of how children, who were suffering persecution, may themsel-
ves have dealt with the stress and pain of their experience. The author incor-
porated a few hints into his text that allow the reader to sense the likely
struggle with emotions that even the most courageous child-martyr would
have experienced. When Talya' had learned that his parents were killed, ac-
cording to the author of the text he gave praise to God. In the words he is gi-
ven in the text, Talya' referred to God's power, strength, and might in his
prayers. These words suggest a conscious or unconscious attempt on his part
to receive strength and support from God. While his parents had been mur-
dered and thus were no longer available as a source of support, God remai-
ned, now more than before also functioning as a substitute parent for him.
The author does not describe any tears or acts of mourning on Talya" s part.
Rather, he characterizes Talya' as someone who was aware that the governor
had been trying to break his resistance by attacking his parents. Thus, on the
rational level, through the control of his emotions in prayer, Talya' is presen-
ted as having attempted to counter the governor's efforts, while being fully
aware that the governor wanted to create fear in him. For one brief moment,
however, the control Talya' had shown broke down when the boy was mira-
culously freed from prison at night. He went to the gate of the governor's
palace and cried out in a loud voice, holding the governor responsible for the
stoning of his parents. By depicting such a scene of a child crying out in
front of the governor's palace, the author found a way to suggest that even
such a courageous, ultimately victorious little child, at this instance was
overcome by his grief over the loss of his parents. Here, the depiction of the
influence of family relationships is used to highlight Talya" s unadulterated
humanity. When facing his perfection as martyr, though, Talya' acknow-
41) MS BM 12.174, fol. 428v, col. A.
320
cornelia b. horn
ledged that only those who «forsake houses and parents and brethren and
everything [else] because of Christ and because of [Christ's] good tidings»,
are worthy of Christ42.
Throughout the text avails itself of athletic imagery, which is used to
express the customary and desired result that the martyr will gain his crown
after having suffered long enough and successfully. At a few instances, ho-
wever, the assumptions underlying the depictions of Talya' as an athlete also
help to emphasize his youthful character, especially in the scene in which he
literally jumped into the furnace43. Instead of critiquing him as one who
sought out martyrdom44, the text leaves the reader with the impression that
this ability to act quickly and with the energy of a young person is to be seen
as something desirable, as a sign of the confidence of faith, not as a risk and
liability.
Spread throughout the text, the theme of «inheritance» emerges several
times. In the course of the exchanges between the governor and Talya', the
governor repeatedly tried to lure Talya' over to his side by promising him the
inheritance of his kingdom, sometimes combined with promises of power45.
From the perspective of a young child, a promised future as the heir to the
kingdom might sound like a dream come true. It certainly was intended as a
strong incentive towards worshipping the king's idols. Yet comments incor-
porated into the framework of the story both at the beginning and at the end
of the text suggest that the interpretation of this theme of «inheritance» was
not supposed to remain merely at the level of inheritance in this life.
In the paradisiacal setting of the beginning of the martyrdom account,
God had promised Adam that through the redemption worked by the Son of
God, Adam would be enabled to «return to [his] inheritance))46. Towards the
end of the story, a choir of heavenly powers welcomed Talya' as the «heir of
42) MS BM 12.174, fol. 429v, col. A. See also Matthew 10:37, 16:24; Mark 8:34; Luke
9:23, and Luke 14:26.
43) MS BM 12.174, fol. 427r, col. A.
44) Likely the earliest expression of this critique of voluntary martyrdom is recorded in
the Martyrdom ofPolycarp 4 (ed. P. Th. camelot, Ignace d'Antioche, Polycarpe de Smyrne,
Lettres; Martyre de Polycarpe, SCh 10 [Editions du Cerf, Paris, 3rd, rev. ed. 1958], 248; tr.
Cyril C. Richardson, Early Christian Fathers [Touchstone and Simon & Schuster, New
York, 1996], 150).
45) MS BM 12.174, fol. 426v, col. B; fol. 427r, col. A (connection between inheritance
and power is spelled out); and fol. 427r, col. B.
46) MS BM 12.174 fol. 426r, col. B.
children and violence in syriac sources
321
paradise» . Another voice was heard, inviting him to «come to [his] inheri-
tance of the kingdom»48. In the light of these comments it becomes clear that
what was at stake for the child, when the king held out to him the prospect of
the inheritance of his kingdom, was a choice between a future in worldly
pleasures versus a future as the heir of the kingdom of God in heaven. By
reaching the inheritance of paradise at the end, Talya' experienced the ful-
fillment of the promise made to Adam. Thus the child-martyr, in a sense, is
the second Adam. By dying in resemblance to Christ through his martyrdom,
Talya' also became like Christ, a goal and achievement he certainly shared
with all other martyrs in the early Christian world, who also strove to imitate
Christ through their death in witness for him49. Thus, in this martyrdom ac-
count the child-martyr Talya' functions as a representative both of Adam and
of Christ, the Son of God.
In the second half of the martyrdom account, the parallel between
Talya' and Christ emerges with increasing clarity. The governor had had
Talya' sawn into three pieces and had his dead body thrown out of the city.
Yet when two fishermen found the boy, in a scene reminiscent of the not-so-
uncommon finding of abandoned, neglected, and at times mistreated chil-
dren in the ancient world50, Talya' was perfectly restored to life. Like Christ,
he was killed and raised to new life. In contrast to Talya', who not only was
a young child, but who had regained complete possession of the fullness of
life, when the governor heard of Talya"s resurrection, he became blind, a
circumstance which either ought to be read as a sign of his continued resis-
tance to seeing the truth, or possibly to be interpreted as a manifestation of
47) MS BM 12.174 fol. 429v, col. A.
48) MS BM 12.174 fol. 429v, col. B.
49) Two striking examples of literary representations of early Christian martyrs as imi-
tators of Christ's death are Polycarp and Blandina. The author of IhsMartyrdom ofPolycarp,
for example, has Polycarp pray that he make take «part ... in the cup of thy Christ»
{Martyrdom of Polycarp 14.2 [ed. camelot, Ignace d'Antioche, Polycarpe de Smyrne, Let-
tres; Martyre de Polycarpe, 262,1. 7; tr. richardson, Early Christian Fathers, 154), an al-
lusion to the scene described in Matthew 26:39 and 26:42, Mark 14:36, and Luke 22:42.
Eusebius of Caesarea, Church History V.41 (ed. Eduard Schwartz, Theodor Mommsen,
and Friedhelm Winkelmann, Eusebius Werke. Band 2.1. Die Kirchengeschichte, GCS n.s.
6.1 [Akademie Verlag, Berlin, 1999], 418) describes Blandina's death as a reenactment of
Christ's crucifixion.
50) John boswell, The Kindness of Strangers: the Abandonment of Children in Western
Europe from Late Antiquity to the Renaissance (Pantheon Books, New York, cl988) is likely
the best known study on the subject. Yet see more recently also Timothy S.Miller, The Or-
phans of Byzantium: Child Welfare in the Christian Empire (The Catholic University of
America Press, Washington, D.C., c2003), whose book significantly contributes and furthers
the study of the subject matter through his consideration of evidence from the Christian East.
322
cornelia b. horn
his decline in physical health and a process of aging. Doctors were brought
in from Tarsus and Antioch, but their use of medicines taken from dead bo-
dies, remained ineffective. Thus the governor realized that he depended on
the child, Talya', i.e., on «born again» or spiritually created and given life,
for healing. As Talya" s prayers indeed worked healing for him, the governor
to his surprise lost his ability to speak, and thus, in a quite literal sense of the
word, became an infans. Once more, the author seems to call into question
whether preconceived categories of who was the child and who was the res-
ponsible adult were still applicable in such a setting.
The parallel between Talya' and Christ is highlighted even further,
when the two fishermen sang God's praises because he had manifested his
salvation in the young boy. Talya' was cited to appear before the governor at
the ninth hour, the hour of Christ's death51, for his final punishment. In con-
trast to the governor, as whose father Satan is mentioned in the text52, Talya'
is presented as the one who, like Christ at the moment of his death, trusted in
God's love in the very midst of the tortures. Talya' explicitly referred to two
types of suffering: the endurance of the piercing of his side and the fact that
his body was being stretched out on the wood53. These same kinds of tortu-
res Talya' wished to share with Christ54. Talya' found his end, having stakes
fastened to his body, six on either side, and thus having his body torn apart55.
Although he was not technically nailed to a cross, his sides were poked
through and his body burst being stretched apart by the stakes. Similar to
Christ, who «breathed his last»56, at his death Talya' ((surrendered his
spirit»57. Like a good martyr, «he received the crown of victory))58. As a
child, he not only became the ((heir of paradise))59, but also was acknow-
51) See Matthew 27:46-50; Mark 15:34-37; and Luke 23:44-46.
52) MS BM 12.174, fol. 426v, col. B; and fol. 429r, col. A. See also John 8:44.
53) MS BM 12.174, fol. 429r, col. A.
54) MS BM 12.174, fol. 429r, col. A.
55) MS BM 12.174, fol. 429v, col. A.
56) See Mark 15:37 and Luke 23:46.
57) MS BM 12.174, fol. 429v, col. A.
58) MS BM 12.174, fol. 430r, col. A. The motif of being crowned is frequent in mar-
tyrdom literature. For references and discussion, see also Cornelia Horn,'Weaving the Pil-
grim's Crown: Rufus's Views of Peter's Journeys in Late Antique Palestine,' in Symposium
Syriacum VIII: The University of Sydney, Department of Semitic Studies, 26 June-1 July,
2000, ed. by Rifaat Ebied and Herman Teule, with the collaboration of Peter Hill and Jo-
seph Verheyden, The Journal of Eastern Christian Studies 56.1-4 (2004), 171-190. See fur-
ther bibliography indicated therein.
59) MS BM 12.174, fol. 429v, col. A.
children and violence in syriac sources
323
ledged as «a fragrant blossom» and without concerns and troubles now
«dances in the kingdom of heaven»61.
The redactor who added a few of his own comments to Hakkema's ac-
count rephrased Mark 10:15 (see also Luke 18:17), «unless you become like
little children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven»62. He expressed his
hope that Talya"s devotees could «inherit the portion that is with the holy
ones and with the holy one my Lord the Child (i.e., Talya')»63.
A Few Comments on Obvious Parallels between the Martyrdom of
Mar Talya' of Cyrrhus and the Martyrdom of Cyriacus and Julitta
The cult of Mar Cyriacus appears to have been significantly more wide-
spread among speakers of Syriac than that of Mar Talya'of Cyrrhus. Nu-
merous churches are dedicated to the memory of Mar Cyriacus, whereas the
celebration of Mar Talya" s commemoration appears to have been restricted
to the martyrion erected by Hakkema in Romania. Both cults though re-
member a child-martyr, who died during his third year of life. Both children
are said to have died by suffering extreme tortures. In both martyrdom ac-
counts, the tortures the children suffered included the acts of cutting into
pieces the child's body and burning the child in a furnace. Both children
died from their tortures and were resurrected, only to die again in the end to
complete their martyrdom. And last not least, in both accounts the gover-
nor's name was Alexander64.
Compared to the Martyrdom of Mar Talya' of Cyrrhus, the account of
the martyrdom of Cyriacus and Julitta in Syriac, as accessible in Bedjan's
edition, leaves the reader with the strong impression that the text is a patch-
work of an only partially coherent, and in the end insufficiently redacted
text. That in itself invites the assumption that the more coherent text, i.e., the
Martyrdom of Mar Talya1 of Cyrrhus, very well could have been one of the
sources for it. The cult of Cyriacus in the Greek tradition is traceable back at
least to the sixth century65. Bedjan based his edition of the Syriac text of the
60) MS BM 12.174, fol. 429v, col. A.
61) MS BM 12.174, fol. 429v, col. B.
62) At MS BM 12,174,.fol. 429v, col. B, the text speaks of a voice that invites Talya' to
«come to the inheritance of the kingdom with your parents».
63) MS BM 12.174, fol. 430r, col. A.
64) AMS iii, p. 254 (Martyrdom of Cyriacus and Julitta); MS BM 12.174, fol. 426v,
col. A (Martyrdom of Mar Talya" of Cyrrhus).
65) beck, Kirche und theologische Literatur, 406.
324
cornelia b. horn
Martyrdom of Cyriacus and Julitta on Berlin MS 75 (Sachau 222), folios
234v-247r, copied in A. D. 188 1 66. The existence of several earlier Karshuni
versions of this martyrdom, however, suffices here as proof for the likeli-
hood that a Syriac text of the Martyrdom of Cyriacus and Julitta existed
earlier than 188 1 67. The earliest known manuscript of the Martyrdom of Mar
Talya' of Cyrrhus, as seen above, dates back to the sixth or seventh century.
Thus, the likelihood of influence of one Syriac account upon the other, mere-
ly based on the manuscript evidence or upon the evidence to be derived from
the practice of the martyrs' cult remains inconclusive.
Greater clarity might be gained from a detailed comparison of the texts
with one another. While this discussion cannot deliver in extenso on such a
desideratum, it can point to a few examples, which suggest the proposed re-
lationship.
The Martyrdom of Mar Talya1 of Cyrrhus early on speaks of God as
«sen[ding] his word to blessed Mary» in order to fulfill «his true promise»
made to Adam, namely that he would «send[ his] beloved son» for Adam's
redemption68. As the text continues and speaks of Talya', it clearly portrays
the child's birth as the fulfillment of an announcement made through the
words of the lamb to Talya"s parents. Thus on the level of the literary
structure of the text the promise motivates the account of the birth of a child,
actually of two children, and fits in quite well with the whole of the story.
The Martyrdom of Cyriacus and Julitta, on the other hand, does not include
information about the child before age two. No promise or annunciation of
his birth is recounted in the earlier part of the text. Nevertheless, close to the
end of the text, the little Cyriacus is described as «holy youth, born from a
promise»69. The reader is left to assume that knowledge about this promise
has to be supplied from elsewhere.
66) See also Sachau, Verzeichniss der SyrischenHandschriften, vol. 1,289-191, sect.
18 (p. 290) and p. 291 (date of MS).
67) See Berlin MS 110 (Sachau 7), completed in A.D. 1699 (see Sachau, Verzeichniss
der Syrischen Handschriften, vol. 1, 376-388, reference to martyrdom account on p. 380, date
on p. 387); Berlin MS 112 (Sachau 109), completed in A.D. 1730 (see Sachau, Verzeichniss
der Syrischen Handschriften, vol. 1, 393-401, reference to martyrdom account on p. 397, date
on p.'400); and Berlin MS 326 (Ms. Orient, fol. 1408), completed in A.D. A.D. 1715 (see
sachau, Verzeichniss der Syrischen Handschriften, vol. 2, 897-898, reference to martyrdom
account on p. 897, date on p. 898).
68) MS BM 12.174, fol. 426r, col. B.
69) Martyrdom of Cyriacus and Julitta (ed. bedjan, Acta martyrum et sanctorum Sy-
riace, vol. 3, p. 282).
CHILDREN AND VIOLENCE IN SYR1AC SOURCES
325
While the symbolism attached to the number three, clearly a reference
to the Trinity, plays a noticeable role in both stories, the Martyrdom of Mar
Talya' of Cyrrhus makes the coherent statement that Talya" s body was «cut
asunder and torn into three pieces»70. As cruel and destructive as such an act
may be, the narrative account of it makes very good sense. In the account of
the martyrdom of Cyriacus and Julitta, on the other hand, at one instance the
governor commands that torture devices be brought in. The preceding con-
text does not contain any specific references to any parts of Cyriacus's body.
Nevertheless, the text states that the torturers brought the devices «close to
[the martyrs'] bodies to crush the three parts»71. Although one might venture
to suggest that perhaps at this point in the story the author revealed his an-
thropological view of the human person being composed of body, mind, and
soul, without this or similar constructions the text does not make much sense
in the way it stands on the page. To consider whether perhaps a detail from a
story as recounted in the Martyrdom of Mar Talya1 of Cyrrhus might have
been on the author's or on the redactor's mind, which may have slipped into
the text without being properly merged into the whole of the narrative is not
the only, but at least a possible explanation. The two examples provided here
could be amplified. While one probably will not be able to prove the imme-
diate dependence of Cyriacus's martyrdom account in Syriac garb on that of
the account of the death of Mar Talya' of Cyrrhus, the evidence still seems to
point to a relatively great likelihood for the case.
Conclusions
The comparative study of the Martyrdom of Mar Talya' of Cyrrhus in
tandem with the Martyrdom of Cyriacus and Julitta would benefit next from
a detailed analysis of the portrayal of the child-martyr in the latter of the two
texts. In some instances, the evidence suggests that the author or redactor
portrayed the governor as more keenly aware of the problem he faced, if he
was to be overcome by the resistance of a mere child. The analysis of the
contrast between the two texts with regard to their approach to the topic of
children's martyrdom seems necessary in order to evaluate further what le-
vel of dependence or interrelation might exist between the two texts.
If one were to expand the inquiry into the possibility of a literary con-
nection between both works further, perhaps one should also consider
70) ms BM 12.174, fol. 427v, col. B.
71) Martyrdom of Cyriacus and Julitta (ed. BEDJAN, Acta martyrum et sanctorum Sy-
riace, vol. 3, p. 267).
326
cornelia b. horn
whether authors writing in the Syriac language may at times have availed
themselves of a relatively fixed and perhaps even characteristic set of themes
when they treated the topic of children's martyrdom. That there are mar-
tyrdom accounts of children, like that of Abd Al-Masih72, that do not follow
a model that might be discernible in the two texts discussed here does not
invalidate the argument. Perhaps it would be going too far to postulate the
existence of a sub-genre within Syriac martyrdom accounts of children on
the basis of two texts that functioned as that sub-genre's only representa-
tives73, given that the possibility exists that one text may simply have been
composed under the influence of the other. Yet it seems to be a hypothesis
worth considering further. The here established parallels between the Mar-
tyrdom of Mar Talyd' of Cyrrhus and the martyrdom account of Mar Cyria-
cus, as well as the texts and their topic as such, certainly deserve the atten-
tion of scholars of Syriac literature.
Saint Louis University Cornelia horn
Department of Theological Studies
Humanities Bldg. # 124
3800 Lindell Boulevard
Saint Louis, MO 63108-3414 - U.S.A.
E-mail: cbhorn68@hotmail.com
horncb@slu.edu
72) See Josephus Coruly, «Acta Sancti Abdu'l Masich: Aramaice et Latine», in
Analecta Bollandiana 5 (1886) 5-52.
73) The case Sidney H. Griffith, «The Monk in the Emir's Majlis: Reflections on a
Popular Genre of Christian Literary Apologetics in Arabic in the Early Islamic Period», in
The Majlis: Interreligious Encounters in Medieval Islam, ed. by Hava Lazarus-Yafeh, Mark
R. COHEN, Sasson SOMEKH, and Sidney H. griffith, in Studies in Arabic Language and Li-
terature 4 (Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden, 1999) 13-65, made could be taken as a well developed
model for the kind of hypothesis that would have to be proven here.