No cross, no crown: The semiotics of suffering in early medieval female hagiography

This dissertation explores representations of holiness and suffering in female saints' vitae of early medieval Christianity. It is primarily about how representations of suffering and abuse are used to celebrate, and perhaps even substantiate, extraordinary piety in women of the early Christian era. To this end, a fundamental goal of this project is to explicate my term, "semiotics of suffering," by tracing the representation of suffering in selected texts. In these examples, the saints' physical suffering is offered as "proof" of their holiness and dignity. At the core of my investigation are the questions of why, in narratives of the late classical and early medieval periods, Christian women are so often depicted as experiencing great physical pain and/or abuse; and what the effects and functions are of such narratives.; For women in particular, I argue, bodily suffering is presented as a means of proselytization---of "winning" the conversion of a husband or son by sacrificing her body and well-being for the sake of remaining true to her Christian identity. Therefore, physical suffering is also presented as a means of "authenticating," or "verifying" the faith of a medieval Christian female. The ability not merely to endure, but also fearlessly and willingly to suffer physical abuse is offered as reliable evidence of a woman's piety.