Natalie Reynoso

Fordham University

Syriac Female Virgin Martyrdom Narratives as Sources for the Bnāt Qyāmā, Daughters of the Covenant

Late antique Syriac Christian sources that attest to the bnay and bnāt qyāmā, sons and daughters of the covenant, reveal that while this was an ascetic option available to men and women alike, there were distinctions between the sons and daughters of the covenant. However, female virgin martyrdom narratives within the Syriac Christian tradition have not figured very prominently in scholarly discussions on covenanters in large part because mention of the bnāt qyāmā is limited in such texts. This paper will offer a brief review of our sources for the so-called covenanters. It will then 
argue that while these female virgin martyrdom narratives do not offer a description of the covenanters’ responsibilities nor do they focus on articulating, in any systematic way, the theological significance of virginal practice, they do in fact do just this by offering an example of what it looks like to uphold the covenant of virginity unto death. Notably, what hagiographers achieve in female martyrdom narratives in the Syriac Christian tradition is a depiction of the fulfillment of the covenant and the reward that comes as a result.