Martyrdom

Abstract: The concept of martyrdom refers to both a death endured in supposedly conscious acceptance of that fate or even out of a desire for that end and to the concomitant suffering by a person to attest a superior ideal or belief system. The activation of discourses on martyrdom hence primarily suggests a defeat. At the same time, however, such discourses constitute a powerful assertion of a position of strength and moral superiority. Constructing a martyr is therefore quintessentially the reinterpretation of a loser as a victor and hero. For the individual seeking martyrdom, death constitutes a (seemingly unavoidable) means of finding final refuge and of self-defence. The community that remembers someone as a martyr therefore explains their death as the unjust suffering of an innocent person. On the one hand, invoking discourses on martyrdom reveals that those who make use of them perceive themselves as being in a position of weakness or vulnerability. On the other hand, death for a higher cause is a strong and unifying rallying cry for the bereaved. Hence the concept of martyrdom combines references to both strength and weakness and is rife with ambiguities

Object Details

• Location: Deutsche Nationalbibliothek Frankfurt am Main
• Extent: Online-Ressource
• Edition: Version 1.0, published 7 September 2022
• Language: Englisch

Classification and Topics

• Keyword: Christentum ; Jenseits ; Islam ; Judentum ; Leid ; Martyrium ; Märtyrer ; Martyrologie ; Sterben ; Opfer ; Tod ; Verehrung

Contributors, Places and Time

• Event: Veröffentlichung
• (where): Freiburg
• (who): Universität
• (when): 2022
• Creator: Gölz, Olmo
• Contributor: Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg. Sonderforschungsbereich 948 "Helden - Heroisierungen - Heroismen"

Further information

• DOI: 10.6094/heroicum/me1.0.20220907
• URN: urn:nbn:de:bsz:25-freidok-2295719
• Rights: Open Access; Der Zugriff auf das Objekt ist unbeschränkt möglich.
• Last update: 25.03.2025, 1:44 PM CET