The Martyrs of Córdoba: Debates around a curious case of medieval martyrdom

Abstract

Historians have long been fascinated by the almost 50 Christians who were sentenced to death by the Islamic authorities in mid-ninth century Córdoba, in most cases for wilfully and publicly blaspheming against the Prophet. Since the single manuscript account describing the lives and actions of the so-called martyrs of Córdoba was ‘rediscovered’ in the 16th century, interest in this seemingly singular movement has grown, as the Cordoban martyrs became symbols for everything from an undying Spanish, Christian identity under a brutal Islamic occupation to fanatical extremism in a tolerant Muslim society. Research in the last decades—particularly after the literary, spatial and material turns—has nevertheless complicated our understanding of the martyr movement, looking beyond the motivations of the actors to the social and religious context in which they were operating, as well as the cultural and literary currents that shaped the martyrdom accounts. This article traces the historiographical record that has sought to make sense of the Cordoban martyrs, leading us to question the very definition of ‘martyr’, how and why such individuals are formed.