oooh - thank you! And congrats, this looks amazing and super-useful.

Sorry for the late reply - I got sidetracked yesterday :) And thanks so much for all the info. This is all very useful to me, as I am (also) working on a project on gender & crime.

Sorry, molten gold

That was a strange auto-correct, sorry! But I am intrigued by these stories about molten lead. I always wondered about that law and did not know the punishment turned up elsewhere

Perhaps not personally!

Not a story as such but Constantine had a law that prescribed pouring molten lead down the throat of nursemaids helping or not hindering their charges to get abducted CTh 9.24.1 - though personally you already know that

Reveal

Apparently Uta was the model.

She herself was a countess at Naumburg in the 11th century and one of the founders of this beautiful cathedral who were rather unusually commemorated in its choir.

image from here:
static.wikia.nocookie.net/dis/images/d...

Indeed! But apparently that was at first not part of the Acts. Later the two texts are often bound together though. Helena’s 9th century hagiographer knew both and was at pains to explain Helena’s “Judaizing”! But he concluded that you have to know what you hate, or something…

I am obsessed with this text because of the super strange representation of Helena. Would love to have your opinion on this some time…

But it was known in Rome at end of C5 (and to author of Liber pontificalis) and earliest Latin ms from Rome is sixth century

That is, it was the assembled into these Acts which have four parts. Each of these might be even earlier. And we also don’t know actual origin (could be Eastern, not Rome), original language (Greek? Syriac?) etc

It has been quite precisely dated by Wilhelm Pohlkamp and Tessa Canella into the mid fifth century. There are three versions, one just before, one just after Chalcedon, and one much later, perhaps 9th c. Only the last one is fully edited, in Mombritius

The key to this is that the Life starts with declaring that Constantia had been taught by Silvester…

Unfortunately the Acts of Silvester are not properly edited and this part in particular is not well known.

Anyway, not sure what to do with this knowledge but I am happy nonetheless

12 Jews turn up and Silvester debates them one by one. This story ends with a miracle (a Jew strikes dead a bull and Silvester resurrects it) but of course it ends the same with their conversion 6/

In the Acts of Silvester Helena, Constantine’s mum, writes to her son to try to dissuade him from conversion by Silvester because she prefers Judaism. He replies by letter asking her to send some Jews to the palace which she does 5/

This the aunt does and 12 girls turn up. Constantia has a public debate with each of them and in the end they all declare themselves defeated and convert 4/

In it Constantina (here called Constantia) tries to convert two noble girls. The girls‘ aunt writes to them to dissuade them. They reply by letter expressing their admiration of Constantia and ask the aunt to send also her daughters and other girls to the palace 3/

The life has recently been edited by a great team including the late and dearly missed Dennis Trout. 2/