{"slug":"thecl","id":"georgian:titus:thecl","title":"Martyrium Theclae","author":"Anonymous","genre":"apocryphon","date":"","tradition":"georgian","coverage":"not-located","coverage_claim":{"status":"not-located","text":"No English translation was located by an automated check of the source corpus and one library catalogue. That is not evidence that none exists: the check matches English title words, so works catalogued under a Latin or original-language title are missed."},"publication":{"status":"machine-draft","reviewed_by":null,"model":"deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash:floor","provider":"Relace","generated":"2026-11-15T00:59:39Z","cost_usd":0.000864},"source":{"registry_id":"georgian:titus:thecl","work_id":"thecl","edition":"titus","language":"","license":"This text is part of the TITUS edition of Martyrium Theclae. Copyright TITUS Project, Frankfurt a/M, 27.5.2015. No parts of this document may be republished in any form without prior permission by the copyright holder.","url":"https://titus.uni-frankfurt.de/texte/etca/cauc/ageo/ntapokr/thecla/thecl.htm"},"stats":{"passages":1,"english_words":121,"coptic_letters":0,"commentary_units":5,"commentary_kinds":5,"derived_notes":0,"ambiguities":2,"work_notes":4,"external_links":0,"timeline":3},"summary":{"work":"thecl","abstract":"The Martyrium Theclae is an anonymous apocryphon recounting the martyrdom of Thecla, a companion of Paul. The Old Georgian version survives in a single fragmentary manuscript dated paleographically to the 10th–11th centuries, with lacunae obscuring the full narrative. The Greek original likely dates to the 2nd–3rd century. The Georgian translation probably served liturgical reading, reflecting the adaptation of apocryphal Acts into local hagiographic tradition. The text opens with Paul's arrival in Iconium and introduces antagonists Demas and Hermogenes, figures otherwise unknown. The title 'camebay' (martyrdom) is standard for Georgian hagiography.","historical_context":"The Georgian version of the Martyrium Theclae is preserved in a single manuscript dated by paleography to the 10th–11th centuries, with no external witness fixing its composition earlier. The Greek original is generally assigned to the 2nd–3rd century, part of the broader apocryphal Acts of Paul and Thecla tradition. Thecla's cult was widespread in the East, and the Georgian translation likely served liturgical reading within a monastic or ecclesiastical community. No evidence places it in the canonical lists of the Georgian Church. The text's fragmentary state and lack of critical apparatus in the Titus edition hinder assessment of scribal errors or relationships to other witnesses. The Georgian term 'camebay' (martyrdom) is standard for hagiographic accounts, indicating the work's integration into local hagiographic corpora.","significance":"The Martyrium Theclae illustrates the transmission and adaptation of early Christian apocryphal Acts into regional hagiographic traditions, particularly in the Georgian Church. It attests to the cult of Thecla in the East and the liturgical use of such narratives. The text's fragmentary survival and uncertain dating highlight challenges in studying apocryphal literature and its vernacular translations.","timeline":[{"date":"2nd–3rd c.","event":"Composition of the Greek original of the Martyrium Theclae (conjectural)."},{"date":"10th–11th c.","event":"Earliest extant manuscript of the Old Georgian translation (paleographic dating)."},{"date":"20th c.","event":"Publication of the Georgian text in the Titus edition."}],"relations":[{"work":"Acts of Paul and Thecla","relation":"Part of the same apocryphal cycle; Thecla is a central figure.","key":"ed:thecl","label":"source edition: Martyrium Theclae","url":"https://titus.uni-frankfurt.de/texte/etca/cauc/ageo/ntapokr/thecla/thecl.htm"},{"work":"Acts of Paul","relation":"Thecla appears in the broader Acts of Paul tradition.","key":"ed:thecl","label":"source edition: Martyrium Theclae","url":"https://titus.uni-frankfurt.de/texte/etca/cauc/ageo/ntapokr/thecla/thecl.htm"},{"work":"Georgian hagiographic corpus","relation":"The translation was adapted for liturgical reading in Georgian tradition.","key":"","label":null,"url":null}],"external_links":[],"cautions":["The date of the Greek original is uncertain; 2nd–3rd century is a scholarly estimate.","The Georgian manuscript is fragmentary with lacunae; the full narrative arc is obscured.","The Titus edition provides no critical apparatus or variant readings; scribal errors cannot be assessed.","Demas and Hermogenes are otherwise unknown; their names may be symbolic or derived from other traditions."],"model":"deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash:floor","provider":"Relace","cost_usd":0.00037,"generated":"2026-11-15T00:18:55Z"},"checks":{"work":"thecl","status":"pass","blocking":[],"warnings":[],"stats":{"passages":1,"translated":1,"commentary_passages":1,"commentary_units":5,"english_words":121,"source_letters":575,"commentary_kinds":5},"model":"deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash:floor"},"work_notes":[{"unit":"transmission","kind":"transmission","basis":"text","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"The Old Georgian text survives in a single manuscript (Titus edition base). Its preservation is fragmentary, with lacunae that obscure the full narrative arc.","cites":[{"key":"ed:thecl","label":"source edition: Martyrium Theclae","url":"https://titus.uni-frankfurt.de/texte/etca/cauc/ageo/ntapokr/thecla/thecl.htm"}],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"dating","kind":"chronology","basis":"external","lemma":"","severity":"caution","text":"The Georgian version is dated only by paleography to the 10th–11th centuries. No external witness fixes its composition earlier; the Greek original is 2nd–3rd century.","cites":[{"key":"ed:thecl","label":"source edition: Martyrium Theclae","url":"https://titus.uni-frankfurt.de/texte/etca/cauc/ageo/ntapokr/thecla/thecl.htm"}],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"background","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"Thecla’s cult was widespread in the East; the Georgian translation likely served liturgical reading. No evidence places it in the canonical lists of the Georgian Church.","cites":[{"key":"ed:thecl","label":"source edition: Martyrium Theclae","url":"https://titus.uni-frankfurt.de/texte/etca/cauc/ageo/ntapokr/thecla/thecl.htm"}],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"sense","kind":"sense","basis":"text","lemma":"","severity":"caution","text":"The Titus edition provides no critical apparatus or variant readings. The user cannot assess scribal errors or the relationship to other Georgian or Greek witnesses.","cites":[{"key":"ed:thecl","label":"source edition: Martyrium Theclae","url":"https://titus.uni-frankfurt.de/texte/etca/cauc/ageo/ntapokr/thecla/thecl.htm"}],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"derived_work_notes":[{"kind":"coverage","severity":"info","text":"No English translation was located by an automated check of the source corpus and one library catalogue. That is not evidence that none exists: the check matches English title words, so works catalogued under a Latin or original-language title are missed."},{"kind":"limit","severity":"caution","text":"The English is a machine draft produced passage by passage from the transcribed Coptic; no human has verified it. The commentary is model-written and cites only keys the pipeline could resolve."},{"kind":"register","severity":"info","text":"Register: apocryphon in Old Georgian; the English keeps the liturgical formulae and the vocatives rather than normalising them."},{"kind":"structure","severity":"info","text":"Passages: 1 narrative."},{"kind":"source","severity":"info","text":"Source edition: titus — This text is part of the TITUS edition of Martyrium Theclae. Copyright TITUS Project, Frankfurt a/M, 27.5.2015. No parts of this document may be republished in any form without prior permission by the copyright holder."}],"derived_structure":{"narrative":1},"term_index":[],"citations":{"ed:thecl":{"label":"source edition: Martyrium Theclae","url":"https://titus.uni-frankfurt.de/texte/etca/cauc/ageo/ntapokr/thecla/thecl.htm"}},"segments":[{"i":1,"ref":"p1","source":"წამებაჲ წმიდისა თეკლაჲსი: კ̃ნ:\n\nმი-რაჲ-ვიდოდა პავლე იკონია ქალაქსა შემდგომად დევნულებისა მისისა, თანამოგზაურად შეუდგეს დემა და ერმოგინე, პილენძის-მოქმედნი და მჭედელნი, რომელნი სავსე იყვნეს სიღრმითა მანკიერებისაჲთა; მდიდრად იტყოდეს და შესცხრებოდეს პავლეს ვითარცა საყუარელსა თჳსსა. ხოლო პავლე ხედვიდა მადლთა მათ წყალობისა ქრისტჱსთა და ზაკულებით არა ეტყოდა მათდა მიმართ, არამედ ჰყუარობდა მათ სწორად. და ეგოდენ ჰყოფდა სიყუარულსა (მათდა მიმართ), ვითარმედ ყოველთა (მათ სიტყუათა) უფლისათა მოძღურებითა გამოუთარგმანებდა, (სიტყუათა და) შობათა მათ და გამოცხადებათა საყუარელისა მისისათა მიუთხრობდა მათ. და განუსუენებდა მათ სიმდიდრითა ქრისტჱსითა, მოასწავებდა მათ სიტყუათა, ვითარ-იგი განეცხადა მას.","english":"The Martyrdom of Saint Thecla: 20.\n\nWhen Paul came to the city of Iconium after his persecution, Demas and Hermogenes, coppersmiths and smiths, who were full of the depth of wickedness, accompanied him as fellow travellers; they spoke flatteringly and bowed down to Paul as to their beloved. But Paul, seeing the graces of Christ’s mercy, did not speak to them with guile, but loved them as equals. And he showed so much love (toward them) that he interpreted for them all (their words) by the Lord’s teaching, and recounted to them the (words and) births and revelations of his beloved. And he delighted them with the riches of Christ, and taught them the words, how it was revealed to him.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"text","lemma":"წამებაჲ","severity":"info","text":"The Georgian term 'camebay' means 'martyrdom' and is the standard title for hagiographic accounts in the Georgian tradition.","cites":[{"key":"ed:thecl","label":"source edition: Martyrium Theclae","url":"https://titus.uni-frankfurt.de/texte/etca/cauc/ageo/ntapokr/thecla/thecl.htm"}],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"Demas and Hermogenes","severity":"info","text":"Demas and Hermogenes are otherwise unknown figures; their names may be symbolic or derived from apocryphal traditions about Paul's companions.","cites":[{"key":"ed:thecl","label":"source edition: Martyrium Theclae","url":"https://titus.uni-frankfurt.de/texte/etca/cauc/ageo/ntapokr/thecla/thecl.htm"}],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"narrative opening","severity":"info","text":"The passage opens with a narrative formula typical of Georgian hagiography, establishing Paul's arrival in Iconium and introducing antagonists.","cites":[{"key":"ed:thecl","label":"source edition: Martyrium Theclae","url":"https://titus.uni-frankfurt.de/texte/etca/cauc/ageo/ntapokr/thecla/thecl.htm"}],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"text","lemma":"Georgian tradition","severity":"info","text":"This Georgian version of Thecla's martyrdom reflects the adaptation of apocryphal Acts into the local hagiographic corpus, likely for liturgical use.","cites":[{"key":"ed:thecl","label":"source edition: Martyrium Theclae","url":"https://titus.uni-frankfurt.de/texte/etca/cauc/ageo/ntapokr/thecla/thecl.htm"}],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"caution","kind":"caution","basis":"text","lemma":"births and revelations","severity":"caution","text":"The phrase 'births and revelations' is ambiguous; it may refer to Christ's nativity and epiphanies or to Paul's visionary experiences.","cites":[{"key":"ed:thecl","label":"source edition: Martyrium Theclae","url":"https://titus.uni-frankfurt.de/texte/etca/cauc/ageo/ntapokr/thecla/thecl.htm"}],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The identity of 'his beloved' (Paul's beloved) is unclear; it may refer to Christ or to a specific disciple.","The phrase 'depth of wickedness' is a conventional moral descriptor, not a specific doctrinal reference."],"confidence":"medium","notes":[]}]}