Fools, Martyrs, Traitors: The Story of Martyrdom in the Western World

by Lacey Baldwin Smith

Lacey Baldwin Smith takes us on a riveting journey through history as he examines one of the most baffling characteristics of the human the willingness to die to sanctify a deity, defend a cause, or simply to prove a point. By delving into the psyches, politics, and personalities of martyrs like Thomas Becket, John Brown, and Gandhi, he illuminates the complex and elusive subject of martyrdom as it has evolved over 2,500 years.

Genres: History, Religion, Nonfiction

429 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1997

About the author

Lacey Baldwin Smith was an historian and author specializing in 16th century England. He was the author of Henry VIII: The Mask of Royalty and Catherine Howard: A Tudor Tragedy, among other books.

Born in Princeton, New Jersey, Smith taught at Princeton University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Northwestern University. He received two Fulbright awards, two National Endowment for the Humanities fellowships, a Guggenheim Fellowship, and other awards.He was considered one of the “big name” historians, yet his writing was considered to be as entertaining as it was erudite. He lived in Vermont during his retirement, dying at Greensboro at the age of 90.

He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 1972.

Reviews

[Lauren Albert · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book has two personalities. The first few chapters have an entirely different--and not very likable in my book--tone. I have no problem with Smith's skepticism. I did have a problem with his mockery. He mocks Judaism, he mocks Christianity, he mocks particular martyrs. As an example, he writes, "But should they [Jews] forget His Law, He turned extremely nasty." But suddenly at some point, the mockery vanishes and he, while maintaining his skepticism, becomes more respectful.

The concept of the book is an interesting one--what makes a martyr? Can there be such a thing as a political martyr or is martyrdom always a matter of religious belief? How can martyrdom be distinguished from suicide? Can someone long for death and still be a martyr? Can someone not killed by a state be a martyr? What role does egotism and the desire to be remembered play in the making of a martyr? Can someone be a martyr if they sought death from vanity? In trying to answer these questions, Smith looks at a very diverse group: Socrates, the Maccabees, Jesus of Nazareth, the early Christian martyrs (Perpetua), Thomas Becket, Sir Thomas More, the Marian martyrs, Charles I, John Brown, Mahatma Gandhi, the victims of the Holocaust, Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Julius and Ethel Rosenberg.

It is interesting to think about these questions but in the end, I think, we make the dead martyrs by thinking of them as such.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

From the Early Christian martyrs & Jesus himself, Socrates, and more, this book delves into the psychology of a selected group of martyrs and explains their similarities and differences. They even touch "God's warmonger" John Brown, and Mohandas Ghandi. I liked this for the way it analyses each group and compares the differences that exist between various different species of martyr, and yes, there's more than one.

[Fraser Sherman · Rating 4 out of 5]

The premise of the book is how we define martyrdom, and how we distinguish among those willing to die for a cause—who are true martyrs, which ones are crazy fools and which are just traitors (when their beliefs require them to defy the state). The result is a mix of psychology, biography and speculation as Smith looks at founding martyr Socrates; then early religious martyrs defending their personal faith; then later religious martyrs who were more likely to defend the institutional church and its rights (Thomas Beckett, Thomas More); and then the shift in martyrs to those trying to make a political differences such as Charles I or John Brown. Very interesting.

[VMom · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had to return this before I finished it.