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The expression '''Acta Martyrum''' generally applies to all narrative texts about the deaths of the martyrs, but it possesses a more precise and restricted meaning when referring, in technical terms, to the official records of the processes and convictions. These official records were [[shorthand]]s and were transcribed by the officials of the court chancery (''notarius exceptor'') to be preserved in its archives. Due to this relationship with the court of the [[proconsul]], they were also called "proconsulares" (''Acta proconsularia''). Once the distinction is made, the name of the act is reserved for the verbal processes (such as Acta Martyrum Scyllitanorum), while for references relating to the martyrs, the name of passio is applied in all of its diverse forms (gesta, martyrium, legenda). Such a distinction is also justified by the different purpose and nature of both types of documents: the records are destitute of all [[Hagiography|hagiographic]] character, while the passions are characterized by their purpose and edifying religious sense. However, the group of records included some texts containing narrative parts alien to the verbal process, but of equal historical and documentary value (''Acta-Passio SS. Perpetuae et Felicitatis'', for example).
The preserved records are limited to about a dozen fragments, so most of the narrative texts about the martyrs are the Passions. The scarcity of official records and direct documentation has been controversial. The old Christian communities had a great interest in maintaining the memory of their martyrs, as proven by the news referenced in the story of the martyrdom of [[Polycarp]] (m. 156),<ref name=Quaten2004>«...probably the 22 of 156..». (Quasten 2004:86).{{Ref|Quasten2004|Quasten2004|1}}</ref> whose memory was venerated annually in [[İzmir]].{{Ref|Note3|note3}} [[St. Cyprian of Carthage|Cyprian]] used to recommend his clerics take detailed notes of the deaths of the martyrs.{{Ref|Note4|note4}} These valuable testimonies were also the oldest news about the cult of the martyrs. According to what is known to date, there is no precise idea of the extent to which Christians transcribed the records of the processes; it is undoubtedly very likely that some of those who witnessed the development of stenography in their text, in the same manner as the ''notarius'' of the court, gave it to the community for preservation in the archives of the [[Christian Church|church]]. This hypothesis seems to be confirmed by the details and notes of the judge or
Anyhow, the shortage of this type of documentation can be explained in part by the destruction, ordered by [[Diocletian]] in the year 303, of the sacred books that existed in the churches, and that would have affected the records equally. There are no traces suggesting that the churches got involved in restoring the heritage of the destroyed hagiographic texts after the persecution ended. The events of later centuries, such as the western [[Germanic Wars|Germanic invasions]] in the fifth (V) and sixth (VI) century, may have consummated the irreparable loss of the writings still preserved.
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== External links ==
* Owen, E.C.E. (ed) (1927). [http://early.xpian.info/eng/someauthenticactsoftheearlymartyrs.html ''Some Authentic Acts of the Early Martyrs'']. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
;Attribution
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