Martyr passion narratives followed stock miracle formulas including the indestructible relic

Evidence

The king then warns Pelagius that he is blaspheming against “our idols,” and that the punishment for such blasphemy is death by decapitation. Urging the boy to be respectful and cooperative, he bends down again to kiss his neck. Pelagius hits him in the face; blood stains the king’s beard. Furious, the king has his men hurl the boy over the city wall to the banks of the river below; miraculously, the boy falls gently and is unharmed. The king’s men then find that they are unable to harm the boy’s body with their weapons. Finally, Christ allows his head to be cut off, so that the angels may bring the new martyr to heaven. These miracles are the standard fare of the passiones, as is the final miracle that follows the boy’s death: the king orders that the boy’s body be burned, but Pelagius’s severed head announces that God will not allow the flames to hurt it. — John V. Tolan, Saracens, 597

Categorization

• CANDY: A martyr’s severed head speaks to announce its own fire-immortality — vivid, easily retold detail.
• FICTION: The stock miracle kits (fall unharmed, weapons bounce off, severed head prophesies) are a ready template for fantasy/saints’-relic worldbuilding.