Throughout the centuries the veneration of martyrs had been an essential element of Christian cult; there were many popular Christian martyrs, and thus the concept of martyrdom was always present in the minds of Europeans. This, however, made it possible to use the word “martyrdom” not only in the literal sense (i.e., for the torture and execution of real or imagined persons), but also in the metaphorical sense. If, for example, truth could be allegorically represented as a young woman, the suppression of truth could logically be represented as an imprisoned or restrained woman.
Here we show some cases of allegorical martyrdom.