The martyrdom of saints Perpetua and Felicita tells the last days of a group of Christian martyrs in the African Roman city of Carthage. The historical tale focuses mostly on its namesake Perpetua, a young mother, and a bit on Felicita, an expectant mother. The text testifies to the strength of their beliefs before their inevitable death. Through the experiences of Perpetua and Felicitas; information can be gleaned about the first Christian women and mothers, the influence of the Montanists, martyrdom, and the location of the visions within the third-century church of Carthage. The martyrdom of Perpetua and Felicita took place in 203 AD, on 7 March. They were martyrs during the military games of Carthage, which were held for the birthday of Emperor Geta. Carthage is located in North Africa, across the Mediterranean Sea from Sicily. In the third century, Carthage was a Roman city that had a large Christian population that included Montanists and Catholics. During this period in the North African province of the Roman Empire, Montanism was becoming more evident. Montanism was founded by Montanus, although at the time of the martyrdom of Perpetua and Felicita the term Montanism was not yet in use. During the third century, Montanus' followers were called Cataphrygians and considered themselves prophets and prophetesses. Montanism was a sect of Christianity that claimed to receive prophecies, which they believed were as important as the words of Jesus. They freely welcomed martyrdom to the point of wanting it. Perpetua was a young catechumen when she and four others were arrested following an edict issued by Septimius Severus which prohibited the conversion of Christians. She was a newly married 22 year old with a small child when she...... middle of the paper ...... the author's involvement in the text, the author uses words and phrases such as "glorious story.. ., day of victory", "valiant and blessed martyrs" to underline the great grandeur of the events in the text. To counteract the almost joyful undertones, Perpetua's father seems to introduce an unbelieving vision of the martyrs' willingness to die for their God as. a situation of pain and sadness rather than joy. One of the central events of the text is a chain of visions that Perpetua and some of the others receive. Many of Perpetua's visions had some familiar elements, such as familiar faces, such as the vision about her brother. In Perpetua's last visions and throughout her persecution the author portrays Perpetua as a warrior. In the text the visions seem to be a welcome element in the Christian society of Carthage. Visions also seem to be a source of answers and comfort for the martyrs.