[1] The cognomen Procula (in Latin) or Prokla (in Greek) for Pilate's wife first appears in the Gospel of Nicodemus (5th c.)[2] and the chronicle of John Malalas (6th c.).

[a] Roland Kany argues that the earliest extant reference to her as Claudia Procula is the Pseudo-Dexter Chronicle, a forgery first published in 1619.

(Matthew 27:19, American Standard Version)However, according to scholars Demandt, Helen Bond, and Jean-Pierre Lémonon, this mention is legendary rather than historical.

[17] Raymond E. Brown suggested that the episode has been modeled according to a common trope, found in the works of the Jewish historian Josephus, in which a noble pagan woman is favorable towards Judaism.

[12] Primarily on the basis of the grave goods found with the sarcophagus, but also taking into account the archaic features noted by Mouterde, Jill Carington Smith redated the find to the last three quarters of the first century CE.

[23] She concludes: "If this date [last three quarters of the first century] is accepted, the possibility that this was in fact Pilate's wife, though unlikely, cannot be entirely excluded.

[26] In the Western Church, Pilate's wife was never canonized and her dream was often interpreted as coming from the devil, who wished to prevent salvation.

This interpretation can be found in figures such as medieval theologians Rabanus Maurus, Bede, and Bernard of Clairvaux, as well as Protestant reformer Martin Luther.

[28] The most important text to feature Procla is the Gospel of Nicodemus, also called The Acts of Pilate, which expands on her mention in Matthew 27:19.

[30] In some versions of the text, both Pilate and Procula are depicted as present at the crucifixion, and so saddened by Jesus's death that they cannot eat or drink.

[29] The Paradosis Pilati (5th c.),[31] a Greek text which is sometimes attached to the Gospel of Nicodemus, has extremely high regard for Pilate and Procula, writing them as martyrs.

[34] The Evangelium Gamalielis, possibly of medieval origin and preserved in Arabic, Coptic, and Ge'ez (Ethiopic),[35] Pilate is crucified for being a Christian and Procla weeps at the foot of his cross; however, he is miraculously rescued and the two are baptized by a light from heaven.

[36] The Martyrium Pilati, possibly of medieval origin and preserved in Arabic, Coptic, and Ge'ez,[35] opens with a portrayal of the now Christian Procula's charital actions.

[41] This book enjoys "a quasi-canonical status" among Ethiopian Christians to this day and continues to be read beside the canonical gospels during Holy Week.

[42] The early ninth century Old Saxon poem Heliand, a rhyming harmonization of the gospels, portrays the dream of Pilate's wife as coming from Satan, who fears that if Christ is crucified Hell will become empty of sinners.

[3] This portrayal followed a common interpretation of the dream in Western Christianity, which can be found in the works of Hrabanus Maurus (c. 780–856), Bernard of Clairvaux (1290–1153), and others.

She wakes and sends a message to Pilate, but Annas and Caiaphas succeed in convincing him that her dream was inspired by Jesus' witchcraft.

[3] The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ According to the Meditations of Anne Catherine Emmerich (1833), supposedly a transcription of visions experienced by the German nun Anne Catherine Emmerich but in fact composed by German romantic poet Clemens Brentano,[51] greatly increased popular awareness of Pilate's wife (called Claudia Procles) in the West.

[53] Most significantly, Emmerich sees Claudia Procles send the Virgin Mary pieces of linen in order to wipe up the blood from the flagellation of Christ.

[61] Hope Lange played Pontius Pilate's wife in the 1980 made-for-television film The Day Christ Died.

[64] Pilate's wife is featured in the 2008 TV serial The Passion, played by Esther Hall, and in the 2013 miniseries The Bible, portrayed by Louise Delamere.