The Bride of Christ Goes to Hell

Metaphor and Embodiment in the Lives of Pious Women, 200-1500

Nonfiction, Religion & Spirituality, Christianity, Church, Church History, History, Medieval
Cover of the book The Bride of Christ Goes to Hell by Dyan Elliott, University of Pennsylvania Press, Inc.
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Dyan Elliott ISBN: 9780812206937
Publisher: University of Pennsylvania Press, Inc. Publication: November 29, 2011
Imprint: University of Pennsylvania Press Language: English
Author: Dyan Elliott
ISBN: 9780812206937
Publisher: University of Pennsylvania Press, Inc.
Publication: November 29, 2011
Imprint: University of Pennsylvania Press
Language: English

The early Christian writer Tertullian first applied the epithet "bride of Christ" to the uppity virgins of Carthage as a means of enforcing female obedience. Henceforth, the virgin as Christ's spouse was expected to manifest matronly modesty and due submission, hobbling virginity's ancient capacity to destabilize gender roles. In the early Middle Ages, the focus on virginity and the attendant anxiety over its possible loss reinforced the emphasis on claustration in female religious communities, while also profoundly disparaging the nonvirginal members of a given community.

With the rising importance of intentionality in determining a person's spiritual profile in the high Middle Ages, the title of bride could be applied and appropriated to laywomen who were nonvirgins as well. Such instances of democratization coincided with the rise of bridal mysticism and a progressive somatization of female spirituality. These factors helped cultivate an increasingly literal and eroticized discourse: women began to undergo mystical enactments of their union with Christ, including ecstatic consummations and vivid phantom pregnancies. Female mystics also became increasingly intimate with their confessors and other clerical confidants, who were sometimes represented as stand-ins for the celestial bridegroom. The dramatic merging of the spiritual and physical in female expressions of religiosity made church authorities fearful, an anxiety that would coalesce around the figure of the witch and her carnal induction into the Sabbath.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

The early Christian writer Tertullian first applied the epithet "bride of Christ" to the uppity virgins of Carthage as a means of enforcing female obedience. Henceforth, the virgin as Christ's spouse was expected to manifest matronly modesty and due submission, hobbling virginity's ancient capacity to destabilize gender roles. In the early Middle Ages, the focus on virginity and the attendant anxiety over its possible loss reinforced the emphasis on claustration in female religious communities, while also profoundly disparaging the nonvirginal members of a given community.

With the rising importance of intentionality in determining a person's spiritual profile in the high Middle Ages, the title of bride could be applied and appropriated to laywomen who were nonvirgins as well. Such instances of democratization coincided with the rise of bridal mysticism and a progressive somatization of female spirituality. These factors helped cultivate an increasingly literal and eroticized discourse: women began to undergo mystical enactments of their union with Christ, including ecstatic consummations and vivid phantom pregnancies. Female mystics also became increasingly intimate with their confessors and other clerical confidants, who were sometimes represented as stand-ins for the celestial bridegroom. The dramatic merging of the spiritual and physical in female expressions of religiosity made church authorities fearful, an anxiety that would coalesce around the figure of the witch and her carnal induction into the Sabbath.

More books from University of Pennsylvania Press, Inc.

Cover of the book Governing Bodies by Dyan Elliott
Cover of the book John Woolman's Path to the Peaceable Kingdom by Dyan Elliott
Cover of the book Empires of God by Dyan Elliott
Cover of the book The Jewish Enlightenment by Dyan Elliott
Cover of the book The Roman Inquisition by Dyan Elliott
Cover of the book The Camera and the Press by Dyan Elliott
Cover of the book Crimes of Peace by Dyan Elliott
Cover of the book Witching Culture by Dyan Elliott
Cover of the book Beyond the Resource Curse by Dyan Elliott
Cover of the book How Governors Built the Modern American Presidency by Dyan Elliott
Cover of the book Modern Coliseum by Dyan Elliott
Cover of the book Of Gardens by Dyan Elliott
Cover of the book Changing Minds, If Not Hearts by Dyan Elliott
Cover of the book Competitive Elections and the American Voter by Dyan Elliott
Cover of the book Founding Acts by Dyan Elliott
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy