THE BRIDE OF CHRIST GOES TO HELL

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