Virgin Territory : Configuring Female Virginity in Early Christianity.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Lillis, Julia Kelto.

Series:

Christianity in Late Antiquity

Christianity in Late Antiquity ; v.13

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Virginity--Religious aspects--Christianity--History of doctrines--Early church, ca. 30-600.

Virginity.

Women in Christianity--History--Early church, ca. 30-600.

Women in Christianity.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (325 pages)

Edition:

1st ed.

Other Title:

Virgin Territory

Place of Publication:

Piraí : University of California Press, 2022.

Summary:

Women's virginity held tremendous significance in early Christianity and the Mediterranean world. Early Christian thinkers developed diverse definitions of virginity and understood its bodily aspects in surprising, often nonanatomical ways. Eventually Christians took part in a cross-cultural shift toward viewing virginity as something that could be perceived in women's sex organs. Treating virginity as anatomical brought both benefits and costs. By charting this change and situating it in the larger landscape of ancient thought, Virgin Territory illuminates unrecognized differences among early Christian sources and historicizes problematic ideas about women's bodies that still persist today.

Contents:

Frontmatter

CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

NOTES TO THE READER

ABBREVIATIONS FOR SERIES AND REFERENCE WORKS

Introduction: Ancient and Present-Day Meanings for Virginity

Part one. Virginity with and without Virginal Anatomy

Chapter 1 Testing, Showing, and Perceiving Virginity in Antiquity

Chapter 2 Mary’s Forms of Virginity in Early Christian Writings

Part two. Christian Conceptualizations of Virginity in the Fourth Century

Chapter 3 Virginity of Body and Soul: Fourth-Century Christian Configurations

Chapter 4 Sealed Fountains: The Imagery of Fourth-Century Christian Virginity Discourse

Part three. The Cost of Anatomized Virginity for Late Ancient Christians

Chapter 5 Perceptible Virginity: Its Usefulness and Consequences

Chapter 6 Augustine of Hippo and the Problem of Double Integrity

Conclusion: Variety Persists

BIBLIOGRAPHY

INDEX

Notes:

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

ISBN:

9780520389021

0520389026

OCLC:

1348490880