“And she took off her clothes …”. Agathonice’s Nudity in Acta Carpi 44
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 18005128 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Jan M Kozlowski (0000-0003-0760-6120, University of Warsaw Warsaw Poland, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2020 |
| Volume | 74 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 121-128 |
| Publication date | 2020-03-25 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Vigiliae Christianae (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0042-6032 • E-ISSN: 1570-0720 |
| Publisher | Walter de Gruyter GmbH (PUBLISHER • DE) |
| DOI | 10.1163/15700720-12341430 |
| OpenAlex | W3014982072 |
| Language | EN |
In Acta Carpi , a woman named Agathonice spontaneously takes off her clothes before being burned at the stake. The aim of the article is to show that her gesture has a symbolic meaning. Firstly, in light of the reference to Matth 22:1-14, Agathonice’s nakedness should be interpreted as a paradoxical “wedding robe”: the martyr’s nudity suggests that the author wanted the reader to see Christian martyrdom as the surest way to salvation. Secondly, the interpretation of Agathonice’s nakedness as a “wedding robe” attributes to her martyrdom a possible baptismal connotation. Thirdly, arguments are advanced that Agathonice’s nudity evokes Eve’s paradisiacal, shameless nudity
Archaeology · Art · Clothing · Connotation · Epistemology · Gesture · Interpretation (philosophy) · Linguistics · Literature · Martyr · Meaning (existential) · Theology · Biblical Studies and Interpretation · Byzantine Studies and History · Historical and Religious Studies of Rome · History · Philosophy
| Highly cited | No |
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