| Abstract
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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. 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.
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