Teresa of Avila's bridal spirituality within the context of the medieval mystical tradition

In recent years, many scholars have studied the life and writings of Teresa of Avila, but few have situated her mysticism within a larger religious context. Furthermore, scholars have not thoroughly examined Teresa’s bridal spirituality, a common theme in her writings, and they have not sufficiently discussed how the mysticism of medieval male and female writers shaped her bridal spirituality. Therefore, the aim of this thesis is to understand how traditional or innovative Teresa’s bridal spirituality was within the context of the medieval mystical tradition. A close comparison between the writings of Teresa and medieval mystics reveals that her bridal spirituality is often traditional, similar to the bridal mysticism of Bernard of Clairvaux, Catherine of Siena, Angela of Foligno, and Gertrude of Helfta. However, she occasionally offered an innovative perspective on bridal spirituality.