Much of the reading of the post-Imperial codes as representing bride-selling also comes from the contemporary religious tracts written to and about consecrated virgins. These works have been enormously influential in framing how the post-Imperial world is read, and how women felt about marriage and betrothal, despite the fact that not one was written by a woman. These tracts and letters are unequivocal in their perception of the institution of marriage, telling women: ‘You have been bought, o matrona, and purchased by the contracts of your dowry agreements’, and,

These two quotes come from fifth century Rome and seventh century Visigothic Spain respectively, demonstrating the depth and reach of this trope in Christian rhetoric concerning marriage and virginity. What we see here is the impact of genre on the presentation of behaviour: very different conceptions of what the transfer of property and the legal incompetence of women means in terms of betrothal are presented in different genres. While the post-Imperial codes represent the transfer of property as enhancing a marriage, as marking it as legal and correct, in the Christian rhetorical texts it is seen as debasing a marriage and detracting from the ideals of consent and desire. This is predominantly drawn from the Augustinian theology of marriage which makes Christian marriage a sacred and spiritual institution, initiated by God and separate from the legal institution that is controlled by the courts and kings. To Augustine, and those Christians who followed, a marriage between two Christians was more than simply a legal formality for the production of children, but marked the formation of an unchanging and immutable spiritual bond between two souls.

One of the most significant intersections of Augustinian marital theology of sacramentum and the legal realm of contractual marriage is found in the unique phenomenon of post-Imperial incest legislation.