Until recently, the figure of the medieval anchorite and the underlying ideological concepts that framed her day-to-day existence have escaped detailed examination, despite the anchorite s importance to the study of medieval culture. This collection brings together leading scholars in the field of gender and anchoritic studies in order to examine anchoritic enclosure from a variety of different perspectives. In so doing, "Anchorites, Wombs, and Tombs" offers illuminating conclusions about how the phenomenon of anchoritism was affected by, and in turn, influenced contemporary notions of...

Medieval anchorites embraced the most extreme and punishing form of solitude known to the medieval world enclosure in the same four walls for life in order to forge a closer connection with God. As a way of understanding the lives, beliefs, and experiences of anchorites, "Reading Medieval Anchoritism" explores guides to the anchorite life that were published in England throughout the Middle Ages. Mari Hughes-Edwards surveys five centuries of the guides negotiations of four anchoritic ideals enclosure, solitude, chastity, and orthodoxy as well as two vital spiritual practices, asceticism...