Medieval Anchoritisms: Gender, Space and the Solitary Life

An examination of the importance of anchoritism to social, cultural and religious life in the middle ages.

Originating in the deserts of northern Africa in the early years of Christianity, anchoritism, or the enclosed solitary life, gradually metamorphosed into a permanent characteristic of European religiosity; from the twelfth century onwards, and throughout the middle ages, it was embraced with increasing enthusiasm, by devoted laywomen in particular.
This book investigates the wider cult...