Anchorite

An anchorite or anchoret (female: anchoress) is someone who, for religious reasons, withdraws from secular society so as to be able to lead an intensely prayer-oriented, ascetic, or Eucharist-focused life. Whilst anchorites are frequently considered to be a type of religious hermit,[2] unlike hermits they were required to take a vow of stability of place, opting for permanent enclosure in cells often attached to churches. Also unlike hermits, anchorites were subject to a religious rite of consecration that closely resembled the funeral rite, following which they would be considered dead to the world, a type of living saint. Anchorites had a certain autonomy, as they did not answer to any ecclesiastical authority other than the bishop.[3]

For other uses of "Anchorite" and "Anchoress", see Anchorite (disambiguation).
Anchorite's cell in Holy Trinity Church, Skipton.
Christina Carpenter was walled in to a cell in St James's Church in Shere, Surrey.[1]
Anthony the Great, father of Christian Monasticism and early anchorite. The Coptic inscription reads ‘Ⲁⲃⲃⲁ Ⲡⲓⲛⲓϣϯ Ⲁⲛⲧⲱⲛⲓ’ or ‘Father Anthony the Great’.
"The Anchorite" (1881), by Teodor Axentowicz.

The anchoritic life is one of the earliest forms of Christian monasticism. In the Catholic Church today, it is one of the "Other Forms of Consecrated Life" and governed by the same norms as the consecrated eremitic life. In England, the earliest recorded anchorites existed in the 11th century. Their highest number—around 200 anchorites—were recorded in the 13th century.[4]

From the 12th to the 16th centuries, female anchorites consistently outnumbered their male counterparts, sometimes by as many as four to one (in the 13th century), dropping eventually to two to one (in the 15th century).[5]:11 The gender of a high number of anchorites, however, is not recorded for these periods.[6]

Anchoritic life

The anchoritic life became widespread during the early and high Middle Ages.[7] Examples of the dwellings of anchorites and anchoresses survive, a large number of which are in England. They tended to be a simple cell (also called anchorhold), built against one of the walls of the local village church.[8] In Germanic-speaking areas, from at least the 10th century, it was customary for the bishop to say The Office of the Dead as the anchorite entered their cell, to signify the anchorite's death to the world and rebirth to a spiritual life of solitary communion with God and the angels. Sometimes, if the anchorite were walled up inside the cell, the bishop would put his seal upon the wall to stamp it with his authority. Some anchorites, however, freely moved between their cell and the adjoining church.[9]

Most anchoritic strongholds were small, perhaps no more than 3.7 to 4.6 m (12 to 15 ft) square, with three windows. Viewing the altar, hearing Mass, and receiving the Eucharist were possible through one small, shuttered window in the common wall facing the sanctuary, called a "hagioscope" or "squint". Anchorites provided spiritual advice and counsel to visitors through this window, gaining a reputation for wisdom.[10] Another small window allowed access to those who saw to the anchorite's physical needs. A third window, often facing the street but covered with translucent cloth, allowed light into the cell.[3]

Anchorites committed to a life of uncompromising enclosure that could not be reversed at any time. Those who attempted to escape were returned by force and their souls damned to Hell.[11]:93[n 1] Some were burned in their cells, which they refused to leave even when pirates or looters were pillaging their towns.[12] They ate frugal meals, spending their days both in contemplative prayer and interceding on behalf of others. Their bodily waste was managed by means of a chamber pot.[13] Some anchorholds had a few small rooms or attached gardens. Servants tended to the basic needs of anchorites, providing food and water and removing waste. Julian of Norwich, for example, is known to have had several maidservants, among them Sara and Alice. Aelred of Rievaulx, who wrote De Institutione—the "Rule" for anchoresses—suggested having two maids: an older, sober woman and a younger one.[14]

In addition to being the physical location wherein the anchorite could embark on the journey towards union with God, the anchorhold also provided a spiritual and geographic focus for people from the wider society who came to ask for advice and spiritual guidance. Although set apart from the community at large by stone walls and specific spiritual precepts, the anchorite lay at the very centre of the community. The anchorhold has been called a communal 'womb' from which would emerge an idealized sense of a community's own reborn potential, both as Christians and as human subjects.[6]

Influential texts

An idea of their daily routine can be gleaned from an anchoritic rule. The most widely known today is the early 13th-century text known as Ancrene Wisse.[15] Another, less widely known, example is the rule known as De Institutione Inclusarum written in the 12th century, around 1160–62, by Aelred of Rievaulx for his sister.[16] It is estimated that the daily set devotions detailed in Ancrene Wisse would take some four hours, on top of which anchoresses would listen to services in the church and engage in their own private prayers and devotional reading.[17]

Richard Rolle, an English hermit and mystic, wrote one of the most influential guide books regarding the life of an anchoress. His book, The Form of Living, was addressed to a young anchoress named Margaret Kirkby, who was responsible for preserving his texts.[18]:29 Her connection to the town of Hampole has been commonly associated with Rolle; indeed, he is sometimes referred to as Richard Rolle of Hampole despite a lack of conclusive evidence that Rolle indeed was ever in the small village.[19]

Rolle's book is based on the principles of mysticism and divided into twelve chapters:

  • Chapter One: Rolle discusses the three weaknesses of humans: "lack of spiritual vigor, putting bodily desires into practice and exchanging a permanent good for a transitory pleasure."[20]
  • Chapter Two: Rolle tells Mary that while her body may be sacrificing, her heart and soul will feel the ultimate pleasure of religious devotion.
  • Chapter Three: Public display of piety does not promise holiness, but people who "follow Jesus Christ in voluntary poverty, and in humility, in love and in patience," can begin to be reckoned devout.[20]
  • Chapter Four: Anchorites must give themselves fully to Jesus and reflect on the shortness of life, the question of the soul's final destination, the need to account for how one spends one's life, and the joy of perseverance.[20]
  • Chapter Five: Rolle cautions against "unwise austerity".[20]
  • Chapter Six: A pure heart, for which the anchorite strives, must understand "what things corrupt, what things purify, what preserves purity, and what induces submission to the will of God."[20]
  • Chapter Seven: Rolle argues that a life of solitude is the best way to devote oneself to Jesus Christ.
  • Chapter Eight: The three degrees of God's love are insuperable (robust and constant), inseparable (present), and singular (entirely devoted to Jesus Christ). He offers the analogy: the first degree is like the stars, the second degree like the moon, and the third degree like the sun.[20]
  • Chapter Nine: Rolle claims that the name of Jesus must always be "fixed in the heart."[20]
  • Chapter Ten: Rolle asks: "How am I to love God?" He provides seven ways in which love can be recognized: shedding the desire for material things, desire only for God and belief that the world holds nothing necessary, talking about God instead of worldly things, pursuit of activities of spiritual benefit, ease in completion of things formerly difficult, boldness to endure sorrow, and joy in the face of worldly anxieties.[20]
  • Chapter Eleven: The seven gifts of the Holy Spirit.[20]
  • Chapter Twelve: The contrast between the active and contemplative life.[20]

Notable anchorites

The earliest recorded anchorites lived in the 3rd century CE. For example, Hilarion (Gaza, 291–Cyprus, 371) was known as the founder of anchoritic life in Palestine.[21]

The anchoritic life proved popular in England, where women outnumbered men in the ranks of the anchorites, especially in the 13th century.[22] The evidence supports the existence of a total of around 780 anchorites on six hundred sites between 1100 and 1539, when the dissolution of the monasteries ordered by Henry VIII brought anchoritism in England to an end. English anchorholds can still be seen at Chester-le-Street in County Durham and at Hartlip in Kent.[23]

Notable people
gollark: Well, I *don't*, since that would result in me being bound by whatever legal stuff is happening.
gollark: 🦀
gollark: It makes the whole thing more secretive. It was already pretty secretive *before* v2, but it's more so now.
gollark: I mean, there being one person working on it... doesn't particularly make it not bad?
gollark: Well, they probably *can't* get help as easily if people have to go through legal wotsits.

See also

References

Notes
  1. "The cell of enclosure, however, was equated with a prison into which the anchorite propelled himself for fear of hell and for love of Christ. The etemal punishment of hell might be escaped by the lifetime refusal of escape from the anchorhold. At the same time union with Christ might be achieved even in this life."—A. K. Warren, Anchorites and Their Patrons in Medieval England

Citations
  1. Wyndham Thomas (2012). Robert Saxton: Caritas. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. pp. 16–20. ISBN 978-0-7546-6601-1.
  2. BBB Radio 4: Making History – Anchorites
  3. LePan, Don (2011). The Broadview Anthology of British Literature. Broadview Press. p. 348.
  4. The Code of Canon Law 1983, canon 603
  5. McAvoy, L. H., ed., Anchoritic Traditions of Medieval Europe (Suffolk: Boydell Press, 2010), p. 11.
  6. Herbert McAvoy, Liz (2005). Anchorites, Wombs And Tombs : Intersections Of Gender And Enclosure In The Middle Ages. University of Wales. p. 13.
  7. McAvoy 2010, p. 96.
  8. Licence 2013, p. 87–9.
  9. Licence 2013, p. 123, 120.
  10. Licence 2013, p. 158-72.
  11. Warren, A. K., Anchorites and Their Patrons in Medieval England (Oakland: University of California Press, 1985), p. 93.
  12. Licence 2013, p. 77-9.
  13. The Anchoress (2008-06-02). On-line Q&As. Retrieved in 2008-10 from http://theanchoressonline.com/2008/06/02/questions-comments-from-the-email/ Archived 2008-09-24 at the Wayback Machine.
  14. Adamson, J. W., A Short History of Education (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1919), p. 75.
  15. Ancrene Wisse
  16. Translated by Mary Paul MacPherson in Treatises and the Pastoral Prayer, Cistercian Fathers Series 2, (Kalamazoo, 1971). In English the work is variously titled The Eremitical Life, The Rule of Life for a Recluse and The Training of Anchoresses.
  17. Ancrene Wisse: Guide for Anchoresses, trans. H. White (London: Penguin Books, 1993), p. viii.
  18. Roman, C. M., Queering Richard Rolle: Mystical Theology and the Hermit in Fourteenth-Century England (London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2017), p. 29.
  19. Hughes, Jonathan. "Rolle, Richard (1305×10–1349)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/24024. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  20. "Richard Rolle's Form of Living: A Medieval Guide for an Anchoress - Articles - House of Hermits - Hermitary". www.hermitary.com. Retrieved 2018-12-17.
  21. Catholic Encyclopedia, St. Jerome, Vita Sancti Hilarionis in P. L., III, 29-54.
  22. Ancrene Wisse, trans Hugh White, (Penguin, 1993)
  23. Hughes-Edwards, M., "Anchoritism: the English Tradition", in L. H. McAvoy, Anchoritic Traditions of Medieval Europe (Suffolk: Boydell Press, 2010), p. 143.
  24. Grimmer, M., "Bede and the Augustine's Oak conferences: Implications for Anglo-British ecclesiastical interaction in early Anglo-Saxon England", Journal of the Australian Early Medieval Association, Nr. 2, January 2006, pp. 103–119.
  25. Ancrene Wisse, trans Hugh White, (Penguin, 1993), p.xiii
  26. Monks of Ramsgate. “Ulrick”. Book of Saints, 1921. CatholicSaints.Info. 17 February 2017 This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  27. Petition to Become an Anchoress University of Saint Thomas–Saint Paul, MN, http://courseweb.stthomas.edu, 2003, 2012-04-22
  28. History of Shere, sheredelight.com, 2011, 2012-04-22
  29. Jonathan Hughes, 'Kirkby, Margaret (d. 1391x4)', Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004. Retrieved on 2011-05-06 from https://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/57764.
  30. Ancrene Wisse, trans Hugh White, (Penguin, 1993), p.xiii
  31. Hilton, W., The Scale of Perfection, tr. J. P. Clark & R. Dorward (New York City: Paulist Press, 1991), p. 19.
  32. Revelations of Divine Love
  33. Milton, R., Julian's Cell: The Earthy Story of Julian of Norwich (Kelowna, B.C.: Northstone Publishing, 2002).
  34. Chalupsky, Mary. "Glastonbury native led ascetic life in Rome", Catholic Transcript, Archdiocese of Hartford

Bibliography
  • "About Anchorites." Hermits & Anchorites : About Anchorites, University of Exeter, 2010, hermits.ex.ac.uk/index/anchorites.
  • Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Great Chain of Being." Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 27 May 2015, www.britannica.com/topic/Great-Chain-of-Being.
  • Dixon, Alan. "The 'Great Chain of Being'." Inner Civilization, 1 Jan. 1970, www.innercivilization.com/2010/03/great-chain-of-being.html.
  • Licence, Tom (2013). Hermits and Recluses in English Society, 950-1200. OUP Oxford. ISBN 978-0-19-967409-1.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • McAvoy, Liz (2010). Anchoritic Traditions of Medieval Europe. Boydell & Brewer. ISBN 978-1-84383-520-2.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • "Richard Rolle's Form of Living: A Medieval Guide for an Anchoress." Tao Chien (Tao Yuan-Ming), Poet of Reclusion - Articles - House of Hermits - Hermitary, 2006, www.hermitary.com/articles/rolle.html.

Further reading

Historical development
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