Anchoritism in the Middle Ages
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This volume explores medieval anchoritism (the life of a solitary religious recluse) from a variety of perspectives. The individual essays conceive anchoritism in broadly interpretive categories: challenging perceived notions of the very concept of anchoritic 'rule' and guidance; studying the interaction between language and linguistic forms; addressing the connection between anchoritism and other forms of solitude (particularly in European tales of sanctity); and exploring the influence of anchoritic literature on lay devotion. As a whole, the volume illuminates the richness and fluidity of anchoritic texts and contexts and shows how anchoritism pervaded the spirituality of the Middle Ages, for lay and religious alike. It moves through both space and time, ranging from the third century to the sixteenth, from England to the Continent and back.
Catherine Innes-Parker is Professor of Medieval Literature in the Department of English Language and Literature at the University of Prince Edward Island. Naoe Kukita Yoshikawa is Professor of English at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Shizuoka University. Naoe Kukita Yoshikawa teaches in the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences at Shizuoka University. She has published widely on Margery Kempe's life and work, including an essay in Writing Religious Women (UWP, 2000).