Ancrene Wisse, also known as Rule for a Recluse and
Guide for Anchoresses, is a 13th-century text, produced ca. 1190–1220 C.E. It is written in vernacular
prose in the West Midlands dialect that Tolkien
classified as the “AB language,” which is also the dialect of the KATHERINE GROUP and the WOOING
GROUP (this language is a standard written—not
spoken—dialect, characterized by a significant
number of French and Norse loanwords, frequent
colloquial expressions, conservative spelling, and
syntactical similarities to Old English).
Although Ancrene Wisse is a rather straightforward treatise, it contains exempla, brief allegories,
biblical allusions, and elaborate descriptions,
which all combine to make a lively example of the
early English vernacular tradition. Most scholars
believe that the Middle English manuscripts MS
Cotton Nero A.xiv and MS Cotton Cleopatra
C.vi, held by the British Library in London, and
MS Corpus Christi 402, held by Corpus Christi
College of Cambridge University, contain the
least altered and most important versions of the
text. Counting fragments, 17 medieval versions
exist, 11 in MIDDLE ENGLISH, four in Latin, and
two in French, indicating the relative popularity
and significance of the work. In some of these
versions, the basic text has been revised and
adapted for a different audience, such as a larger
community or a group of men. It was also interpreted and altered by the LOLLARDS in the late
Middle Ages.
Ancrene Wisse, the longest and most complete
of the anchoritic rules (ways of life), was sometimes referred to as the Ancrene Riwle in the past.
Ancren Riwle was the title attached to the work by
James Morton in his 1853 edition, and has no medieval authority. For some time, the only change
was the affixing of the genitive marker “e” to Ancren, indicating correct usage of the possessive.
Today, scholars generally prefer the title Ancrene
Wisse, which was also assigned in modern times,
but is based on a scribal-inscribed colophon found
on the first folio of MS Cambridge 402. Wisse has
been almost universally translated as some variation of “guide,” presuming that it is a noun derived
from the Middle English verb wissin, which means
“to guide” or “to direct.”
According to the text, Ancrene Wisse was written
specifically for three sisters at their own behest.
These young anchoresses were desirous of a rule to
govern their daily routines. The entire manuscript
reveals further details concerning the sisters’ windows, cells, furnishings, servants, clothing, daily
activities, bodily care, and interactions with community members. It also outlines daily devotions,
contains exhortations about the care of the soul
and regulation of the senses, dispenses advice
about sin, penance, and confession, and teaches
about the delights of divine love.
The anchoritic vocation was considered to be
one of the strictest religious pursuits. Building
upon the early desert traditions of the Patristic
era, anchorites were individuals who, desiring to
spend their entire life in contemplative prayer,
withdrew from the world completely. After securing permission from his/her bishop, a prospective
anchorite (or female “anchoress”) would undergo
a formal “burying ceremony,” and then be walled
up in a small cell attached to a church. This cell,
as Ancrene Wisse indicates, would have windows
built into it for receiving food and other necessary
items, for communicating with servants and supplicants, and for observing mass and receiving
communion. There were numerous anchorites
throughout the Christian West, though England
seemingly had the largest number. Moreover, anchoritism was particularly attractive to women,
and the majority of practicing anchorites were female. There was no one set Rule that anchorites
had to follow, nor did an anchorite have to be a
member of a formal religious order. It seems that
many anchorites adapted a monastic rule for their
own use or asked for one to be created for them
to follow. Ancrene Wisse is one such creation.
Ancrene Wisse is composed of an introduction
and eight parts. The subjects of these are as follows:
I. Devotions; II. The Five Senses; III. The Inner
Senses; IV. Temptations (external and internal); V.
Confession; VI. Penance; VII. Divine Love; VIII. The
Outer Rule. Of these, Part I and Part VIII are primarily concerned with external actions, bodily conduct, and daily living. The Inner Rule, found in
Parts II through VII, concerns the spiritual comportment of the anchoresses as they wage war
against temptation and pursue the love of God.
Ancrene Wisse spends a great deal of textual
space detailing the disposition of worldly goods
and functions. Adherence to both sets of rules was
necessary to vanquish temptation, and even the
daily devotions of the anchoresses were framed by
their worldly associations. However, it is ultimately
the Inner Rule that comprises the substance of the
manuscript, and obviously consumed most of the
recluse’s time. Her primary duty lay in prayer and
spiritual development, along with scrupulous
monitoring of her own senses.
Scholars have been debating the origins of Ancrene Wisse for some time. Suggested sources have
included the Rule of St. Benedict, which was the
basis for the majority of medieval monastic rules,
the Rule of St. Augustine, and the Rule of St. Dominic, as well as the Premonstratensian Statutes.
Still other scholars suggest that there is no specific
tradition to which Ancrene Wisse can be tied;
rather, these individuals believe it is a composite
text that draws on a variety of sources. Whatever
the direct source, if indeed there is one, Ancrene
Wisse clearly draws upon the works of many Patristic theologians, such as St. JEROME and St. AUGUSTINE OF HIPPO, as well as on the Bible.
Much of the early scholarly research about Ancrene Wisse was devoted to the search for an author
and an audience, as well as direct source material.
From these early investigations, the natural progression was to examinations of the linguistic evidence,
especially vocabulary and style. More recent scholarship has focused on the relationship between Ancrene Wisse and the larger anchoritic tradition, as
well as its relationship to the larger field of women’s
spirituality. Further inquiry into links between Ancrene Wisse and the later medieval mystic tradition
has also been the subject of recent work on this text.
Ancrene Wisse is a valuable text not only for its
glimpse into the anchoritic vocation and its revelations about women’s spiritual expression, but also
for its preservation of the early English literary tradition. Not many vernacular texts survive from the
13th century, and as such, Ancrene Wisse is particularly important in providing both cultural context and key linguistic features, particularly its
evidence of the development of the language from
OLD ENGLISH into Middle English.
Bibliography
Ancrene Wisse. Edited by Robert Hasenfranz. Kalamazoo, Mich.: Medieval Institute Publications,
2000.
Dobson, E. J. Origins of Ancrene Wisse. Oxford:
Clarendon Press, 1976.
Georgianna, Linda. The Solitary Self: Individuality in
the Ancrene Wisse. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard
University Press, 1981.
Grayson, Janet. Structure and Imagery in Ancrene
Wisse. Hanover, N.H.: University Press of New England, 1974.
Millet, Bella.“The Origins of Ancrene Wisse: New Answers, New Questions,” Medium Ævum 61 (1992):
206–228.
Robertson, Elizabeth. Early English Devotional Prose
and the Female Audience. Knoxville: University of
Tennessee Press, 1990.
Savage, Anne, and Nicholas Watson. Ancrene Wisse
and Associated Works. Preface by Benedicta Ward.
New York: Paulist Press, 1991.
Tolkien, J. R. R. “Ancrene Wisse and Hali Mei∂ ´had,”
Essays and Studies 14 (1929): 104–126.
Michelle M. Sauer