The medieval women who sealed themselves inside churches

The life of an anchoress was certainly an extreme one. Bricked inside a small room, forced to dig their own graves, considered already dead... that's the story of the anchoress' lives that you might have heard about. But how much of it was really true? In this video, we try to think like a medieval lady so we can understand why anyone would choose this solitary way of life. Was it a way to escape medieval expectations for women or was there more to it? Did their anchorholds actually have no door!?? We meet anchoress Julian of Norwich, traveller Margery of Kempe and other devote women. We read some obscure Middle English literature. We consider medieval culture. And we discover some surprises along the way. Although they were officially recluses, anchoresses could also be well-known people who were relied on for advice and counsel. They were writers and thinkers and sometimes they were scandalous! References here: https://www.mimi-mortmain.com/the-pio... Follow my dumb thoughts! Twitter @mimi_mortmain Instagram @mimimortmain Buy me a coffee (if you would like to)! https://www.buymeacoffee.com/museum_mimi Quick links: ‘Ancrene Wisse’, British Library, https://www.bl.uk/collection-items/an... ‘The life of an anchoress’, British Library, https://www.bl.uk/medieval-literature... Megan J. Hall, ‘Buried Alive?’, Medieval Studies Research Blog, 23 April 2015, https://sites.nd.edu/manuscript-studi... ‘The anchorhold’, The Benefice of South and West Lynn, https://www.southandwestlynn.org.uk/t... Mari Hughes-Edwards, ‘Solitude and Sociability: The World of the Medieval Anchorite’, Building Conservation, https://www.buildingconservation.com/... Alicia Smith, ‘A day as an anchorite’, History Matters: History Brought Alie by the University of Sheffield, 17 Oct 2018, http://www.historymatters.group.shef.... ‘Those who pray, those who work, those who fight’, Medievalists, https://www.medievalists.net/2016/01/... Longer links: Liz Herbert McAvoy, ‘Uncovering the “saintly Anchoress”: myths of Medieval anchoritism and the reclusion of Katharine de Audley’, Women’s History Review, vol. 22.5 (2013) Ancrene Wisse (Medieval Institute Publications: Michigan, 2000) TEAMS, https://d.lib.rochester.edu/teams/pub... Julian of Norwich, The Shewings of Julian of Norwich (Medieval Institute Publications: Michigan, 1994) TEAMS, https://d.lib.rochester.edu/teams/pub... AK Warren, Anchorites and their Patrons in Medieval England (University of California Press: London, 1985)