Since we only briefly talked about
being an anchoress in class, I wanted to do some more research on who exactly
they were and why they chose to live in such conditions rather than in
religious communities.
I found out that anchoress’ lived in
extreme poverty and usually ate only vegetarian food. Since their lives are
devoted to God, similar to a nun or monk, most of their day is spent praying
and giving advice to people who come seeking it. These women were seen to the
public as people who gave advice and were willing to pray for and with the
people who came to see them.
Since arranged marriages were such a
large part of the cultural norm at this point, I believe many people chose to
be anchoress’ to avoid marrying someone who was being forced upon them.
This is the picture I found online of the rooms the anchoress live in.
Does anyone else have any ideas of why these people would want to live here instead of in abbeys or monasteries?
Tesla, how interesting is this! I agree with you that women who knew their futures were not their own, would choose a life of full devotion as a way of maintaining some kind of freedom. Devoting one's life to God is noble but I can't help but also think about the hardships these individuals must have faced.
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