Anchorite Life

I remember learning in college about Julian of Norwich. She was an extremely pious woman who, after a near-death experience, decided to "anchor" herself to the church, meaning there was built a very small cell onto the side of the church and she lived there. Without a door and only two windows, one into the church and one out to the outside world, she lived there for the rest of her life. She was not the only Anchorite, she was just the most notable because she wrote a book.

Lately, with all the craziness, I've wondered whether I could handle that. Sitting alone, day after day, reading, writing, maybe some small crafts...that sounds pretty nice. I'm not pious enough to do it for religious reasons, and I would have to have a cell with considerably better amenities. Like a bathroom. And air conditioning. Internet?

maybe not. Quiet, calm, stillness. pretty sweet. That's all I need.

Anyway, here is the Wikipedia paragraph that I copied to remember everything, enjoy.

• The anchoritic life became widespread during the early and high Middle Ages. Examples of the dwellings of anchorites and anchoresses survive. They tended to be a simple cell (also called "anchorhold"), built against one of the walls of the local village church.^[3] In the Germanic lands from at least the tenth century it was customary for the bishop to say the office of the dead as the anchorite entered her 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 was walled up inside the cell, the bishop would put his seal upon the wall to stamp it with his authority. But some anchorites freely moved between their cell and the adjoining church. ^[4]
• Hearing Mass and receiving Holy Communion was possible through a small, shuttered window in the common wall facing the sanctuary, called a "hagioscope" or "squint". There was also a small window facing the outside world, through which the inhabitant would receive food and other necessities and, in turn, could provide spiritual advice and counsel to visitors, as the anchorites gained a reputation forwisdom. ^[5]
• Anchorites were supposed to remain in their cell in all eventualities. Some were even burned in their cells, which they refused to leave even when pirates or other attackers were looting and burning their towns. ^[6] They ate frugal meals, and spent their days both in contemplative prayer and interceding on behalf of others. Anchorite hymns, such as Ignus Lux Sanctum, praising the sanctity of light in all its forms were the inspiration for Athanasius Kircher's research on optics and magnetism. Their bodily waste was managed by means of a chamber pot.^[7] An idea of their daily routine can be gleaned from an anchoritic Rule known as Ancrene Wisse.^{[citation needed]}
• One very well known medieval anchoress is Julian of Norwich whose writings have left a lasting impression on Christian spirituality.^{[citation needed]} All Saints' Church in King's Lynn, Norfolk, still has its original 12th century Anchorhold, intact and still very much in use during the daily worship of the church.^[8]