anchoress
Cloistered religious woman
An anchoress is a woman who has withdrawn from the world for religious reasons, living in permanent seclusion—typically in a small cell attached to a church.
Unlike nuns in convents, anchoresses were literally enclosed, sometimes walled in, dedicating themselves to prayer and contemplation.
The practice was most common in medieval Europe.
The male equivalent is anchorite.
Deliberate food avoidance
- vigilPurposeful nighttime wakefulness
- mortificationIntense shame or embarrassment
- penanceSelf-mortification for wrongdoing
- celibacyAbstaining from intimate relations
chastity · austerity · renunciation · self-denial · poverty · discipline · hair shirt · silence
Medieval English mystic writer
- cellBasic unit of life
- enclosureConfined, bordered space
- Middle AgesEurope's feudal millennium
- hagiographyIdealized biographical writing
rule · bishop · rite · window · squint · servant · patron · benefactor
Hebrew alphabet's fourteenth
- abbessFemale monastic leader
- prioressFemale monastic superior
- conventReligious sisters' dwelling
- cloisterCovered monastic walkway
monastery · novice · veil · habit · religious · order · Benedictine · profession
Basic unit of life
- hermitageSecluded religious dwelling
- enclosureConfined, bordered space
- windowGlass-fitted wall opening
- squintPartly close eyes
church · curtain · garden · servant · attached · small · sparse · permanent
Solemn personal commitment
- consecrationDedicating to sacred purpose
- callingStrongly felt purpose
- dedicationWholehearted loyalty to purpose
- commitmentFirm pledge to act
enclosure · perpetual · solemn · profession · rite · blessing · sacred · lifelong
fasting
Deliberate food avoidance
- vigilPurposeful nighttime wakefulness
- mortificationIntense shame or embarrassment
- penanceSelf-mortification for wrongdoing
celibacy · chastity · austerity · renunciation · self-denial · poverty · discipline · hair shirt · silence · abstinence
Julian of Norwich
Medieval English mystic writer
- cellBasic unit of life
- enclosureConfined, bordered space
- Middle AgesEurope's feudal millennium
hagiography · rule · bishop · rite · window · squint · servant · patron · benefactor · death
nun
Hebrew alphabet's fourteenth
cloister · monastery · novice · veil · habit · religious · order · Benedictine · profession · enclosure
cell
Basic unit of life
- hermitageSecluded religious dwelling
- enclosureConfined, bordered space
- windowGlass-fitted wall opening
squint · church · curtain · garden · servant · attached · small · sparse · permanent · churchyard
vow
Solemn personal commitment
- consecrationDedicating to sacred purpose
- callingStrongly felt purpose
- dedicationWholehearted loyalty to purpose
commitment · enclosure · perpetual · solemn · profession · rite · blessing · sacred · lifelong · irrevocable
contemplation
Sustained reflective attention
- mysticismPursuit of divine union
- prayerAddress to deity
- meditationFocused attention practice
vision · devotion · piety · holiness · saintliness · union · ecstasy · rapture · divine · revelation