Seminar: “The Cell and the Soul: Enduring Spiritual Confinement in the Middle Ages”
Millie Newis (Mellon Fellow, PIMS)
Of all the ways to live a Christian life in the Middle Ages, the anchoritic life was arguably the most extreme. Anchorites chose to become 'dead to the world' – to withdraw from society into a cell, dedicating their lives to strict and permanent ideals of enclosure, chastity, solitude, and orthodoxy. This would, in theory, bring them closer to God. These cell-dwellers symbolised spiritual perfection – something which continues to shape perceptions of the anchoritic life today.
Yet such prolonged confinement was not easy, and anchorites were often far from perfect. This talk offers an overview of my current research project, The Cell and the Soul, which explores the intensity of the anchoritic life and its capricious potential for extreme affective experiences, both good and bad. Its focus is on England, c. 1080–1550. In particular, this presentation will introduce the methodology of the project, which includes looking at anchoritic texts and experiences alongside those of other spiritual cell-dwellers (namely hermits and Carthusian monks). It will also touch upon how the difficulties of the anchoritic life were acknowledged, negotiated, and sometimes assuaged in texts.