What is an anchorite?
Q: What is an anchorite?
A: An anchorite is someone who withdraws from secular society for religious reasons to lead an intensely prayer-filled, ascetic life.
Q: How are anchorites different from hermits?
A: Anchorites had to make a promise to God to stay in one place, which was a very small room, whereas hermits do not have this requirement.
Q: What is the anchoritic life?
A: The anchoritic life is one of the earliest forms of being a Christian monk, in which an individual withdraws from secular society to live a highly religious and ascetic life.
Q: What is the gender ratio of female to male anchorites from the 12th to the 16th centuries?
A: Female anchorites consistently outnumbered their male equivalents during this time, sometimes by as many as four to one (in the 13th century), dropping eventually to two to one (in the 15th century).
Q: Is the sex of every anchorite recorded during this time period?
A: No, the sex of a high number of anchorites is not recorded for these periods.
Q: Where did anchorites usually live?
A: Anchorites lived in a very small room, either attached to, or within the wall of, a local church.
Q: What was the religious motivation for becoming an anchorite?
A: Becoming an anchorite was motivated by a desire to lead an intensely prayer-filled and ascetic life for religious reasons.
