The Library
1693 works catalogued century by century, from the literature the Bible was written among to the present — each with a note on what it is, why it lasted, and where to read it.
1001–1100
1 work
c. 1080–1083
Latin
Liber Confortatorius
Goscelin of Saint-Bertin · c. 1035–c. 1107
A long letter of consolation from a monk to a young woman who has enclosed herself as an anchoress, mixing spiritual counsel with unmistakable personal grief at the separation.
1101–1200
1 work
c. 1160–1162
Latin
Aelred of Rievaulx · 1110–1167
Written for his sister, enclosed as an anchoress: practical advice on visitors and servants, then a long meditation on entering the gospel scenes in imagination.
1201–1300
1 work
c. 1225–1240
Middle English
Ancrene Wisse
Anonymous
A rule for three enclosed sisters covering prayer, temptation, confession, and daily arrangements — including whether to keep a cat and what to say to visitors at the window.
1301–1400
3 works
1348–1349
Middle English
Richard Rolle · c. 1300–1349
A guide written in English for a woman becoming a recluse, on temptations, on the degrees of love, and on how to keep the heart occupied.
c. 1380–1396
Middle English
Walter Hilton · c. 1340–1396
Two books of measured guidance on reforming the image of God in the soul, written first for an anchoress and then extended to anyone living in the world.
c. 1396–1404
Latin
John of Marienwerder · 1343–1417
The life of a Prussian wife and mother of nine who, after her husband's death, was enclosed as an anchoress and reported constant conversations with Christ.
6 of 1693 works