c. 730–740
Latin
The Life of Guthlac
Felix · 8th century
A warrior of noble birth becomes a hermit on an island in the fens, where he is tormented by demons who speak British and drag him to the mouth of hell.
Anglo-Saxon · BiographyRead elsewhere
701–800
The Eighth Century
1 work
1001–1100
The Eleventh Century
2 works
c. 1042
Latin
The Life of Romuald
Peter Damian · c. 1007–1072
The founder of Camaldoli, who wandered Italy establishing hermitages and once tried to get himself martyred in Hungary without success.
Western Monastic · BiographyRead elsewhere
founded 1084; customs written c. 1121
Latin
The Customs of the Grande Chartreuse
Bruno of Cologne and the early Carthusians · c. 1030–1101
The arrangements of a house where each monk lives in a separate cell with a garden, meets the others chiefly in choir, and copies manuscripts as his work.
Western Monastic · RuleRead elsewhere
1101–1200
The Twelfth Century
1 work
c. 1177–1214
Greek
The Ritual Ordinance and Writings
Neophytos the Recluse · 1134–c. 1214
The rule and commentaries of a Cypriot hermit who carved his own cell out of a cliff, including a bitter account of the English seizure of Cyprus in 1191.
Byzantine · RuleRead elsewhere
1301–1400
The Fourteenth Century
2 works
c. 1343
Latin
The Fire of Love
Incendium Amoris
Richard Rolle · c. 1300–1349
A hermit's account of the physical warmth, sweetness, and song he experienced in prayer, described with a confidence that irritated more cautious contemporaries.
Western · MysticalRead elsewhere
14th century
Latin
The Rule of the Hermits
Anonymous
Guidance for solitaries living in cells attached to churches or bridges, on the hours, on manual work, and on how much contact with passers-by is permissible.
Western · RuleRead elsewhere