Ancrene Wisse and Women’s Work for Spiritual Growth

Ancrene Wisse describes the medieval devotional concern on work as a valid means for spiritual salvation. Depicting women’s domestic chores as imageries to be used for confession and penance, Ancrene Wisse demonstrates that the intellectual labors of the anchoresses maintaining their enclosure are indebted to manual labor. More importantly, the maidservants’ work enables the practice of enclosure and contributes to the spiritual goal of anchoritism. The servants’ work visualizes the virtues of the anchoress to the community, promotes enclosure to the public, and enables teaching as a shared form of work between the servants and the anchoress. Thus, Ancrene Wisse opens up a discussion of the relation between women, work, and spiritual development in medieval England.