Ancrene Wisse
Encyclopedia
Ancrene Wisse or Guide for Anchoresses is an anonymous monastic rule (or manual) for anchoresses
, written in the early 13th century. Ancrene Wisse was originally composed for three sisters who chose to enter the contemplative life. The work consists of eight parts: Parts 1 and 8 deal with what is called the "Outer Rule" (relating to the anchoresses' exterior life), Parts 2-7 with the "Inner Rule" (relating to the anchoresses' interior life).
dialect known as 'AB language
' where 'A' denotes the manuscript Bodley 34 and 'B' the manuscript Corpus Christi 402. Manuscript Bodley 34 contains a set of texts that have become known as the "Katherine Group": Seinte Katerine, Seinte Margarete, Seinte Iuliene, Hali Meiðhad and Sawles Warde while MS Corpus Christi 402 contains a version of Ancrene Wisse. Both manuscripts were written in the AB language, described by J.R.R. Tolkien as "a faithful transcript of some dialect...or a 'standard' language based on one' in use in the West Midlands
in the 13th century."
French, and a further four are translations into Latin. The shortest extract is the Lanhydrock Fragment, which consists of only one sheet of parchment. The extant manuscripts are listed below.
Although none of the manuscripts is believed to be produced by the original author, several date from the first half of the 13th century. The first complete edition edited by Morton in 1853 was based on the British Library
manuscript Cotton Nero A.xiv. Recent editors have favoured Corpus Christi College, Cambridge
MS 402 of which Bella Millett has written: "Its linguistic consistency and general high textual quality have made it increasingly the preferred base manuscript for editions, translations, and studies of Ancrene Wisse." It was used as the base manuscript in the critical edition published as two volumes in 2005-2006. The Corpus manuscript is the only one to include the title Ancrene Wisse.
The Ancrene Wisse was partly retranslated from French back into English and reincorporated in the late fifteenth-century Treatise of Love
.
Anchorite
Anchorite denotes someone who, for religious reasons, withdraws from secular society so as to be able to lead an intensely prayer-oriented, ascetic, and—circumstances permitting—Eucharist-focused life...
, written in the early 13th century. Ancrene Wisse was originally composed for three sisters who chose to enter the contemplative life. The work consists of eight parts: Parts 1 and 8 deal with what is called the "Outer Rule" (relating to the anchoresses' exterior life), Parts 2-7 with the "Inner Rule" (relating to the anchoresses' interior life).
Language and textual criticism
Ancrene Wisse was written in an early Middle EnglishMiddle English
Middle English is the stage in the history of the English language during the High and Late Middle Ages, or roughly during the four centuries between the late 11th and the late 15th century....
dialect known as 'AB language
AB language
In English philology, AB language refers to the early Middle English dialect of Ancrene Wisse and the Katherine Group . The 'A' and 'B' refer to extracts in Hall's Selections from Early Middle English, 1130-1250 where 'A' is from the Katherine Group texts in MS Bodley 34 and 'B' is from Ancrene...
' where 'A' denotes the manuscript Bodley 34 and 'B' the manuscript Corpus Christi 402. Manuscript Bodley 34 contains a set of texts that have become known as the "Katherine Group": Seinte Katerine, Seinte Margarete, Seinte Iuliene, Hali Meiðhad and Sawles Warde while MS Corpus Christi 402 contains a version of Ancrene Wisse. Both manuscripts were written in the AB language, described by J.R.R. Tolkien as "a faithful transcript of some dialect...or a 'standard' language based on one' in use in the West Midlands
West Midlands (region)
The West Midlands is an official region of England, covering the western half of the area traditionally known as the Midlands. It contains the second most populous British city, Birmingham, and the larger West Midlands conurbation, which includes the city of Wolverhampton and large towns of Dudley,...
in the 13th century."
Surviving manuscripts
There are seventeen surviving medieval manuscripts containing all or part of Ancrene Wisse. Of these, nine are in the original Middle English, four are translations into Anglo-NormanAnglo-Norman
The Anglo-Normans were mainly the descendants of the Normans who ruled England following the Norman conquest by William the Conqueror in 1066. A small number of Normans were already settled in England prior to the conquest...
French, and a further four are translations into Latin. The shortest extract is the Lanhydrock Fragment, which consists of only one sheet of parchment. The extant manuscripts are listed below.
| Version | Approx. date | Location | Manuscript |
|---|---|---|---|
| C - Cleopatra | 1225–1230 | British Library British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom, and is the world's largest library in terms of total number of items. The library is a major research library, holding over 150 million items from every country in the world, in virtually all known languages and in many formats,... |
Cotton MS Cotton library The Cotton or Cottonian library was collected privately by Sir Robert Bruce Cotton M.P. , an antiquarian and bibliophile, and was the basis of the British Library... Cleopatra C.vi |
| B - Nero | 1225–1250 | British Library | Cotton MS Nero A.xiv |
| C - Titus | 1225–1250 | British Library | Cotton MS Tiberius B.i |
| A - Corpus | 1225–1240 | Corpus Christi College, Cambridge Corpus Christi College, Cambridge Corpus Christi College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. It is notable as the only college founded by Cambridge townspeople: it was established in 1352 by the Guilds of Corpus Christi and the Blessed Virgin Mary... |
MS 402 |
| Lanhydrock Fragment | 1300-1250 | Bodleian Library Bodleian Library The Bodleian Library , the main research library of the University of Oxford, is one of the oldest libraries in Europe, and in Britain is second in size only to the British Library... , Oxford |
MS Eng. th.c.70 |
| P - Pepys | 1375–1400 | Magdalene College, Cambridge Magdalene College, Cambridge Magdalene College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England.The college was founded in 1428 as a Benedictine hostel, in time coming to be known as Buckingham College, before being refounded in 1542 as the College of St Mary Magdalene... |
MS Pepys 2498 |
| V - Vernon | 1375–1400 | Bodleian Library, Oxford | MS Eng. Poet.a.1 |
| G - Caius | 1350–1400 | Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge Gonville and Caius College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. The college is often referred to simply as "Caius" , after its second founder, John Keys, who fashionably latinised the spelling of his name after studying in Italy.- Outline :Gonville and... |
MS 234/120 |
| R – Royal | 15th C. | British Library | MS Royal 8 C.i |
| V - Vitellius (French) | early 14th C. | British Library | Cotton MS Vitellius F.vii |
| S – Trinity (French) | late 13th-early 14th C. | Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Trinity has more members than any other college in Cambridge or Oxford, with around 700 undergraduates, 430 graduates, and over 170 Fellows... |
MS 883 (R.14.7) |
| L- Latin | 1300–1350 | Merton College, Oxford Merton College, Oxford Merton College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its foundation can be traced back to the 1260s when Walter de Merton, chancellor to Henry III and later to Edward I, first drew up statutes for an independent academic community and established endowments to... |
MS c.i.5 (Coxe 44) |
Although none of the manuscripts is believed to be produced by the original author, several date from the first half of the 13th century. The first complete edition edited by Morton in 1853 was based on the British Library
British Library
The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom, and is the world's largest library in terms of total number of items. The library is a major research library, holding over 150 million items from every country in the world, in virtually all known languages and in many formats,...
manuscript Cotton Nero A.xiv. Recent editors have favoured Corpus Christi College, Cambridge
Corpus Christi College, Cambridge
Corpus Christi College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. It is notable as the only college founded by Cambridge townspeople: it was established in 1352 by the Guilds of Corpus Christi and the Blessed Virgin Mary...
MS 402 of which Bella Millett has written: "Its linguistic consistency and general high textual quality have made it increasingly the preferred base manuscript for editions, translations, and studies of Ancrene Wisse." It was used as the base manuscript in the critical edition published as two volumes in 2005-2006. The Corpus manuscript is the only one to include the title Ancrene Wisse.
The Ancrene Wisse was partly retranslated from French back into English and reincorporated in the late fifteenth-century Treatise of Love
Treatise of Love
The Treatise of Love is an English prose text first printed around 1493. Its printing was the work of Wynkyn de Worde, who took over William Caxton's printing business in 1491, and printed the Treatise before he began publishing under his own name in 1494...
.