Ancrene Wisse

Ancrene Wisse (also Ancrene Riwle) 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).

Language and textual criticism

Ancrene Wisse was written in an early Middle English 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."

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-Norman 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	Cotton MS 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	MS 402
Lanhydrock Fragment	1300-1250	Bodleian Library, Oxford	MS Eng. th.c.70
P - Pepys	1375–1400	Magdalene College, Cambridge	MS Pepys 2498
V - Vernon	1375–1400	Bodleian Library, Oxford	MS Eng. Poet.a.1
G - Caius	1350–1400	Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge	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	MS 883 (R.14.7)
L- Latin	1300–1350	Merton College, Oxford	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 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.

References

• Macaulay, G.C. (1914), "The Ancren Riwle", Modern Language Review 9 (1): 63–78, JSTOR 3713428 .
• Millett, Bella (1992), "The Origins of the Ancrene Wisse: New Answers, New Questions", Medium Ævum: 206–228 . Article available from Periodicals Archive Online. Subscription required.
• Millett, Bella (1996), Annotated Biographies of Old and Middle English Literature: II Ancrene wisse, the Katherine Group, and the Wooing Group, Cambridge: D.S. Brewer, ISBN 0859914291 .
• Tolkien, J.R.R. (1929), "Ancrene Wisse and Hali Meiðhad", Essays and Studies by Members of the English Association 14: 104–126 .
• Wada, Yoko, ed. (2003), A Companion to Ancrene Wisse, Woodbridge: D.S. Brewer, ISBN 0859917622, http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=aw21vOIYZRcC&lpg=PP1&pg=PP1#v=onepage&q&f=false .

Editions

• Baugh, A.C., ed. (1956), The English Text of the Ancrene Riwle: Edited from British Museum MS Royal 8 C.i, Early English Text Society 232, Oxford University Press .
• Day, Mabel, ed. (1952), The English Text of the Ancrene Riwle: Edited from Cotton MS Nero A.xiv, on the Basis of a Transcript by J. A. Herbert, Early English Text Society 225, Oxford University Press .
• D'Evelyn, Charlotte, ed. (1944), The Latin Text of the Ancrene Riwle: Edited from Merton College MS 44 and British Museum MS Cotton Vitellius E.vii, Early English Text Society 216, Oxford University Press .
• Dobson, E.J., ed. (1972), The English Text of the Ancrene Riwle: Edited from British Museum Cotton MS. Cleopatra C.vi., Early English Text Society 267, Oxford University Press .
• Hasenfratz, Robert J., ed. (2000), Ancrene Wisse, Medieval Institute Publications, Western Michigan University, ISBN 9781580440707, http://www.lib.rochester.edu/camelot/teams/hasenfratz.htm . Full text available online.
• Herbert, J.A., ed. (1944), The French Text of the Ancrene Riwle: Edited from MS. Cotton Vitellius F.vii., Early English Text Society 219, Oxford University Press .
• Mack, F. M., ed. (1963), The English Text of the Ancrene Riwle: Edited from Cotton MS. Titus D.xviii. and Bodleian MS. Eng. th.c.70, Early English Text Society 232, Oxford University Press .
• Millett, Bella, ed. (2005-2006), Ancrene Wisse : a corrected edition of the text in Cambridge, Corpus Christi College, MS 402, with variants from other manuscripts. 2 vols., Early English Text Society 325 & 326, Oxford University Press . Volume 1: ISBN 0197223281, Volume 2: ISBN 0199205760.
• Morton, James, ed. (1853), The Ancren Riwle; a Treatise on the Rules and Duties of Monastic Life, Edited and Translated from a Semi-Saxon MS. of the Thirteenth Century, London: Camden Society, http://books.google.com/books?id=7BgIAAAAIAAJ .
• Tolkien, J.R.R., ed. (1962), The English Text of the Ancrene Riwle: Ancrene Wisse: Edited from MS. Corpus Christi College, Cambridge 402, Early English Text Society 249, Intro. by Ker, N.R., Oxford University Press . (Reprinted in 2000 ISBN 0197222498).
• Trethewey, W.H., ed. (1958), The French Text of the Ancrene Riwle: Edited from Trinity College, Cambridge MS R.147, Early English Text Society 240, Oxford University Press .
• Wilson, R.M., ed. (1954), The English Text of the Ancrene Riwle: Edited from Gonville and Caius College MS. 234/120, Early English Text Society 229, Intro. by N.R. Ker, Oxford University Press .
• Zettersten, Arne, ed. (1976), The English Text of the Ancrene Riwle: Edited from Magdalene College, Cambridge MS. Pepys 2498, Early English Text Society 274, Oxford University Press .
• Zettersten, Arne; Diensberg, Bernard, eds. (2000), The English Text of the Ancrene Riwle, The 'Vernon' text: MS. Bodleian Library Eng. Poet. a.1, Early English Text Society 310, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0197223141 .

Further reading

• Cannon, Christopher (2005), The Grounds of English Literature, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0199230390, http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=1azToJ0k-DQC&lpg=PP1&pg=PP1#v=onepage&q&f=false .
• Dobson, John (1975), Moralities on the Gospels: New Source of Ancrene Wisse, Oxford: Clarendon Press, ISBN 0198120567 .
• Gunn, Cate (2008), Ancrene Wisse: From Pastoral Literature to Vernacular Spirituality, Cardiff: University of Wales Press, ISBN 9780708320341 .
• Potts, Jennifer; Stevenson, Lorna (1993), Concordance to Ancrene Wisse: MS. Corpus Christi, Cambridge 402, Woodbridge: D.S. Brewer, ISBN 0859913953 .
• Robertson, Elizabeth (1990), Early English Devotional Prose and the Female Audience, Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, ISBN 0870496417 .
• Savage, Anne; Watson, Nicholas, trans. (1991), Anchoritic Spirituality: Ancrene wisse and associated works, Preface by Benedicta Ward, New York: Paulist Press, ISBN 0809132575, http://books.google.com/books?id=_oUF4_Z5bMMC&lpg=PP1&pg=PP1#v=onepage&q&f=false .
• White, Hugh, trans. (1993), Ancrene Wisse: Guide for Anchoresses, London: Penguin, ISBN 0140445854 .

External links

• Liturgy in the Style of the Anchoresses as used today in All Saints' Church, Norfolk
• Ancrene Wisse: a Medieval Guide for Anchoresses on www.hermitary.com