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Document Details : Title: 'To One Shut In from One Shut Out' Subtitle: An Evaluation of the Spiritual Friendship between Anchoresses and their Spiritual Directors Author(s): ERKOÇ, Seda Journal: Studies in Spirituality Volume: 20 Date: 2010 Pages: 161-189 DOI: 10.2143/SIS.20.0.2061148 Abstract : This article aims at analysing the anchoress/spiritual director relationship as revealed in the anchoritic rules written in England from the eleventh to the late fourteenth centuries. After a close reading of the English anchoritic rules, with specific attention to the tone of the authors in their addresses to the target audience and an evaluation of the sources in relation to the general religious atmosphere of the age, this article concludes that the attitudes of the authors of anchoritic literature towards their addressees were definitely influenced by the changing trends in the understanding of mystical life. Although it is impossible to evaluate the scope of the influence of these texts on the actual lives of the anchoresses, it is certain that understanding the general tendencies of this relationship between anchoress and spiritual director makes it easier to examine and explain the discourse of the authors on particular themes in the texts. |
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