Talk:Anchorite

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Definition of anaxwrew[edit]

The verb "anaxwrew" means "to go back", "to withdraw" or "to retreat". Someone has mistakenly conflated "xwrew" with "xwros" a noun which means "land" or "xwritos" which means "a rustic inhabitant".

Waste management[edit]

On a similar note to the burial question, what did they do with their bodily waste if they were walled up? Did they have to pass it out through the same window "through which the inhabitant would receive food and other necessities and, in turn, could provide spiritual advice and counsel to visitors"? --76.200.139.66 (talk) 22:06, 2 February 2008 (UTC)[reply]

An answer is provided at this site http://theanchoressonline.com/2008/06/02/questions-comments-from-the-email/

"The problem of waste w/ Anchorites was pretty much the same as it was for others at that time - chamber pots. Whoever was kind enough to bring them food would take away (and presumably clean) the chamber pots." Lumos3 (talk) 09:26, 21 October 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Burial[edit]

Out of curiosity, anyone know what they did with the anchoress's body when they died? Did they tear down the wall or something? --NeuronExMachina 18:38, 11 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]

From what I've read most were buried in their parish cemetery. I would also hazard a guess that some were buried in family plots. I've also seen a reference to an Anchoress being interred under her cell (Anorra of St. Mary's Iffley, maybe?) Cheers Oons 20:01, 26 September 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Anchorite vs Anchoress[edit]

The article's title is Anchorite, but the article itself refers almost exclusively to anchoresses. Should it perhaps be noted somewhere that the majority of people practicing this particular devotion were female? Were the majority of them female? I don't really know. Esrever 15:46, 15 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Oxford English Dictionary states Anchorite applies to both sexes. 94.213.112.237 (talk) 21:02, 23 September 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Catherine of Siena[edit]

Catherine of Siena led a "consecrated life," but did not remain confined to a cell; she traveled extensively. If the definition of an anchoress requires confinement, she does not fit the bill. This needs to be fixed, but I'm not sure if the definition is wrong, or if Catherine of Sienna should be removed as an example. MamaGeek ^{(talk/contrib)} 14:27, 12 October 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Although all anchorites would have led a "consecrated life", not all people leading a "consecrated life" were necessarily anchorites. There were different ways of leading a"consecrated life" and being an anchorite was just one of them. But with regard to Catherine of Siena, I think she simply wasn't an anchoress. Carmencantora (talk) 11:50, 13 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]