Editing Julian of Norwich (section)

=== Life as an anchoress ===
[[File:CCCC MS 79 fol72r 300px.jpg|thumb|alt=illustration of a medieval bishop blessing an anchoress|A bishop blessing an anchoress, from MS 079: Pontifical ({{circa|1400|1410}}), [[Corpus Christi College, Cambridge]]]]
Julian was an anchoress from at least the 1390s.{{sfn|Baker|1993|p=148}} Living in her cell, she would have played an important part within her community, devoting herself to a life of prayer to complement the [[clergy]] in their primary function as protectors of souls.{{sfn|Ramirez|2016|p=11}} Her solitary life would have begun after the completion of an onerous selection process.{{sfn|Leyser|2002|p=206}} An important church ceremony would have taken place at St Julian's Church, in the presence of the [[bishop]].{{sfn|Rolf|2018|p=50}} During the ceremony, [[psalms]] from the [[Office of the Dead]] would have been sung for Julian (as if it were her funeral), and at some point she would have been led to her cell door and into the room beyond.{{sfn|Ramirez|2016|p=13}} The door would afterwards have been sealed up, and she would have remained in her cell for the rest of her life.{{sfn|Ramirez|2016|pp=5, 13}}

Once her life of seclusion had begun, Julian would have had to follow the strict rules laid down for anchoresses. Two important sources of information about the life of such women have survived. {{lang|la|De institutione inclusarum}} was written in [[Latin]] by [[Aelred of Rievaulx|Ælred of Rieveaulx]] in around 1162, and the {{lang|enm|[[Ancrene Wisse|Ancrene Riwle]]}} was written in [[Middle English]] in around 1200.{{sfn|Leyser|2002|pp=210, 212}}{{sfn|Fugelso|2020|p=127}}{{refn|1=Apart from {{lang|enm|The Ancrene Riwle}} and {{lang|la|De institutione inclusarum}}, the most important of the 13 surviving texts are [[Richard Rolle]]'s ''Form of Living'' ({{circa|1348}}) and ''The Scale of Perfection'' (written by Walter Hilton in 1386 and later, prior to his death in 1396).{{sfn|Baker|1993|p=148}}|group=note}} Originally made for three sisters, the {{lang|enm|Ancrene Riwle}} became in time a manual for all female recluses.{{sfn|Leyser|2002|p=211}} The work regained its former popularity during the mystical movement of the 14th century. It may have been available to Julian to read and become familiar with—being a book written in a language she could read.{{sfn|Baker|1993|p=149}} The book stipulated that anchoresses should live in confined isolation, in [[vow of poverty|poverty]], and under a [[vow of chastity]].{{sfn|Ramirez|2016|p=11}} The popular image of Julian living with her cat for company stems from the regulations set out in the {{lang|enm|Ancrene Riwle}}.{{sfn|Ramirez|2016|pp=11{{ndash}}13}}

As an anchoress living in the heart of an urban environment, Julian would not have been entirely secluded. She would have enjoyed the financial support of the more prosperous members of the local community, as well as the general affection of the population. She would have in turn provided prayers and given advice to visitors, serving as an example of devout holiness.{{sfn|Windeatt|2015|pp=xii{{ndash}}xiii}} According to one edition of the ''[[Cambridge Medieval History]]'', it is possible that she met the English mystic [[Walter Hilton]], who died when Julian was in her fifties, and who may have influenced her writings in a small way.{{sfn|Tanner|Previté-Orton|Brooke|1932|p=807}}