One of the eeriest Medieval practices was the ceremonial burial of the anchorite, or the “Servicium Recludendi” as one litany calls it. Imagine being in the head-space of an anchorite, in which you were so concerned about devoting your life to prayer and abjuration of this world that you willingly entombed yourself in a prayer cell that mimicked a tomb.
Anchorites (anchoresses for females) were rare but notable figures in Medieval Europe — here you see an image of a stone cell, which was added onto a church, often on the north side. The cross-shaped window you see is an eye-slit that looked out from the anchorite’s enclosure onto an altar, so they could observe the Catholic mass. In the lower left corner is an illuminated manuscript from the 15th century, showing a bishop conducting a prayer service in front of an anchoress’ cell.
The anchorites knew what they were getting into — death to the world was a serious commitment. Once enclosed, they never came out, relying on outsiders to remove their waste and procure goods for them. Minimal communication with the outside world was allowed, as the anchorite was supposed to pray for their souls to resist sin — even in their enclosures, heaven was not assured for them.
In a twelfth-century “Servicium Recludendi,” the anchorite enters the cell with the same rituals as a Christian burial ceremony. The anchorite prays with priests surrounding him before he enters, and then, the guide commands: “let the tomb be opened and the recluse enter it and begin the antiphon: ‘This is my rest,” with the chorus outside chanting the psalm “O Lord, remember David,’ with the same antiphon. Then, as the priest sprinkles a little dust over him [they pray some more]. . . . After this, let all depart, with the priest remaining for a short time and teaching the recluse, so that he may rise up through obedience and in obedience complete the remainder of his life. And then let the door of his home be barricaded . . . .”.
And thus, the last public appearance has the anchorite take a special public performance, right before extinguishing almost all contact with other people.
Source(s): BL MS Vespasian D, xv, folks. 61r-65r. _A Twelfth-Century Service for Enclosing an Anchorite or Anchoress: Introduction, Latin Text, and Translation,_, Digital Commons @ Trinity, _The Expositor: A Journal of Undergraduate Research in the Humanities_, 2019, Luke Ayres and Victoria Bahr. @buikdingcinservation.com/articles/anchorites/anchorites.htm, Mari Hughes-Edwards, Solitude and Sociability: the Works of the Anchorite.
