SOURCE: Dahood, Roger. “Ancrene Wisse, the Katherine Group, and the Wohunge Group.” In Middle English Prose: A Critical Guide to Major Authors and Genres, edited by A. S. G. Edwards, pp. 1-33. New Brunswick, N.J.: Rutgers University Press, 1984.

In the following essay, Dahood presents an overview of Ancrene Wisse, including its origin, manuscripts, editions, languages, sources, and style.

This chapter deals with several related early Middle English works associated with the West Midlands. The longest and best known is Ancrene Wisse (AW), a rule of living written for anchoresses, female religious of more or less solitary life. The Katherine Group (KG) consists of five works in alliterative prose, of which one is a treatise in praise of virginity, Hali Meiðhad (HM); another is an allegorical homily of body and soul, Sawles Warde (SW); and three are saints' lives, Saint Katherine (SK), Saint Juliana (SJ), and Saint...