Jenkins, JacquelineStockden, Owen2017-12-182017-12-182009http://hdl.handle.net/1880/104166Bibliography: p. 106-112In this thesis I argue that despite their seemingly strong alignment with Latinate traditions, there are grounds for perceiving in the early thirteenth-century anchoritic texts Ancrene Wisse, Hali Meiohad, and Seinte Katerine elements of Middle English vernacularity as described in critical writing such as the 1999 anthology The Idea of the Vernacular. I approach this issue by frrst establishing a theoretical and historical schema within which one may perceive the presence of a "vernacular ideology" in these works, and then proceed to analyse the individual instances of vernacularity they contain as evinced in, for instance, translations and subversions of the Latin socioliterary sphere. I argue in conclusion that these writings represent not only a unique, linguistically hybridised textuality, but that their vernacular elements create an unusual space of freedom for their female anchoritic readers and may offer us further insight into the spiritual practices of thirteenth-century anchoresses.vi, 112 leaves ; 30 cm.engUniversity of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission.master thesis10.11575/PRISM/3165