Ancrene Wisse and Vernacular Spirituality in the Middle Ages" is an introduction to the "Ancrene Wisse"--an important thirteenth-century guide for recluses who, for religious reasons, withdrew from secularity in order to lead an ascetic and prayer-oriented life. This volume considers the broad religious context in which the "Ancrene Wisse" was written and broadens that context by addressing issues of readership, drawing comparisons between lay piety and sermons, and challenging some of the long-held views on Ancrene Wisse's" "specifically female readership, articulating a place for the monastic classic in the developing literature of vernacular spirituality.