Anonymous, Katherine Group

Sarah Salih (King's College London)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.02: English Writing and Culture: High and Late Medieval, 1066-1485.
Vol. editors: Kate Ash-Irisarri (University of Edinburgh), Rory Critten (Université de Lausanne), David Fuller (University of Durham), Natalie Hanna (University of Liverpool), Hugh Magennis (Queen's University Belfast), Jamie McKinstry (University of Durham), Sarah Peverley (University of Liverpool), Sebastian Sobecki (Rijksuniversiteit Groningen)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1210

Places

England (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Non-Fiction
- Biography (literary)

Resources

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The Katherine Group, like

Ancrene Wisse

and the Wohunge Group (Wooing Group), was written in English by an anonymous author in the West Midlands in the early thirteenth century for an audience including but not limited to anchoresses. The Katherine Group consists of five texts: “Holy Virginity”, “Custody of the Soul”, “St Margaret”, “St Juliana” and “St Katherine”, all of which have an obvious relevance to women vowed to virginity.

“Holy Virginity” addresses a “maiden”, advising her of the advantages of virginity and the disadvantages of marriage. Its distaste for marriage, though vehement, remains within Christian orthodoxy: marriage is permissible, but greatly inferior to virginity. The pleasures of virginity are described in worldly as well as spiritual

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501 words

Citation: Salih, Sarah. "Katherine Group". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 24 January 2002 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=4274, accessed 24 April 2024.]

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