Julian Of Norwich: Is Julian An Anchoress Or Laywoman?

Julian of Norwich, born on c. 8 November 1342 was an anchoress and a mystic woman. Her name may have been taken from the parish church of St Julian at Conisford in Norwich, where she had her cell as she lived a life of extreme meditation. However, the name Julian was not uncommon at the time and might have been hers from birth. No other information concerning her identity or origins has come to light and Julian reveals nothing of her life up to that point, and there is much debate as to whether she was then already an anchoress, or still a laywoman. Julian is known through her one work, usually referred to by its modern title of Revelations of Divine Love, which she composed in both a short and a long version. This