Ancrene Wisse (also Ancrene Riwle) or Guide for Anchoresses is a monastic rule (or manual) for anchorite nuns, written in the early 13th century in Middle English.
There are eleven manuscript versions in existence containing all or part of the text in its original English, there are also four versions in Middle French, and a further four Latin translations. The oldest manuscript in English is kept at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge.
One of the many scholars who have studied this work was J. R. R. Tolkien.
