Abstract

This essay is a commentary on the Vita of Verdiana of Castelfiorentino, undertaken with the assistance of two medievalists, by two prison inmates with long experience of solitary confinement. In line with their political ideals, they have chosen not to request any reduction in their sentences permitted by Italian law. Grounded in their own reading of recent research on medieval voluntary reclusion, the essay serves as an introduction to the life of anyone denied freedom of movement and living in strict enclosure. For historians of voluntary reclusion, it draws out some of the psychological and social implications of long-term imprisonment (and the continuities and differences between distant historical moments).