At the turn of the fourteenth century, eremitic life—typified by the third and fourth century saints known as the Desert Fathers—was presented as a spiritual ideal not only for mendicant friars but also for the laity who were encouraged to withdraw to their own "desert", any space where they could connect with God. Art historians have traditionally explored the significance of the Desert Fathers by examining wall and panel paintings, while illustrated copies of the tradition’s fundamental text have gone largely unremarked.
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