They long for a time when life was, or at least should have been, simpler.
On the other hand, few people really want that life.
However, in 2013, a 24-year-old Russian man spent six months living in a medieval mansion as part of a historical re-creation project.
The purpose of the experiment was to shed light on what life might have been like for a Russian hermit in the 9th-10th centuries.
The original reason for Europeans to become hermits was not just to escape from the crowded cities, but to escape the world in search of a life of deeper spiritual connection.
The first hermit appeared in the late 3rd century AD, a hermit praying.
The first to do so was St. Anthony, who began living as a hermit in the Egyptian desert around 285 AD.
In the 4th century AD, Christianity became increasingly tied to the Roman Empire, and many Christians believed that the Roman state's favoritism toward their faith would lead to the decline of true Christianity.
In response, many left the cities and traveled to the desert to become Anchorite monks, that is, monks who lived by themselves.
They were essentially hermits, Thebaid (Life of the Desert Fathers), 1420.
(Public **** Domain) These early hermits would live in huts and small houses near each other, forming an otherwise solitary village of monks.
They each lived in their own huts and only met together for worship once or twice a week, usually on Saturdays and Sundays.
Although most of their time is spent in solitude, prayer and other religious activities, their **** life is one of daily morning and evening prayers and occasional **** meals.
They also worked together, two hermits in a cave.
Christian monasticism was brought to the Slavic lands near modern Russia in the 10th century.
However, the monastic system of monks living together in monasteries seems to have been more common at that time than the separate monastic system of early Christianity.
One of the monks of that region who was initially a hermit was Antony of Far Cave in Kiev (983-1073).
According to tradition, he lived for several years in a series of caves near Kiev, then began to attract disciples and founded a monastery.
He is credited with being one of the founders of Russian monasticism, and the life of a hermit in the Egyptian desert, which would have been hard enough, would have been especially hard in Russia because of the harsh winters.
This has led some historical re-enactment enthusiasts to try to recreate the experience of a Russian hermit living near Moscow, the torment of St. Anthony by Michelangelo (public **** field), and in 2013, a group of historical re-enactors became interested in reconstructing the life of a Russian hermit.
They wanted to see if a man could survive an early medieval Russian winter on his own.
To do this, they built a homestead to expert specifications to make sure it looked as much like a real early medieval homestead as possible.
After this, they chose a volunteer to live in the homestead for six months without any technology or equipment after the 9th-10th centuries.
The volunteer was a 24-year-old medical student and later a historical recreation professional named Pavel Sapozhnikov.
During his six months as a medieval hermit, medical professionals checked on him once a month to make sure he was healthy.