Godric

GODRIC (Saint). b. Norfolk, ca. 1070; d. Finchale, County Durham, 21 May 1170. Born to an Anglo-Saxon couple in the early years following the Norman Conquest, Godric became a pedlar and then a trader with European countries. He travelled widely, making pilgrimages to Jerusalem, Rome, and Santiago de Compostella. At some point in the early 12th century (ca. 1104-05) he sold all his goods and became a hermit, first at Whitby and then at Finchale, on the banks of the river Wear near Durham. There he lived a life of great austerity and asceticism, though looked after for some years by his sister Burcwen. He became celebrated as a holy man, and was visited and revered by many notable figures. He...