Author Description

Godric of Finchdale was a hermit, merchant, and medieval saint. His life was recorded by Benedictine monk Reginald of Durham, but the work has hitherto only been available in manuscripts and in one nineteenth century edition by Joseph Stevenson. The contemporary audience for Reginald's account has been said to be small, provincial and local, comprising mostly peasants and women. Subsequently, Godric has been famous for his songs, which have had a separate transmission and are still performed today.Much past research on Godric of Finchdale has been based on summaries or epitomes of Reginald's work. It is now clear that several authors rewrote the story to omit many miracles and large potions of text, and that only one manuscript remains testament to the original. This book is the first full, literal translation, presenting Reginald's work as closely as possible to the single original manuscript, and opening up the work to a wider audience for the first time.This translation of The Life and Miracles of Saint Godric, Hermit of Finchale uses the one remaining original manuscript to open up Reginald of Durham's work to a wider audience.