Subject: RE: Godric of Finchale
From:
Jack Campin
Date: 10 Jul 25 - 04:33 PM
Notes about him by Bruno Seulin on FB:
Godrico de Finchale, who died on 21 May 1170, was a merchant turned hermit and also one of the first English composers named – at least, his are the first songs in English for which the music survives. He was born at Walpole in Norfolk, shortly after the Norman Conquest (ca. 1070), from English countries, and became a successful merchant, trading and sailing to Scotland, Denmark and Rome. He made several pilgrims, but (partly inspired by a visit to the Farne Islands of St. Cuthbert) was drawn to the life of a hermit and eventually settled at Finchale, near Durham, where he lived for the last sixty years of his life
There are four verses attributed to him, preserved in an account of his life written by the Benedictine monk Reginald of Durham (deceased circa 1190). Here below they are on a page from a manuscript in the British Library (Royal 5 F VII, f. 85).
Reginaldo de Druham says the first song came to Godrico when he had a vision of his sister Burhcwen, also lonely in Finchale, being welcomed into heaven. She was singing a thanksgiving song, in Latin, and Godrico translates her song into English like this:
Crist and sainte marie swa on scamel me iledde
þat ic on þis erðe ne silde wid mine bare fote i tredie.
Godrico's most famous song also came to him in a vision: the Virgin Mary told him to sing it whenever he was tempted, tired or in pain, and she would come to his aid:
Saint Mary the Virgin ,
Moder Iesu Cristes Nazarenë,
Onfo, schild, help thin Godric,
Onfong bring hegilich
With the in Godës riche.
Saint Marië Christes bur,
Maiden clenhad, moderator flur;
Dilie min sinnë, rix in min mod,
Bring me to winnë with the selfd God.
And Godric's last verse is a prayer to Saint Nicholas:
Saint Nicholas's godes thread
stamp us make scone hus
That you burth that you bare
Sainte nicholaes bring vs wel þare.
These verses are fascinating, in part because they offer a glimpse into the dark and much-underrated world of 12th-century English literature. The traditional view, for a long time, was that the thriving vernacular literature of Anglo-Saxon England came to an abrupt end in the late 11th century, resurfacing only at some point in the 13th century – as if the Norman Conquest had made everyone forget overnight who have told stories, sung songs or heard homilies in English. A lot has changed, of course, but academic studies increasingly demonstrate that the traditional model of "breaking up" is too simplistic. Godrico's songs are an interesting case study in this context. Verses are more than competent, especially the use of rhyme – it's clearly not about someone messing around with poetic techniques they didn't understand. As far as we know, Godrico had no formal education, and tracing the cultural influences of someone who has lived such a traveled and varied life is a complex task.
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