Edith the Fair: Visionary of Walsingham

by B.W. 'Bill' Flint

B.W. Flint's Edith the Fair: Visionary of Walsingham is the first attempt to establish the historical identity of the Walsingham visionary, 'Rychold,' since 1951. The founding date of the Marian shrine of Walsingham, which is the national shrine of England, has long been disputed by historians- despite the fact that it was one of the most widely frequented shrines of medieval Europe, known and visited by leading scholars such as Erasmus. While the histories of other Marian visionaries are treated with great interest, surprisingly little attempt has been made to understand the message of Walsingham and the story of the woman to whom it was entrusted. Through rigorous re-examination of the primary sources, most notably the Norfolk Rolls and the Pynson Ballad, B.W. Flint ascertains the founding date of the shrine and identifies the name of 'Rychold,' Lady of the Manor, through a close examination of the Domesday Book. His exhaustive analysis of the iconography of Our Lady of Walsingham and historical research into the figure of 'Rychold', identified as 'Edith the Fair,' reveals why her identity as Walsingham visionary has been confined to obscurity for so long. Flint's insights lead to a fresh examination of the message of Our Lady of Walsingham, which has lasting implications for the understanding of Anglo-Saxon Christianity and the English Catholic Church.

232 pages, Paperback

First published May 13, 2015

Reviews

[Mike Voyce · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book's explosive potential is beyond calculation.
Bill Flint has the richest, most complete understanding of late Anglo-Saxon/early Norman England I have encountered.
I can understand his frustration at the misleading writings of supposed authorities on the subject of Our Lady of Walsingham; it makes him very repetitive in his attempt to 'crowbar' the original source evidence into the crania of academic and religious writers. He does not so much shred as ultimately pulverise conventional historians (particularly the unfortunate Dickinson) for their ignorance, incompetence and lack of scholarship.
What this work establishes beyond doubt is that the nearly anonymous lady of the country manor of Walsingham, who experienced the vision and instructions from Mary, Jesus' mother, perhaps in the 1130s, was in fact Edith the rich and fair (Rychold) wife of King Harold II. Not only that; she was fabulously wealthy (almost beyond measure) and very closely related to the royal houses of England and Denmark, in England particularly King Canute and Edward the Confessor. Not only that; she established the shrine to Mother Mary at Walsingham, the replica of Jesus' birth place in the Holly-land, in 1061, with King Edward's approval and as declared in the ancient Pynson Ballard.
The emergence of the facts puts an entirely new light on the Norman quasi suppression of the shrine and Henry VIII's out and out suppression and despoliation of it. The shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham was always a royal shrine, very much so from the time of Henry III until the Reformation, as well as a shrine for the poor, sick and needy. It bound England together, rich and poor, in faith in Humanity as well as God, and countless miracles are said to have come from it. No wonder governments of various times, including now, would rather we put faith in their selfish promises than in England, Humanity, and the grace and compassion of Our Lady of Walsingham.

[George · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very interesting book, which the author sadly appears not to have had chance to finish editing before his death (it was published posthumously). It presents a compelling argument to identify Richeldis, the Visionary of Walsingham, as Edith, the queen of King Harold II Godwinson of England, but does so by offering essentially the same evidence, albeit framed somewhat differently, several times in succession. Nevertheless, a worthwhile read.