Godric

Godric is the main character of this fictionalized biography. He was born in Walpole, England to a peasant family in the 11th century. When he becomes an adult, he sets out on his own to become a merchant. He starts by selling hair but stumbles into great profits when he takes part in a religious riot. Peregrine Small, a Christian mistaken for a Jew, dies in his arms. Afterwards, the facts of the events are distorted and Small is made out to be a martyr. Godric sells his bloodstained clothes as relics and even counterfeits more relics with cat's blood. He is exiled by the bishop and goes at first to an island named Farne to store his fortune. There, he receives a vision from St. Cuthbert admonishing him to give up his sinful ways. He does not listen, however—at least immediately. Instead, he starts up...