Richeldis de Faverches facts for kids
Richeldis de Faverches, also known as Rychold, was an important English noblewoman. She was a very religious Catholic. People believe she started the famous shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham. The story of her vision was first written down in the 1400s. It was in a book called "The Foundation of the Chapel of Walsingham." This story tells about one of the earliest times the Virgin Mary is said to have appeared to someone.
The Story of Walsingham
A Special Vision
According to Catholic and Anglo-Catholic beliefs, Richeldis wanted to honor the Blessed Virgin Mary in a special way. In 1061, she had three visions. In these visions, the Virgin Mary appeared to her. Mary showed Richeldis the house where the Annunciation happened in Nazareth. She asked Richeldis to build a copy of this house in Walsingham. This new house would be a special place for people to visit and honor the Virgin Mary. Mary is said to have promised, "Whoever seeks my help there will not go away empty-handed."
Building the Holy House
The story says that building the house was difficult at first. One night, Richeldis heard singing. She went to her garden and found that the small house was finished. It had been moved about 200 yards from where they started building it. Richeldis believed she saw angels leaving the completed building.
The first "Holy House" was a simple wooden building. It was about 24 feet long and 13 feet wide. It had four small towers and a main tower in the middle. Later, stone was built around this wooden house. This protected it from bad weather.
When Did It Happen?
Some historians have looked at old documents. They think the shrine might have been started a bit later. This could have been between 1130 and 1153. Richeldis, who is linked to this time, died in 1145. She left her property to her son. Before going on a journey called the Second Crusade, her son, Lord Geoffrey de Faverches, gave the Holy House and its land to his chaplain, Edwin. Edwin was to start a religious group to take care of the chapel.
As travel became harder during the Crusades, Walsingham became a very popular place for pilgrimages. It was as important as places like Jerusalem, Rome, and Santiago de Compostella.
