[3][4] I. Saintë Marië Virginë, Moder Iesu Cristes Nazarenë, Onfo, schild, help thin Godric, Onfong bring hegilich With the in Godës riche.

According to these accounts, Godric, who began from humble beginnings as the son of Ailward and Edwenna, "both of slender rank and wealth, but abundant in righteousness and virtue".

[7] Upon Aelric's death, Godric made one last pilgrimage to Jerusalem, and then returned home where he convinced Ranulf Flambard, the Bishop of Durham, to grant him a place to live as a hermit at Finchale, by the River Wear.

[9] He is recorded to have lived at Finchale for the final sixty years of his life, occasionally meeting with visitors approved by the local prior.

As the years passed, his reputation grew, and Thomas Becket and Pope Alexander III both reportedly sought Godric's advice as a wise and holy man.

They pledged to come to his aid in times of need; and the Virgin herself taught Godric a song of consolation to overcome grief or temptation (Saintë Marië Virginë).