Wild Edric

I first came across the legend of Wild Edric in Malcolm Saville’s Mystery at Witchend, one of my favourite childhood books. The Morton family are entertained on the train from Shrewsbury to Church Stretton by Bill Ward, a sailor on leave from the Second World War. As well as other Shropshire legends, he tells them the story of Wild Edric, who haunts the Long Mynd as a great black dog. In the second book in Saville’s Lone Pine series, Seven White Gates, we hear another telling of the same legend, only this time Wild Edric is very much a man, roaming the hills with his beautiful wife, Godda, and the Wild Hunt.

Now that I live in the heart of the hills, I’ve been able to dig further into the many legends of Wild Edric and the real Saxon nobleman who led a rebellion against William the Conqueror in 1067 and inspired the myths.

The Fairy Bride (The Legend of Lady Godda)

The most romantic of the myths – that told in Saville’s Seven White Gates – is of Edric and Godda, recorded by the 12th-century chronicler Walter Map. Whilst hunting in the Forest of Clun, Edric discovered a remote house filled with beautiful dancing women. He was instantly smitten with one named Godda and snatched her away, only to be attacked by her sisters, who turned into monsters (harpies or birds, depending on the version). Edric escaped with Godda, who agreed to marry him, on the condition that he never reproached her for her origins or her sisters. For years, they lived happily and had a son, Alnoth; however, one day, in a fit of temper when Godda was late, Edric snapped, ‘I suppose you have been off with your sisters!’ Godda immediately disappeared, and Edric spent the rest of his life searching for her before dying of a broken heart.

The Sleeping Hero (The Lead Mines of the Stiperstones)

In this version, Edric is a King in the Mountain figure, much like King Arthur or Frederick Barbarossa. When Edric at last surrendered to William the Conqueror, his people felt betrayed and imprisoned him inside the lead mines of the Stiperstones along with his wife and his army. (How they managed this is not clear, but presumably some magic was involved, and in most versions he became cursed.) He and his army remain within the Stiperstones mines to this day and cannot die until England is once more restored to its pre-Norman state. Local lead miners traditionally claimed they could hear Edric and his men knocking on the inside of the rock faces, but weren’t scared; the miners believed the knocking guided them toward the richest veins of ore.

The Harbinger of War (The Wild Hunt)

This version connects Edric to the pan-European myth of the Wild Hunt, found in many local folklores. Whenever England is threatened by a major war, Edric and Lady Godda lead a spectral host across the Shropshire hills. (This legend is also mentioned in Saville’s Seven White Gates when young Jenny Harman claims to have seen the hunt on the eve of the Second World War.) Sightings of a green-clad Edric on a white horse have been reported before several significant conflicts:

• 1854: Before the Crimean War (witnessed by a young girl and her father near Rorrington).
• 1914: Before the First World War.
• 1939: Before the Second World War.

Legend says if you see the hunt, you must remain silent and look away. Seeing them ride toward the enemy's country is a sign that the coming war will be serious.

The Monster Fish of Bomere Pool

This strange version of the legend is one that I had never heard before moving to the area, connecting Edric to a giant fish in Bomere Pool near Shrewsbury. It is said that a monster fish lives in the pool and is girded with Wild Edric’s sword. (This immediately raised questions for me, e.g. how does a fish become encircled by a sword, which is a straight piece of metal – magic again, presumably.) Whenever fishermen try to catch the fish with nets, the fish uses the sword to cut through the mesh and escape. The fish will only be caught, and the sword returned, when the rightful heir of Edric the Wild returns to the land. Surely this creates a great opportunity for anyone standing for local office to claim direct descendancy from Edric.

The Real Eadric the Wild

The real Eadric the Wild (or Eadric Silvaticus) was a Saxon landowner who held 56 manors in Shropshire before the Norman Conquest and is listed in the Domesday Book. Contrary to the folktales, he was no hunted outlaw in the immediate aftermath of the Conquest, as he was not involved in the Battle of Hastings and may instead have been part of the naval blockade that attempted to keep William away from England’s shores.

Rather than being sparked by a fairy bride, his rebellion was in fact ignited by a Norman neighbour, Richard FitzScrob, who began seizing Eadric’s lands in 1067, while William was away in Normandy. While the myth implies he was a wild man of the woods, historians believe the nickname Silvaticus (meaning of the woods) actually referred to a specific class of English resistance fighters who lived in tents and forests to avoid submitting to Norman housing laws (shades of Robin Hood, anyone?).

The Guerrilla War vs. The Wild Hunt

Between 1067 and 1070, Eadric led a very real and brutal campaign. He allied with Welsh Princes Bleddyn and Rhiwallon ap Cynfyn to sack Hereford and burn the town of Shrewsbury. He was never truly defeated in his own territory. Instead, he retreated into the hills whenever the King's main army approached. The Wild Hunt legend likely grew from these hit-and-run tactics. Since Eadric and his men would vanish into the Shropshire hills and forests only to reappear suddenly for a raid, they gained a reputation as spectral or untouchable warriors.

The Surrender: A Disappointing Ending?

In 1070, Eadric made a pragmatic choice that the legends struggle to reconcile: he submitted to William the Conqueror. He even joined William’s army in 1072 to fight in Scotland and Maine.

Folk tradition seems to have found this peaceful ending too anticlimactic. In the Sleeping Hero version, the story claims his own people were so disgusted by his surrender that they cursed him and imprisoned him in the Stiperstones mines. In the Fairy Bride version, his surrender is framed as a truce William offered just so the King could see Edric's beautiful, supernatural wife.

The Fate of the Sword

Eadric disappeared from the historical record around 1075. One 15th-century chronicle suggests he was eventually captured by the Norman Ralph de Mortimer and died in a dungeon. Because there was no recorded grave or grand final battle, the myth of the Monster Fish at Bomere Pool provided a more magical ending for his weaponry, suggesting that his power didn't die, but was merely hidden underwater until a rightful heir should return.

There are shades here of King Arthur and Excalibur being cast into the lake to be reclaimed once the true king returned, although Mallory’s Morte d’Arthur wasn’t written until the mid-fifteenth century, with a probable completion date of 1470. It was first published by William Caxton in 1485, who also named it the Morte d’Arthur.

Modern Day Links

Today, the legend of Wild Edric is not just a dusty historical record; it is a living part of Shropshire's landscape and local culture. His story is preserved through physical trails, public art, and traditional storytelling. Here is how the specific locations associated with the legend celebrate and maintain the story today:

1. The Stiperstones (familiar to readers of Death at the Devil’s Chair)

This dramatic quartzite ridge is arguably the most atmospheric location linked to Edric.

The Devil’s Chair: Local folklore says the Devil sits here to hold audiences with witches, and it is also where Edric is said to be imprisoned in the lead mines below.

Modern Folklore Sightings: Even in the 20th century, locals (such as a woman from nearby Minsterley in 1939) reported hearing the "thundering of hooves" and seeing a green-clad Edric before major wars.

Walking & Tourism: The Bishop’s Castle Walking Festival (often held in May) and local guides frequently lead legend walks that explore the Stiperstones, telling the tale of Edric’s imprisonment and his spectral Wild Hunt that supposedly warns of national danger.

2. Wild Edric’s Way (The Long Distance Trail)

The most prominent modern tribute is a 50-mile (80km) long-distance footpath named in his honour. The trail begins in Church Stretton, crosses the Long Mynd (where he is sometimes seen as a giant black dog), passes the Stiperstones, and winds through Bishop’s Castle and Clun before ending at Ludlow. The path is marked with distinct discs featuring a sword design, representing the sword he supposedly entrusted to the fish of Bomere Pool. It allows hikers to walk the terrain of his 11th-century guerrilla war.

3. Bomere Pool (The "Monster Fish" Waters)

This kettle hole mere (a deep glacial pool) remains shrouded in mystery, though access is more limited today.

Private Legend: The pool is now privately owned by a water skiing club, but the legend of the "Monster Fish" with Edric’s sword remains a staple of Shropshire folklore.

Literary Fame: The location inspired Mary Webb’s famous novel Precious Bane (where it is called Sarn Mere), which helped keep the local myths alive in the public consciousness.

4. Shrewsbury (Public Art and History)

As the site where the real Edric once led a siege against the Normans, Shrewsbury integrates his myth into the town's identity.

The Wild Edric and Lady Godda Mural: In Shrewsbury town centre, a large mural depicts the Broken Promise story of Edric and his fairy bride. It serves as a permanent public reminder of the legend's romantic side.

Shrewsbury Museum & Art Gallery: The museum frequently holds events and workshops on Anglo-Saxon history and local folklore. While the exhibits change, they often use Edric as the primary "hero" figure to explain the transition from Saxon to Norman rule in the region.

5. David Austin Roses

In a quintessentially British tribute, the world-famous Shropshire-based rose breeder David Austin named a specific variety of shrub rose after him. The Wild Edric rose is described as having deep-pink-purple blooms with a strong fragrance—a nod to the wild, vibrant nature of the legend.

Summary of Locations to Visit