“The idea of the beautiful Richilda corrupted the heart of a man before good and virtuous, and made it capable of every crime.”[1]

“…the Lord has been a witness between you and the wife of your youth. You have acted treacherously against her, though she was your marriage partner and your wife by covenant….‘If he hates and divorces his wife,’ says the Lord God of Israel, ‘he covers his garment with injustice,’ says the Lord of Hosts. Therefore, watch yourselves carefully, and do not act treacherously.” ~ Malachi 2:14b, 16

Richilda tells the assembly of her knights that her patron saint visited her in a dream and showed her the lucky man whom she would wed.  It is a lie, but through it she gives an explanation for her choice – and for finding out who he is.  She then proceeds to describe him, and finds out he is already married.  In response to this surprise, Richilda says it was a sign she should not marry right now.

All the knights leave her court; but their words spread like wildfire.

Richilda’s Chosen One

The Earl of Lowen, Lord Gombald (yah…I know…terrible name!), lived in “contented wedlock” with his first cousin.[2]   Although it was an arranged marriage, they were very happy together…until he heard of Richilda’s “dream.”  To be desired by the wealthiest and most beautiful woman of his time was too much for Gombald.  He became cold toward his wife, spending time alone without her.

She naturally notices this change, and tries in vain to win back his affection.  It does no good.

After he reprimands her for crying, the poor woman finally breaks down and begs him to tell her why his love had grown cold.

Like Richilda, he lies.  He said that their sin of being wed “within the forbidden degrees”[3] needed to be absolved with an annulment (although it was a common practice, the church discouraged marriage of first cousins).  The wife pleads with him, telling him she is with child, hoping against hope that this fact will soften him.  It does not.

Gombald gets a divorce and puts his wife in a nunnery.  The poor wife gives birth to a lovely daughter, whom she names Blanca before she dies.  Gombald puts the baby “into the hands of a governess in one of his castles,” leaving “a few maids and dwarfs to attend upon her.”[4]  He then rides off and marries Richilda.

Sin’s Consequence

I would not have chosen the topic of divorce for a blog post.  It also breaks my “I-should-only-write-about-what-I’ve-experienced” rule.  However, if I am in charge of making the itinerary (or the rules), then I’m not truly seeking God in fairy tales.

So what do I see in this fairy tale?

I see the same world we live in today.  Families torn asunder and individuals demeaned.  There is brokenness and pain.  The tragedy of our selfish sin played out in the most intimate way.

But we cannot only look at the one left as the victim, as we are all victims of sin.  When we look at both parties as equally broken and experiencing pain, we get a very different picture than we usually do.

We are broken creatures tricked into thinking a sin will save us.  The sin may not be the same, but it has the same result: pain.  The old Greek adage of being “tricked by hubris and ate” (pride and blindness) is right, then.  We tricked ourselves, became proud, and grew blind.

Healing

There are two main things I want to say.  The first is that, if you are the one who has hurt, God sees.  He knows your pain.  The passage from Malachi says that God does not accepting the priests’ sacrifices because of the way they treated their wives.  It shows that God will distribute the consequences, just as he did for the priests so long ago.

However, those consequences are not up to us.  We should not call down God’s wrath upon anyone.

Which leads into the second point: God forgives.  If you are the one who has left, there is forgiveness.  This will look different in everyone’s life, and God must show you what to do once you repent and turn back to Him.

Gombald’s Repentance

Granted, there are valid reasons for divorce; however, Gombald did not have one, and he is a perfect example of this.  He stays married to Richilda for fifteen years, but near the end of that time he becomes convicted of his sin.  He tells Richilda he can no longer live with her, and decides to make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem.

This was how repentance looked in Gombald’s life.  He was a product of his times, so it won’t be the same for us.  The end, however, is the same: Gombald repents, and is made right with God.

I beg you to make sure you do the same.

 

Sources

[1] Heiner, “Richilda,” Sleeping Beauties, 76.

[2] Ibid.

[3] Ibid., 77.

[4] Ibid., 78.


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