ABSTRACT
Thomas Walsingham’s fame was at its peak just before the Dissolution, and the Ballad was almost certainly inspired by a mixture of verbal tradition and history which had been sung for centuries. The whole aura of Walsingham must from the beginning have been remarkable to have drawn people from all parts to so distant a place. A mile before the town, to the left across a ford from Houghton-le-dale, is the Slipper Chapel where traditionally pilgrims stopped to pray before going barefoot on to Walsingham. Loreto, world-famous, was only beginning its career when Walsingham was at its height in the late 15th century. The continuous interest of royalty in Walsingham and the high birth of most of the recorded pilgrims are inclined to build up a picture of an essentially aristocratic shrine.
