Edmund is thought to have been born in 841 and to have acceded to the East Anglian throne in around 855.
On November 20, 869 the Danes defeated the king of East Anglia, St Edmund at an unidentified place known as Haegelisdun. He was taken captive by them, tied to a tree and when he refused to deny his Christian faith or surrender his kingdom, shot with arrows.
Edmund’s cult was well- established before the century closed and in 903 his remains were interred at a monastery at Beadoriceworth, the modern Bury St Edmunds.
King Canute built an abbey on the site in 1020 housing the shrine.
Edmund's shrine became one of the most famous in Europe and for a time he was the official Patron Saint of England.
He was the first patron saint of England before St George.
Edmund’s saintly reputation was so strong that rebel English barons met at his shrine in 1214 before confronting King John with the Charter of Liberties, the forerunner of the Magna Carta.
Campaigners tried to have him reinstated as patron saint in 2006 and 2013.
Source Daily Mail
On November 20, 869 the Danes defeated the king of East Anglia, St Edmund at an unidentified place known as Haegelisdun. He was taken captive by them, tied to a tree and when he refused to deny his Christian faith or surrender his kingdom, shot with arrows.
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| A medieval illumination depicting the death of Edmund the Martyr |
Edmund’s cult was well- established before the century closed and in 903 his remains were interred at a monastery at Beadoriceworth, the modern Bury St Edmunds.
King Canute built an abbey on the site in 1020 housing the shrine.
Edmund's shrine became one of the most famous in Europe and for a time he was the official Patron Saint of England.
He was the first patron saint of England before St George.
Edmund’s saintly reputation was so strong that rebel English barons met at his shrine in 1214 before confronting King John with the Charter of Liberties, the forerunner of the Magna Carta.
Campaigners tried to have him reinstated as patron saint in 2006 and 2013.
Source Daily Mail
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