Edmund the Martyr facts for kids

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The martyrdom of Edmund: Folios 14r and 14v from the 12th century Passio Sancto Eadmundi (Morgan Library & Museum, New York)
King of the East Angles
Reign	c. 855 – 20 November 869
Predecessor	Æthelweard
Successor	Oswald

Born	c. 841
Died	20 November 869 East Anglia

Edmund the Martyr (also known as St Edmund or Edmund of East Anglia) was a king of East Anglia. He ruled from about 855 until he died on November 20, 869. Not many facts are known about Edmund's life. This is because the Vikings attacked East Anglia and destroyed many records from his time.

Coins made during Edmund's rule show that he became king after Æthelweard of East Anglia. He was likely from East Anglia. Later writers in the 1100s made up stories about his family and how he became king. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle says Edmund was killed in 869. This happened after the Great Heathen Army (a large Viking force) moved into East Anglia.

Old stories about Edmund's death are different. Some say he died fighting the Great Heathen Army. Others say he was captured and killed because he refused to stop believing in Christ.

After Edmund died, people started to honor him as a saint. The Church officially made him a saint. Special coins were made to remember him around 918. This was when East Anglia became part of the kingdom of Wessex. Around 986, a French monk named Abbo wrote a book about Edmund's life and how he died.

In the 900s, Edmund's body was moved from an unknown place in East Anglia to Beodricesworth. This place is now called Bury St Edmunds. His body was moved to London for a short time in 1010 to keep it safe. Edmund was very popular in the early and high Middle Ages. He and Edward the Confessor were seen as the main saints of medieval England. But in the 1400s, Saint George became the new patron saint. Many old books and artworks show Edmund. These include Abbo's Passio Sancti Eadmundi and John Lydgate's 15th-century Life. The Wilton Diptych painting also shows him, along with many church wall paintings.

King of the East Angles
- How Edmund Became King
- Edmund's Death and Burial
Memorial Coins for St Edmund
Honoring St Edmund
Medieval Stories and Legends
- The Passio Sancti Eadmundi
- Other Legends about St Edmund
Patronages
In Art
Images for kids
See also

King of the East Angles

How Edmund Became King

The kingdom of the East Angles

We know Edmund existed because of coins made by his moneyers (people who made coins). Three of these moneyers also made coins for the previous king, Æthelweard of East Anglia. This suggests that Edmund became king smoothly. The first written mention of Edmund is from 870. This was in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, written 20 years after he died.

Historian Susan Ridyard believes Edmund was born around 841. She thinks he became king of East Anglia around 855. We don't have any other writings from his time about his life or rule. The Vikings caused a lot of damage in East Anglia. They destroyed many official papers that might have mentioned Edmund.

We don't know which royal family Edmund belonged to. A French monk from the 900s, Abbo of Fleury, said Edmund came from "noble Saxon family." This probably meant he was from an old noble family in his area.

Many different coins were made during Edmund's time as king. Some of his coins have the letters AN, which stands for 'Anglia'. These letters appear as part of the phrase + EADMUND REX AN[GLORUM] ("Edmund, King of the Angles"). Later coins just said + EADMUND REX ("Edmund, King"). We don't know the exact order these coins were made.

Edmund's Death and Burial

For many years after the Viking raid on Lindisfarne in 793, Viking attacks on England were mostly small raids. They usually targeted lonely monasteries. But a bigger attack happened around 844. By the end of that time, Vikings started to stay in England through the winter.

An even larger group, called the Great Heathen Army, arrived in 865. About three thousand men in hundreds of ships came to the east coast of England. They probably came from bases in Ireland. This army spent their first winter in East Anglia. Then they moved to Northumbria by 866 or 867. The Great Heathen Army attacked Mercia by the end of 867. They made peace with the Mercians. A year later, the Vikings came back to East Anglia.

The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle doesn't usually say much about East Anglia's kings. But it says that "the army rode across Mercia into East Anglia." It says they "took winter-quarters at Thetford." The chronicle also states that "King Edmund fought against them that winter." It adds that "the Danish took the victory, and killed the king and conquered all that land."

We don't know exactly where Edmund was killed. We also don't know if he died fighting or was murdered by the Danes afterward. The Great Heathen Army then invaded Wessex in late 870. There, they faced Æthelred of Wessex and his brother, who would become Alfred the Great.

Edmund was buried in a wooden chapel near where he died. Historians believe that during the reign of Æthelstan (who became king in 924), Edmund's body was moved. It was taken from a place called Haegelisdun (whose location is unknown) to Beodricesworth. This is now modern Bury St Edmunds. In 925, King Æthelstan started a religious group to look after Edmund's shrine.

Memorial Coins for St Edmund

A St Edmund memorial penny (British Museum)

After the Danish king Guthrum died around 890, the same people who made his coins started making money to remember Edmund. These coins looked like the ones made during Edmund's reign. They are the first proof that people saw him as a saint. All the pennies and half-pennies made said SCE EADMVND REX—'O St Edmund the king!'. Some coins show that the Vikings tried out different designs at first.

Many St Edmund memorial coins were made by over 70 moneyers. Many of these coin makers seemed to be from other parts of Europe. More than 1800 of these coins were found in the Cuerdale Hoard in Lancashire in 1840. The coins were used a lot in the Danelaw (areas ruled by Vikings). They have mostly been found in eastern England. We don't know exactly where these coins were made, but experts think they were made in East Anglia.

Honoring St Edmund

The Cult at Bury St Edmunds

Saint Edmund the Martyr
John Lydgate prays at the shrine of St Edmund, from a folio of Lives of SS Edmund and Fremund (British Library)
Venerated in	Roman Catholic Church Anglican Communion Eastern Orthodox Church
Major shrine	Bury St Edmunds, destroyed during the Dissolution of the Monasteries
Feast	20 November
Attributes	An arrow or a sword, a hand-held orb and sceptre, wolf
Patronage	Kings, pandemics, wolves, torture victims, protection from the plague

People started to honor Edmund, and his popularity grew. But then it slowed down. The making of St Edmund coins stopped around 910. He didn't appear in church calendars again until Abbo of Fleury wrote his book Passio Sancti Eadmundi three centuries later. In 1010, Edmund's body was moved to London to protect it from the Vikings. It stayed there for three years before being returned to Bury.

The Danish king Canute, who ruled England from 1016, became a Christian. He helped start the abbey at Bury St Edmunds. The new stone abbey church was finished in 1032. King Canute might have ordered it to be ready for the 16th anniversary of the Battle of Assandun (October 18, 1016).

Edmund's shrine became one of the most famous and richest places for pilgrimage in England. The abbey's power grew when Edward the Confessor gave it control over the western half of Suffolk in 1044. This area was called the Liberty of Saint Edmund. A bigger church was built in 1095, and Edmund's relics were moved into it.

After the Norman Conquest in 1066, the abbot planned over 300 new houses. They were built in a grid pattern near the abbey. This made the town more than double in size. It is said that King John gave a large sapphire and a valuable stone set in gold to the shrine. He was allowed to keep it until he died, then it had to be returned to the abbey.

Edmund's shrine was destroyed in 1539 during the English Reformation. A letter from that time says the shrine was damaged. Silver and gold worth over 5,000 marks were taken away. The abbot and his monks were forced to leave, and the abbey was closed.

The Cult in Toulouse

In 1664, a lawyer from the French city of Toulouse claimed that Edmund's remains had been taken from Bury. He said this happened when Louis VIII of France was defeated at the Battle of Lincoln in 1217. Louis then supposedly gave the relics to the Basilica of Saint-Sernin, Toulouse. The first mention of this is a list of relics from Saint-Sernin around 1425. This list included St Edmund.

In 1644, Toulouse was saved from the plague (1628-1631). People believed a saint named Aymundus had helped them. Church leaders decided this saint was Edmund. To show thanks, the city promised to build a new reliquary (a container for relics) for the saint's remains. Edmund's popularity grew there for over 200 years. The reliquary was designed by Jean Chalette. It was made of silver and had solid silver statues. In 1644, the relics were checked and listed to be placed in the new shrine. By this time, people had forgotten how the cult started there.

Edmund's shrine was removed in 1794 during the French Revolution. The saint's relics were returned to the Basilica of Saint-Sernin in 1845. They were placed in a new reliquary.

Relics at Arundel

Arundel Castle in West Sussex

In 1901, the Archbishop of Westminster, Herbert Vaughan, received "certain relics" from the Basilica of Saint-Sernin. People at the time believed these were the relics of St Edmund. They were meant for the main altar of London's Westminster Cathedral, which was being built.

The Pope, Pope Leo XIII, had to get involved for the relics to be accepted. This was after the French church first refused. When the relics arrived in England, they were kept in the Fitzalan Chapel at Arundel Castle. This was before they were to be moved to Westminster. Their truthfulness had been confirmed in 1874. At that time, two pieces were given to Edward Manning, Archbishop of Westminster.

However, some people, like Montague James and Charles Biggs, raised doubts about the Arundel relics in The Times newspaper. The relics stayed at Arundel under the care of the Duke of Norfolk. A historical group was set up by Cardinal Vaughan and Archbishop Germain of Saint-Sernin to study them. As of 1993, they are still at Arundel. In 1966, three teeth from the French relics were given to Douai Abbey in Berkshire.

Remembering St Edmund

Monument in Hoxne, Suffolk, marking the location of an ancient oak tree, supposed to be the site of Edmund's death.

The feast day for Edmund, King and Martyr, in the Catholic Church is November 20. The Church of England also remembers him with a Lesser Festival on this day. Edmund's special symbols are the arrow and the sword. As an English king, his symbols also include the orb and sceptre. The Oxford Dictionary of Saints says his symbol can also be a wolf.

A stone cross at Hoxne in Suffolk marks a possible place where Edmund died. The monument says it was built where an old oak tree fell in 1848. An arrow head was found stuck in its trunk. About 55 Church of England parish churches are named after Edmund. Perhaps the most famous is the Church of St Edmund, King and Martyr, on Lombard Street in the City of London. The Benedictine community of Douai Abbey also has Edmund as its patron saint.

Medieval Stories and Legends

The Passio Sancti Eadmundi

Around 986, the monks of Ramsey Abbey asked Abbo of Fleury to write Edmund's passio. This is a story about his martyrdom (death as a martyr). Abbo said that St Dunstan, the Archbishop of Canterbury, told him the story. Dunstan had heard it long ago from an old man. This old man swore he had been Edmund's sword-bearer.

In Abbo's story, the king refused to fight the Danes. He chose to die as a martyr instead. Historian Susan Ridyard says Edmund's martyrdom cannot be fully proven. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle doesn't say if he died fighting or was murdered after the battle. Ridyard notes that the story of Edmund having an armor-bearer suggests he was a warrior king ready to fight. But she also says such later stories might be "made-up religious tales."

Abbo named one of Edmund's killers as Hinguar. This person is probably Ivarr inn beinlausi (Ivar the Boneless), son of Ragnar Lodbrok. After describing Edmund's terrible death, the Passio continued the story. Edmund's followers searched for him, calling out "Where are you, friend?" His head answered, "Here! Here! Here!" Finally, they found it held between a wolf's paws. The wolf had protected it from other animals. The followers then got the head back.

Abbo did not give dates for these events around Edmund's body being moved to Beodericsworth. But his text shows he believed the relics were there by the time Theodred became Bishop of London around 926. When Edmund's body was dug up, a miracle was found. All the arrow wounds on his body had healed, and his head was reattached. The last time his body was checked at Bury St Edmunds was in 1198.

Abbo noted that St Edmund's death was similar to St Sebastian's. Both saints were attacked by archers. But only Edmund was said to have been beheaded. His death also reminds us of other saints. St Denis was whipped and beheaded. The body of Mary of Egypt was said to have been guarded by a lion. The English medievalist Antonia Gransden called Abbo's Passio "little more than a mix of common saint stories." She argued that Abbo didn't know what really happened to Edmund. So, he used parts of the Lives of famous saints like Sebastian and Denis as models. Gransden admitted that some parts of the story, like the wolf guarding Edmund's head, are unique.

Other Legends about St Edmund

A 12th-century depiction of Edmund's martyrdom (Morgan Library & Museum, New York)

De Infantia Sancti Edmundi is a made-up story from the 1100s. It was written by the English canon Geoffrey of Wells. It says Edmund was the youngest son of 'Alcmund', a Saxon king from Germany. 'Alcmund' might not have been a real person.

Edmund's made-up European origins were later expanded in the 1400s. The poet John Lydgate wrote about them in his The Lives of Saints Edmund and Fremund. Lydgate wrote about Edmund's parents, his birth in Nuremberg, and how he was adopted by Offa of Mercia. He also wrote that Edmund was chosen to be the next king. Then he landed at Old Hunstanton on the North Norfolk coast to claim his kingdom.

Edmund was said to have been crowned by Humbert, bishop of Elmham on December 25, 855. This happened at a place called Burna, possibly Bures St Mary in Suffolk. At that time, Burna was the royal capital. The Catholic Encyclopedia (1913) says Edmund "showed himself a model ruler from the first." It says he wanted to treat everyone fairly and ignored flatterers. It was written that he spent a year in his royal tower at Hunstanton. There, he learned the entire Psalter by heart.

Edmund may have been killed at Hoxne, in Suffolk. His martyrdom is mentioned in a document from 1101. This document was written when the church and chapel at Hoxne were given to Norwich Priory. Some people think the name Hoxne is linked to Haegelisdun, which Abbo of Fleury named as the place of Edmund's martyrdom. But historian Peter Warner disagrees with this idea. The connection between Edmund and the village has continued to modern times. Dernford in Cambridgeshire and Bradfield St Clare (near Bury St Edmunds) are other possible places where Edmund was killed.

In a part of Lydgate's Life, Edmund's flag is described. It shows three crowns on a blue background. These crowns are said to stand for Edmund's martyrdom, his purity, and his kingship.

The old wooden St Andrew's Church, Greensted-juxta-Ongar in Essex is said to have been a resting place for Edmund's body. This was when it was being moved to Bury St Edmunds in 1013.

Patronages

Edmund is the patron saint of pandemics, kings, the Roman Catholic diocese of East Anglia, and Douai Abbey. England did not have just one patron saint before the Tudor period. During the Middle Ages, several saints were important to England. These included St Edmund, St Gregory the Great, St Edward the Confessor, St Thomas Becket, and St George. Of these, Edmund was the most popular with English kings. However, Edward III made George more important when he linked him to the Order of the Garter.

In 2006, BBC Radio Suffolk presenter Mark Murphy and David Ruffley, the local politician for Bury St Edmunds, tried to make Edmund England's patron saint again. But their campaign failed. In 2013, BBC News reported a new campaign started by Murphy and the brewer Greene King. Greene King is based in Bury St Edmunds. They wanted to make St Edmund England's patron saint again. Supporters hoped a petition could make Parliament discuss the issue.

In Art

Many important artworks have been made over the centuries to honor Edmund. An illustrated copy of Abbo of Fleury's Passio Sancti Eadmundi was made at Bury St Edmunds around 1130. It is now kept at the Morgan Library in New York City. The copy of John Lydgate's 15th-century Life, made for Henry VI of England, is at the British Library.

The Wilton Diptych painting was made during the reign of Richard II of England. It is the most famous artwork showing Edmund. Painted on oak panels, it shows Edmund and Edward the Confessor. They are shown as England's royal patrons, presenting Richard to the Virgin and Child. The poet John Lydgate (1370-1451) lived his whole life in Bury St Edmunds. He gave his twelve-year-old king, Henry VI, a long poem. This poem is now called Metrical Lives of Saints Edmund and Fremund. He gave it to the king when Henry came to the town in 1433 and stayed at the abbey for four months. The book is now kept by the British Library in London. Edmund's martyrdom is shown in several medieval wall paintings in churches across England.