ST. EDMUND MARTYR (NOV. 20TH)
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| St. King Edmund Martyr, Original Patron Saint of England |
Edited by Bp. Joseph (Ancient Church of the West)
St. Edmund is thought to have been of East Anglian origin and was first mentioned in an annal of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, written some years after his death. The kingdom of East Anglia was devastated by the Vikings, who destroyed all contemporary evidence of his reign. He was born in AD 841, the son of Æthelweard, an obscure East Anglian king, whom it was said Edmund succeeded when he was 14. Later versions of Edmund's life relate that he was crowned on 25 December 855 at Bures St Mary in Suffolk, which at that time functioned as the royal capital. After his crowning, he became a model Christian king and was known for justice, righteousness and asceticism.
In 869, the Great Heathen Army advanced on East Anglia and killed Edmund. According to Asser and the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, he died in battle, meeting his death at an unidentified place known as Haegelisdun, after he refused the Danes' demand that he renounce Christ: the Danes beat him, shot him with arrows and then beheaded him, on the orders of Ivar the Boneless and his brother Ubba. According to one legend, his head was then thrown into the forest, but was found by searchers following the cries of an ethereal wolf calling out in Latin, "Hic, Hic, Hic" – "Here, Here, Here".
A coinage commemorating Edmund was minted from around the time East Anglia was absorbed by the kingdom of Wessex and popular veneration later emerged, remembering the faithfulness of this great Christian king. In about AD 986, Abbo of Fleury wrote of his life and martyrdom. The saint's remains were temporarily moved from Bury St Edmunds to London for safekeeping in AD 1010. His shrine at Bury was visited by many kings, including Canute, who was responsible for rebuilding the abbey: the stone church was rebuilt again in AD 1095.
During the Middle Ages, when Edmund was regarded as the patron saint of England, Bury and its magnificent abbey grew wealthy, but during the Dissolution of the Monasteries during the Reformation, his shrine was destroyed and relics scattered. Medieval manuscripts and works of art relating to Edmund include Abbo's Passio Sancti Eadmundi, John Lydgate's 14th-century Life, the Wilton Diptych, and a number of church wall paintings.
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| A Medieval Depiction of the Martyrdom of St. Edmund from an Illuminated Manuscript |
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| A Late Medieval Carving of St. Edmund from a Church Facade |
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| The Famous Wilton Diptych, a Rare Surviving Example of a Uniquely British Style of Pre-Reformation Iconography, Showing St. Edmund Holding an Arrow on the Far Left |
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| The Shrine and Church of St. Edmund |
"King Edmund, against whom Ivar advanced, stood inside his hall, and mindful of the Saviour, threw out his weapons. He wanted to match the example of Christ, who forbade Peter to win the cruel Jews with weapons. Lo! the impious one then bound Edmund and insulted him ignominiously, and beat him with rods, and afterwards led the devout king to a firm living tree, and tied him there with strong bonds, and beat him with whips. In between the whip lashes, Edmund called out with true belief in the Saviour Christ. Because of his belief, because he called to Christ to aid him, the heathens became furiously angry. They then shot spears at him, as if it was a game, until he was entirely covered with their missiles, like the bristles of a hedgehog, just like St Sebastian was.
When Ivar the impious pirate saw that the noble king would not forsake Christ, but with resolute faith called after Him, he ordered Edmund beheaded, and the heathens did so. While Edmund still called out to Christ, the heathen dragged the holy man to his death, and with one stroke struck off his head, and his soul journeyed happily to Christ."
(Ælfric of Eynsham, Old English paraphrase of Abbo of Fleury, 'Passio Sancti Eadmundi')
COLLECT
ALMIGHTY GOD, Lord of inexpressible mercy, Who gloriously enabled the most blessed king Edmund to overcome the enemy by dying for Thy name, grant, in Thy mercy, to us Thy servants that by his intercession we may overcome and extinguish the temptations of our spiritual enemies; through Jesus Christ our Lord, Who livest and reignest with Thee, in the Unity of the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.
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