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, died 20 November 869)[note 1] was king of East Anglia from about 855 until his death.
Few historical facts about Edmund are known, as the kingdom of East Anglia was devastated by the Vikings, who destroyed any contemporary evidence of his reign. Coins minted by Edmund indicate that he succeeded Æthelweard of East Anglia, as they shared the same moneyers. He is thought to have been of East Anglian origin, but 12th century writers produced fictitious accounts of his family, succession and his rule as king. Edmund's death was mentioned in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, which relates that he was killed in 869 after the Great Heathen Army advanced into East Anglia. Medieval versions of Edmund's life and martyrdom differ as to whether he died in battle fighting the Great Heathen Army, or if he met his death after being captured and then refusing the Viking leaders' demand that he renounce Christ.
A popular cult emerged after Edmund's death, and he was canonised by the Church. A series of coins commemorating him was minted from around the time East Anglia was absorbed by the kingdom of Wessex in 918, and in about 986, the French monk Abbo wrote of his life and martyrdom.
During the 10th century, Edmund's remains were translated from an unidentified location in East Anglia to Beodricesworth (modern Bury St Edmunds); they were temporarily moved to London for safekeeping in 1010. Edmund's cult flourished during the Early and High Middle Ages, and he and Edward the Confessor were regarded as the patron saints of medieval England until they were replaced by Saint George in the 15th century.[2] Medieval manuscripts and works of art relating to Edmund include Abbo's Passio Sancti Eadmundi, John Lydgate's 15th-century Life, the Wilton Diptych, and a number of church wall paintings.
^Swanton 1997, p. xv.
^Farmer 2011, pp. 136–139.
Cite error: There are <ref group=note> tags on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=note}} template (see the help page).
EdmundtheMartyr (also known as St Edmund or Edmund of East Anglia, died 20 November 869) was king of East Anglia from about 855 until his death. Few...
Saint Edmund may refer to: Saint EdmundtheMartyr (d. 869), king of East Anglia who was venerated as a martyr saint soon after his death at the hands...
identified as the commanders of the Danes when they returned to East Anglia in 869, and as the executioners of the East Anglian king, EdmundtheMartyr, for refusing...
Edmund Campion, SJ (25 January 1540 – 1 December 1581) was an English Jesuit priest and martyr. While conducting an underground ministry in officially...
Persons named Edmund include: EdmundtheMartyr (died 869 or 870), king of East Anglia Edmund I (922–946), King of England from 939 to 946 Edmund Ironside...
King Edmund may refer to: EdmundtheMartyr (fl. 855–869), king of East Anglia later canonised as Saint EdmundEdmund I of England (921–946) Edmund II of...
Oswald was king of East Anglia, present-day England in the 870s after the death of EdmundtheMartyr. No textual evidence of his reign is known, but coins...
them by (left to right) the English saints King EdmundtheMartyr, King Edward the Confessor and patron saint, John the Baptist. The painting is an outstanding...
prominent function; the king used it among especially banners of king-saints Saint Edward the Confessor and Saint EdmundtheMartyr alongside the royal banner...
about 1350, EdmundtheMartyr, Gregory the Great, and Edward the Confessor were regarded as English national saints, but Edward III preferred the more war-like...
288; King EdmundtheMartyr of East Anglia, by some accounts, was tied to a tree and executed by Viking archers on 20 November 869 or 870. The method is...
King Edmund ("theMartyr") and making it Danish land in 869. After Alfred the Great forced a treaty with the Danes, East Anglia was left as part of the Danelaw...
Nicholas Pieck John of Cologne Edmund Campion, 1581 Margaret Ball, 1584 The Forty Martyrs of England and Wales, various dates Martyrs of Japan, 1597-1639, (see...
November 20 – Vikings conquer East Anglia, killing King EdmundtheMartyr. The Zanj Rebellion: The Zanj (black slaves from East Africa), provoked by mercilessly...
Anglian king, EdmundtheMartyr. The kingdom then fell into the hands of the Danes and eventually formed part of the Danelaw. In 918 the East Anglian Danes...
909–989), Archbishop of Canterbury—19 May EdmundtheMartyr (d. 869), King of the East Angles, Martyr Edward the Confessor (c. 1003 to 1005 – 1066), King...
Bury St Edmunds in the county of Suffolk, England. It was a centre of pilgrimage as the burial place of the Anglo-Saxon martyr-king Saint Edmund, killed...
documentary sources, a Christian martyr of the 9th century AD, who died at the hands of the Vikings alongside his uncle EdmundtheMartyr. He was buried at St Peter's...
of being king. However, Henry was not next in line to the throne; the heir presumptive was Edmund Mortimer, 5th Earl of March, great-grandson of Edward...
King EdmundtheMartyr is captured, tortured, beaten and used for archery practice (or 869). The Danes, led by Ivar the Boneless and King Olaf of the Dublin...
attacked by the Viking Great Heathen Army in around 869 and Edmund (later known as EdmundtheMartyr) killed by the Vikings. After Edmund's death East...
building'. The second section of the name refers to Edmund King of the East Angles, called EdmundtheMartyr, who was killed by the Vikings in the year 869...
tion/theological-reflection-wisethief "St Edmund, original Patron Saint of England". "St. Edward theMartyr, King of England". Boston, Greek (2010-12-15)...
Edward theMartyr (c. 962–978) was King of the English from 8 July 975 until he was killed on 18 March 978. He was the eldest son of King Edgar (r. 959–975)...
Global Information
