St Edmund of East Anglia was also known as Edmund the Martyr. He was the king of East Anglia from 855 AD to 869 AD. He was born in 841 AD and died as a martyr on November 20 869 in Hoxne, Suffolk, England. We celebrate his feast day on November 20 every year in the Catholic Church.
| St Edmund of East Anglia Biography | |
|---|---|
| Date of Birth | 841 AD |
| Place of Birth | England |
| Profession | King of East Anglia |
| Place of Work | East Anglia, England |
| Date of Death | November 20 869 |
| Place of Death | Hoxne, Suffolk, England |
| Feast Day | November 20 |
| Canonization | Pre-congregation |
| Patron Saint of |
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St Edmund of East Anglia Life History
St Edmund of East Anglia, born around the year 841 AD, ascended to the throne as the King of East Anglia when he was just 14 years old.
He received his coronation on Christmas Day in 855 AD, a ceremony presided over by Bishop Saint Humbert of Elmham.
Edmund was a remarkable ruler who held deep concerns for the welfare and justice of his people, as well as his own spiritual growth.
He devoted an entire year to sequestered study at Hunstanton, during which he committed the Psalter to memory.
Tragically, during one of the many armed conflicts with invading Danish forces, he was captured. In a cruel demand, he was ordered to surrender his Christian subjects to the pagan invaders, but he staunchly refused, standing firm in his faith. Ultimately, he met his end as a martyr.
Saint Edmund met his death through a brutal ordeal that involved being beaten, whipped, and shot with arrows, to the extent that he appeared to be covered in them, resembling a hedgehog.
His execution occurred in Hoxne, Suffolk, England, on November 20, 869 AD. He was buried in Hoxne, and his relics underwent several relocations over the centuries.
They were moved to Beodricsworth, which is known today as Bury Saint Edmunds (Borough of Saint Edmunds) in 915.
Later, in 1010, the relics were transferred to the Cathedral of Saint Paul in London, England, as a precautionary measure in response to an impending Viking invasion.
However, the relics were eventually returned to Bury Saint Edmunds in 1113 and were placed in a new church within a Benedictine monastery, constructed in 1020. After a fire incident, the relics were once again re-enshrined in a new church in 1198.
A historical event in 1217 saw French troops claim to have taken the relics after a battle in Lincoln, England, but modern testing has discredited this account.
The true fate of the relics remains a mystery, with possibilities including their concealment, destruction, or looting, leaving no authentic relics in existence today.
Saint Edmund is revered as a patron saint for various causes, including kings, pandemic victims, torture victims, wolves, the Roman Catholic Diocese of East Anglia, the English county of Suffolk, and Douai Abbey.
In artistic representations, he is often depicted as a king tied to a tree and shot with arrows, a bearded king holding a sword and arrow, or a man with his severed head placed between the paws of a wolf.
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