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Edmund: In Search of England's Lost King
What buried secret lies beneath the stones of one of England's greatest former churches and shrines? The ruins of the Benedictine Abbey of Bury St Edmunds are a memorial to the largest Romanesque church ever built. This Suffolk market town is now a quiet place, out of the way, eclipsed by its more famous neighbour Cambridge. But present obscurity may conceal a find as significant as the emergence from beneath a Leicester car-park of the remains of Richard III. For Bury, as Francis Young now reveals, is the probable site of the body - placed in an `iron chest' but lost during the Dissolution of the Monasteries - of Edmund: martyred monarch of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of East Anglia and, well before St George, England's first patron saint. After the king was slain by marauding Vikings in the ninth century, the legend which grew up around his murder led to the foundation in Bury of one of the pre-eminent shrines of Christendom. In showing how Edmund became the pivotal figure around whom Saxons, Danes and Normans all rallied, the author points to the imminent rediscovery of the ruler who created England.
224 pages, Hardcover
First published June 28, 2018
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
October 25, 2018
Well researched and comprehensive but easy to understand account of St Edmund. Extended version of Francis Young,s earlier book "Where is St Edmund?" I am fascinated by the stories associated with St Edmund and this is one of the better accounts. Can't wait for the tennis courts to be excavated in the Abbey grounds! And yes, he should be our patron saint!
March 9, 2022
Review originally published on my blog at: https://www.stuartellisgorman.com/blo...
The story of St. Edmund, who was King of East Anglia from around 855 until his death in 869, is a challenging one to tell. We don’t know if he was married or had any children, although later popular belief maintained that he was a virgin throughout his life – a sign of his holiness. We don’t know anything about his parents, although we do know he was a member of the Wuffing dynasty – probably its last. Basically, you could fit the entirety of our knowledge about the life of St. Edmund into a few sentences – given that fact what is this book about and why is it interesting?
The reason we are even talking about St. Edmund, and the reason he’s a saint at all, is due to the manner of his death. Edmund was killed by Danish Vikings near the end of the year 869. The exact manner of his death is not entirely clear, and it is in the analysis of this that I have my only quibble with this book. The popular story first written by the French monk Abbo when he was in England almost a century after Edmund’s death is that the king defied the Danish warlord during a Viking invasion, and as punishment he was tied to a tree and used as target practice by the Viking archers. After he died, he was decapitated, and his head thrown into the woods to deny him a Christian burial. After the Danes departed the people of East Anglia recovered the saint’s head – guided to it by its miraculous ability to still talk. It was discovered in the protection of a massive wolf, possibly a nod to the literal meaning of Wuffing, who let the people take it back with them, whereupon it miraculously reattached itself to the king’s body which from that time on was inviolate – i.e. it did not decay.
Young’s analysis of Abbo’s story is fascinating, and he clearly is much more familiar with the period than I am, but there is one area I wish was explored in more detail. Buckle up kids because we’re about to get really niche here. The reason I’m interested in St. Edmund is that the story of him being tied to a tree and shot full of arrows bears a remarkable resemblance to the story of the early Christian martyr St. Sebastian – who was tied to a post and shot at by Roman soldiers at the orders of Emperor Diocletian. St. Sebastian is a major martyr, and late medieval images of him are invaluable to historians studying medieval archery so I’m reasonably familiar with him as a subject. Young mentions that Abbo was familiar with the story of St. Sebastian but doesn’t really explore the possibility that he was adopting the earlier saint’s martyrdom for his story about St. Edmund. The earliest reference to St. Edmund’s death, in an almost contemporary version of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, just says that he was killed by Danes and implies that it was during or soon after engaging them in battle. Based on the available evidence I’d be more inclined towards a version where Abbo was adopting a pre-existing saint’s myth for the English king he was writing about, but I admit that Young is more of an expert on this subject than I am. However, that is precisely why I would have liked it if he had spent more time discussing this possibility – an expert’s analysis is exactly what I craved. That said, this is some really specific nit-picking, and most readers will not be as invested in stories about saints being shot with arrows as I am so I can’t really hold it against the work as a whole!
Young does an impressive job going through the very limited evidence we have for the reign of St. Edmund, including a handful of coins minted during his reign and the very few references to him in early medieval documents. However, this limited evidence can only sustain so much discussion, which is why much of the book is dedicated to the reputation and cult of St. Edmund after his death. This book is less a biography of Edmund the king, because there’s very little to write about that figure, and more an account of the post-mortem life of the saint. This includes discussions of his reported miracles, including the truly amazing story that Edmund appeared as a ghost before the Viking king Swein Forkbeard and killed him by stabbing him with a spear – real top tier miracle that one. Young even carries the story through the Reformation and the dissolution of the monasteries to examine the change in St. Edmund’s worship from being a patron of the English monarchy to a symbol of Catholic resistance and oppression under the new Protestant regime of the Tudors and their successors. Finally, the book concludes with an examination of the evidence for where St. Edmund’s body actually is. It went missing sometime after the monastery of Bury-St-Edmunds was dissolved in 1539 and Young thinks there is good evidence that it is under some tennis courts near the abbey’s ruins – having been reburied in the monk’s graveyard by the monastic community right before the abbey was dissolved. In 2020 the removal of the tennis courts was approved, and an archaeological survey of the monastery and its surroundings was set to begin so this book may eventually have an exciting new postscript!
Edmund: In Search of England’s Lost King is an engaging read and well worth your time if you’re interested in the cults and veneration of medieval saints throughout the Middle Ages and modern era. If you’re looking for a biography of an early medieval monarch, you may be better off with a history of a better documented king like Alfred the Great. That said, this book is relatively short, and the writing is engaging so you could do far worse than spending a couple of days learning about a once famous saint who has fallen somewhat into obscurity – but maybe could be famous again!
The story of St. Edmund, who was King of East Anglia from around 855 until his death in 869, is a challenging one to tell. We don’t know if he was married or had any children, although later popular belief maintained that he was a virgin throughout his life – a sign of his holiness. We don’t know anything about his parents, although we do know he was a member of the Wuffing dynasty – probably its last. Basically, you could fit the entirety of our knowledge about the life of St. Edmund into a few sentences – given that fact what is this book about and why is it interesting?
The reason we are even talking about St. Edmund, and the reason he’s a saint at all, is due to the manner of his death. Edmund was killed by Danish Vikings near the end of the year 869. The exact manner of his death is not entirely clear, and it is in the analysis of this that I have my only quibble with this book. The popular story first written by the French monk Abbo when he was in England almost a century after Edmund’s death is that the king defied the Danish warlord during a Viking invasion, and as punishment he was tied to a tree and used as target practice by the Viking archers. After he died, he was decapitated, and his head thrown into the woods to deny him a Christian burial. After the Danes departed the people of East Anglia recovered the saint’s head – guided to it by its miraculous ability to still talk. It was discovered in the protection of a massive wolf, possibly a nod to the literal meaning of Wuffing, who let the people take it back with them, whereupon it miraculously reattached itself to the king’s body which from that time on was inviolate – i.e. it did not decay.
Young’s analysis of Abbo’s story is fascinating, and he clearly is much more familiar with the period than I am, but there is one area I wish was explored in more detail. Buckle up kids because we’re about to get really niche here. The reason I’m interested in St. Edmund is that the story of him being tied to a tree and shot full of arrows bears a remarkable resemblance to the story of the early Christian martyr St. Sebastian – who was tied to a post and shot at by Roman soldiers at the orders of Emperor Diocletian. St. Sebastian is a major martyr, and late medieval images of him are invaluable to historians studying medieval archery so I’m reasonably familiar with him as a subject. Young mentions that Abbo was familiar with the story of St. Sebastian but doesn’t really explore the possibility that he was adopting the earlier saint’s martyrdom for his story about St. Edmund. The earliest reference to St. Edmund’s death, in an almost contemporary version of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, just says that he was killed by Danes and implies that it was during or soon after engaging them in battle. Based on the available evidence I’d be more inclined towards a version where Abbo was adopting a pre-existing saint’s myth for the English king he was writing about, but I admit that Young is more of an expert on this subject than I am. However, that is precisely why I would have liked it if he had spent more time discussing this possibility – an expert’s analysis is exactly what I craved. That said, this is some really specific nit-picking, and most readers will not be as invested in stories about saints being shot with arrows as I am so I can’t really hold it against the work as a whole!
Young does an impressive job going through the very limited evidence we have for the reign of St. Edmund, including a handful of coins minted during his reign and the very few references to him in early medieval documents. However, this limited evidence can only sustain so much discussion, which is why much of the book is dedicated to the reputation and cult of St. Edmund after his death. This book is less a biography of Edmund the king, because there’s very little to write about that figure, and more an account of the post-mortem life of the saint. This includes discussions of his reported miracles, including the truly amazing story that Edmund appeared as a ghost before the Viking king Swein Forkbeard and killed him by stabbing him with a spear – real top tier miracle that one. Young even carries the story through the Reformation and the dissolution of the monasteries to examine the change in St. Edmund’s worship from being a patron of the English monarchy to a symbol of Catholic resistance and oppression under the new Protestant regime of the Tudors and their successors. Finally, the book concludes with an examination of the evidence for where St. Edmund’s body actually is. It went missing sometime after the monastery of Bury-St-Edmunds was dissolved in 1539 and Young thinks there is good evidence that it is under some tennis courts near the abbey’s ruins – having been reburied in the monk’s graveyard by the monastic community right before the abbey was dissolved. In 2020 the removal of the tennis courts was approved, and an archaeological survey of the monastery and its surroundings was set to begin so this book may eventually have an exciting new postscript!
Edmund: In Search of England’s Lost King is an engaging read and well worth your time if you’re interested in the cults and veneration of medieval saints throughout the Middle Ages and modern era. If you’re looking for a biography of an early medieval monarch, you may be better off with a history of a better documented king like Alfred the Great. That said, this book is relatively short, and the writing is engaging so you could do far worse than spending a couple of days learning about a once famous saint who has fallen somewhat into obscurity – but maybe could be famous again!
May 21, 2023
Absolutely fascinating. Francis Young weaves together the patchwork of history surrounding St Edmund, before, during and after he was King.
Setting the background and the significance of Edmund in the time after the Norman Conquest, demonstrates the importance Edmund had but also the changing views and reducing importance in the run up the the reformation.
The various stories of where Edmund was killed and his relics are examined with interesting conclusions.
I have lived near Hoxne for years and regularly visit the Goldbrook Bridge and memorial to Edmund at the site of the Oak tree where he was supposedly killed. I will see this differently from now on!
Setting the background and the significance of Edmund in the time after the Norman Conquest, demonstrates the importance Edmund had but also the changing views and reducing importance in the run up the the reformation.
The various stories of where Edmund was killed and his relics are examined with interesting conclusions.
I have lived near Hoxne for years and regularly visit the Goldbrook Bridge and memorial to Edmund at the site of the Oak tree where he was supposedly killed. I will see this differently from now on!
December 30, 2018
Rigorously researched and immensely readable. Just what I wanted.
October 11, 2024
This isn't a history of Edmund as such. It is a review of how the cult of Edmund as a patron saint of a burgeoning England was developed. Frankly, it barely scratches the surface with that.
For one, the author has a turn of phrase which tends to imply that he believes all the fantasy myths about zombie Edmund fighting off marauders, gluing his own head on top of his body and somehow not rotting away (he speculates a form of mummification, which, whilst plausible, he provides no evidence of).
He also seems to think that contemporary authors are incapable of lying. Yes, all of them. They made shit up to keep certain people rich, to provide a 'moral justification' to continuation of the tyranny of monarchy. Comparing authors and picking one is silly. For example, 'Edmund got done in by Vikings' is all that you can accurately derive, and yet he compares sources like a five-year old. 'Ah, but he said such and such, and the other one said such and such, so the first one is right!'
God forbid monks and bishops be liars who are in it for themselves!
Admitting in one sentence that nationalism can quickly become distasteful and then turning round saying 'we need Edmund!' Why? As a saint? But that's all bullshit and you know it.
It is possible to review how the sainthood of Edmund shaped the politics of Britain, but the author gets lost down rabbit holes of fantasy, some excruciatingly boring details about fields and tennis courts (the entire last chapter is speculation. WHAT IS THE POINT OF THAT?), and really doesn't tell you much of any importance.
For one, the author has a turn of phrase which tends to imply that he believes all the fantasy myths about zombie Edmund fighting off marauders, gluing his own head on top of his body and somehow not rotting away (he speculates a form of mummification, which, whilst plausible, he provides no evidence of).
He also seems to think that contemporary authors are incapable of lying. Yes, all of them. They made shit up to keep certain people rich, to provide a 'moral justification' to continuation of the tyranny of monarchy. Comparing authors and picking one is silly. For example, 'Edmund got done in by Vikings' is all that you can accurately derive, and yet he compares sources like a five-year old. 'Ah, but he said such and such, and the other one said such and such, so the first one is right!'
God forbid monks and bishops be liars who are in it for themselves!
Admitting in one sentence that nationalism can quickly become distasteful and then turning round saying 'we need Edmund!' Why? As a saint? But that's all bullshit and you know it.
It is possible to review how the sainthood of Edmund shaped the politics of Britain, but the author gets lost down rabbit holes of fantasy, some excruciatingly boring details about fields and tennis courts (the entire last chapter is speculation. WHAT IS THE POINT OF THAT?), and really doesn't tell you much of any importance.
November 12, 2024
Detailed background into the life, death and martyrdom of King and later Saint Edmund the true Patron Saint of England. All the more interesting for me as I lived near and was educated in Bury St. Edmunds and recently have had a nostalgic trip back to see where it al happened.
January 13, 2020
Really interesting read of a king who could have been England's patron saint but it was overtaken by St George after the Reformation in the 1500's
August 27, 2023
Francis Young is sharp on his English history. It's worth investigating anything he's written on that subject.
November 23, 2023
I enjoyed it. There isn't a lot of information on Edmund so the book deals more with his legacy and sainthood. Which I found to be very interesting.
February 12, 2024
A very well researched and very readable account of St Edmund, King of the Angles and an early patron saint of England. I really enjoyed this book.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews