St Edmund: Patron Saint of England

with Dr Sam Newton

at Tranmer House, Sutton Hoo (map)
on 3rd March 2007

We spend the day exploring the history and legend of King Edmund and the coming of the Danish micel here, 'Great Army', led by the Ragnarrson brothers, Ivarr, Ubbe, and Halfdan. Our primary source is that Old Testament of English history, The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, wherein the entries concerning Edmund’s death on 20th November, 869, imply that he was possibly killed in battle near Thetford.

We shall assess these near-contemporary entries in relation to the huge quantity of later legendary material, especially Abbo’s Passio Sancti Edmundi and the stirring Old English version by Ælfric. We shall also chart the rise of the cult of St Edmund and consider the extent to which he may be regarded as a patron saint of England.

Sam Newton was awarded his Ph.D in 1991 and published his first book, The Origins of Beowulf and the pre-Viking Kingdom of East Anglia, in 1993. Since then he has worked as an independent scholar in Early Medieval Studies. His latest book, The Reckoning of King Rædwald, was published in 2003. He is also now a Director of Wuffing Education, NADFAS lecturer, and Time Team historian.

Garmonsway, G., The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle (Dent 1975).
Hart, C., The Danelaw (Hambledon 1992).
Gransden, Antonia, "The legends and traditions concerning the origins of the Abbey of Bury St Edmunds" English Historical Review, 100 (1985), pp.1-14.
Jones, G., A History of the Vikings (2nd Edition, Oxford 1984)
Keynes, S., & M. Lapidge (ed. & tr.), Alfred the Great: Asser’s Life of King Alfred and other contemporary sources (Penguin Classics 1983).
Magnusson, Magnus, The Vikings ( rev.ed. Tempus 2000)
Mitchell, B., & F.Robinson, A Guide to Old English (Blackwell 1986)
Scarfe, Norman, Suffolk in the Middle Ages (Boydell 1986)
Smyth, A., Scandinavian Kings in the British Isles 850-880 (Oxford 1977).
-------------, King Alfred the Great (Oxford 1995).
Whitelock, Dorothy, "Fact and Fiction in the Legend of St Edmund", Proceedings of the Suffolk Institute of Archaeology and History, 31 (1970), pp.217-233.

Bookings

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