Edmund ascended the throne of East Anglia at the age of fifteen,one of several monarchs who ruled various parts of England at that period of its history. The principal source of information about the martyrdom of the young king is an account by Dunstan, who became Archbishop of Canterbury ninety years after Edmund’s death. Dunstan had heard the story many years before from a man who claimed to have been Edmund’s armor bearer.

Edmund had reigned as a Christian king for nearly fifteen yearswhen Danish armies invaded England in 870. Led by two brothers, Hinguar and Hubba, the Danes moved south, burning monasteries and churches, plundering and destroying entire villages, and killing hundreds. Upon reaching East Anglia, the brothers confronted Edmund and offered to share their treasure with him if he would acknowledge their supremacy, forbid all practice of the Christianfaith, and become a figurehead ruler. Edmund’s bishops advised him to accept the terms and avoid further bloodshed, but the king refused. He declared that he would not forsake Christ by surrendering to pagan rule, nor would he betray his people by consorting with the enemy.

Edmund’s small army fought bravely against the Danes, but the king was eventually captured. According to Dunstan’s account, Edmund was tortured, beaten, shot through with arrows, and finally beheaded. By tradition, the date of his death is November 20th, 870.

The cult of the twenty-nine-year-old martyr grew very rapidly, and his remains were eventually enshrined in a Benedictine monasteryin Bedericesworth—now called Bury St. Edmunds. Over the centuries, Edmund’s shrine became a traditional place of pilgrimage for England’s kings, who came to pray at the grave of a man who remained steadfast in the Christian faith and loyal to the integrity of the English people.