He was killed with an arrow by Vikings from the Great Heathen Army in 869. He was trying to convert them to Christianity, and they were trying to do the opposite, so, fed up, they tied him to a tree, shot him full of arrows and then beheaded him.
Afterwards, the English set up a search party for him, and as they passed nearby the head shouted ‘Here.Here. Here.’ So they were able to retrieve his head. His remains were eventually taken to Bury which was named Bury St Edmunds after him and which became one of the most famous places of pilgrimage in England.
As a Royal martyr he was, with St Edward the Confessor, the saint of the monarchy. Being Kings themselves, they could explain to St Peter why the King had to undertake actions which might be strictly against the Ten Commandments, and thus speed the King through to heaven from purgatory.
The City of London has a church dedicated to St Edmund, King, and Martyr. It is in Lombard Street, coincidentally, right above the South West corner of the Roman Forum. First mentioned in 1292, and rebuilt by Christopher Wren after the Great Fire of London.
November 20th Also the day to grow garlic
Set garlic and beans, at St Edmund the King
Quoted in Perpetual Almanac of Folklore Charles Kightly
The moon in the wane, therefore hangeth a thing.
Garlic ….. mingled with soft cheese ‘stauncheth’ the falling down of humours called catarrh and so is good against hoarseness’.
William Turner Herbal 1568
On this Day
1917 Tanks were used effectively, for the first time in warfare at the Battle of Cambrai.
1947 Princess Elizabeth married her distant cousin Philip Mountbatten (He was created the Duke of Edinburgh on the evening before the wedding) Philip was renowned for his gaffes: ‘Do you still throw spears at each other?‘ he said to native Australians. And of himself he said: As so often happens, I discover that it would have been better to keep my mouth shut.
1945 The Nuremberg Trials began.
2024 the Cambridge Dictionary announced that ‘manifest’ was the word of the year. The reason is that the word has been used in a very different way, and acquired a whole new definition and receiving many more mentions on the internet.
The new definition of the word is:
“To manifest” in the sense of “to imagine achieving something you want, in the belief doing so will make it more likely to happen”.
As in: I’m manifesting my belief that this blog will go viral next year with the help of all my loyal readers who will recommend it to all their friends and, particularly, their acquaintances, and social media contacts!
For more information on the word of the year, have a look at this page on the BBC.
First Published Nov 20th 2022. Republished Nov 20th 2023, 2024