Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk
The Nutshell, a cafe at the center of
Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk.
The memory of a martyr and king from ancient times is closely knit with that of Bury St. Edmunds. In Saxon, pre-Norman times there was the kingdom East Angles, comprising North Folk and South Folk. It owed its independence to it geological situatie: the moors, which had not been drained yet, and the marshes offered a natural protection against Mercia, with the river Stour providing protection against Wessex in the south. In modern times the Stour may appear to be a futile barrier, but in the ninth century the lower course was dominated by moors and marshes, and the upper course by dense woodland with Bures as the most important crossing point.
Het huis van Uffa had East Anglia had been under the rule of the Uffa dynasty from the middle of the sixth century until 794, when Ethelbert was murdered by Offa of Mercia. Do by all means read the account of this, and the role of Ethelbert's wife and father in law in this murder in 'the preface to Book IV', with the account under item 9. Half a century of chaos ensued during which Mercia gradually got fuller control of Norfolk, and Wessex enlarged its control over Suffolk. Another Offa, vassal king of Norfolk, made a journey through continental Saxony; according to legend it was this Offa who built the dikes that separate England and Wales. Saxony had been brought under the rule of Charles the Great in 775 and formed a christian buffer against the pagan, seafaring looters from Scandinavia. In Saxony Offa, who had no offspring, met Edmund and was so impressed with him that he gave him a ring as a sign of kinship and friendship. Offa continued his journey to the Holy Shrine in Palestine to invoke the blessing of a son and heir, but fell seriously ill upon the return trip. He summoned his Council and nominated Edmund as his successor to the throne of his Anglian Kingdom. His Signet, and possibly some fragments which he regarded as being part of the original cross, were brought to Alkmund's court, with the last Will and Testament at the behest of the Council. Read more about his voyage, how his ship was nearly wrecked near Hunstanton (now known as St. Edmunds Point), his one year seclusion in Aldeburgh to prepare for the kingship, and his crowning in Bures in 856.
St James' cathedral, built in 1438 next to the old gate to the abbey,
Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk
Edmund is said to be born in Nuremberg as the son of Alkmund, a powerful prince of Saxony. Edmund became king in a difficult time, because the Danes raided the east coast time after time. For that reason it was ill advised to land at Dunwich or Lowestoft after crossing from the continent. Instead he rounded Norfolk and went to Maidensbure at the Wash, the extension of the North Sea between Lincolnshire and Norfolk. It took deputies about a year to negotiate in secret with the authorities in Wessex; in that time Edmund learnt the psalmbook by heart. The Danish assaults continued, and this led to the coastal area being progressively depopulated.
External links
About Bury St Edmunds
More about Bury St Edmunds
Abbey and Church of St Mary
More about Edmund: 1, 2, 3
See also Edmund
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