St Edmund the martyr was king of East Anglia from about 855 until his death on 20 November 869. Much of what is known about his life is probably legend, since there is no contemporary evidence of his life and reign.

In 869 the Danes invaded East Anglia and Edmund was killed. He may have been slain in battle but tradition says that he was beaten, shot with arrows and beheaded because he would not renounce Christianity.

One legend says that his head was thrown into the forest, but was found by searchers who followed the calls of an ethereal wolf calling ‘here, here, here.’

The cult of St Edmund the martyr grew and Kings and pilgrims alike visited his relics. He was the patron saint of England until the middle ages when he was replaced by St George.