Saint Edmund the Martyr
King and Martyr
(841-870)
St. Edmund was elected king of the East Angles in 855 at the
age of fourteen and began ruling Suffolk, England, the following year.King and Martyr
(841-870)
In 869 or 870, the Vikings invaded Edmund's realm, and he was captured at Hone, in Suffolk. After extreme torture, Edmund was beheaded and died calling upon Jesus.
According to Abbo of Fleury's vita "His severed head was thrown into the wood. Day and night as Edmund's followers went seeking, calling out "Where are you, friend?" the head answered, "Here, here, here," until at last, "a great wonder", they found Edmund's head in the possession of a grey wolf, clasped between its paws. "They were astonished at the wolf's guardianship".The wolf, sent by God to protect the head from the animals of the forest, was starving but did not eat the head for all the days it was lost. After recovering the head the villagers marched back to the kingdom, praising God and the wolf that served him. The wolf walked beside them as if tame all the way to the town, after which it turned around and vanished into the forest."
His shrine brought about the town of Bury St. Edmund's.
Strange the people didn`t say in the midst of the crisis `Let`s then abandon our current religious practices and start something unfamiliar`.
Pope Francis apologised to the Wolf for the failure of the Church to recognise the great act of self sacrifice in not eating the head, and instituted proceedings for the Canonisation of Blessed Wolf.
ReplyDeletePresident Obama wondered if the neglect in recognising the deed of the Wolf had much to do with the Wolf's colour.
Mr Ed Millipede castigated the present Tory Government for the wide spread starvation and poverty in the land of the East Saxons, and promised to alleviate the distress by taxing millionaire bankers living in mansions.
Prof Dawkins laughed out loud and said "See what I mean about idiots who believe in Sky Fairies"
The Sun was condemned by Hattie Harpic for publishing a picture of the wolf with no clothes on.
David Cameron said "Trust me, I will order a check on the immigration status of all EU originating wolves"
Nigel Farrage said "What's the fuss? Both the wolf and the King were immigrants from Europe, so let's remove them."