Edmund the Martyr

Edmund the Martyr (circa 840 - November 20, 870) was King of East Anglia from 855, succeeding Aethelweard.

In 870 Danish raiders led by Hinguar and Hubba began plundering Northumberland and Mercia, burning churches and monasteries and soon moved south into Edmund's lands. Edmund raised an army and met the Danes in Thetford. Finding himself outnumbered he retreated to his castle in Suffolk, before being captured. Turning down a number of demands on the grounds that they were prejudicial to his Christian faith, he was tied to a tree and shot with arrows before being decapitated.

Edmund was later recognised as a saint, and his feast day is the 20th of November.