St. Edmund, King and Martyr: Changing Images of a Medieval Saint (York Medieval Press)

St. Edmund, king and martyr, supposedly killed by Danes (or 'Vikings') in 869, was one of the pre-eminent saints of the middle ages; his cult was favoured and patronised by several English kings and spawned a rich arrage of visual, literary, musical and political artefacts. Celebrated throughout England, especially at the abbey of Bury St. Edmunds, it also inspired separate cults in France, Iceland and Italy. The essays in this collection offer a range of readings from a variety of disciplines - literature, history, music, art history - and of sources - chronicles, poems, theological material - providing an overview of the multi-faceted nature of St Edmund's cult, from the ninth century to the early modern period. They demonstrate the openness and dynamism of a medieval saint's cult, showing how the saint's image could be used in many and changing contexts: Edmund's image was bent to various political and propagandistic ends, often articulating conflicting messages and ideals, negotiating identity, politics and belief. St. Edmund, king and martyr, supposedly killed by Danes (or "Vikings") in 869, was one of the pre-eminent saints of the middle ages; his cult was favoured and patronised by several English kings and spawned a rich array of visual, literary, musical and political artefacts. Celebrated throughout England, especially at the abbey of Bury St. Edmunds, it also inspired separate cults in France, Iceland and Italy. The essays in this collection offer a range of readings from a variety of disciplines - literature, history, music, art history - and of sources - chronicles, poems, theological material - providing an overview of the multi-faceted nature of St Edmund's cult, from the ninth century to the early modern period. They demonstrate the openness and dynamism of a medieval saint's cult, showing how the saint's image could be used in many and changing contexts: Edmund's image was bent to various political and propagandistic ends, often articulating conflicting messages and ideals, negotiating identity, politics and belief. Contents: Introduction : St. Edmund's medieval lives / Anthony Bale -- King, martyr, and virgin : Imitatio Christi in Aelfric's Life of St. Edmund / Carl Phelpstead -- Chronology, genealogy, and conversion : the afterlife of St. Edmund in the north / Alison Finlay -- Geoffrey of Wells's Liber de infantia sancti Edmundi and the "anarchy" of King Stephen's reign / Paul Antony Hayward -- Music and identity in medieval Bury St. Edmunds / Lisa Colton -- Medieval images of St. Edmund in Norfolk churches / Rebecca Pinner -- John Lydgate's Lives of Ss. Edmund and Fremund : politics, hagiography, and literature / A.S.G. Edwards -- St. Edmund in fifteenth-century London : the Lydgatian Miracles of St. Edmund / Anthony Bale -- The later lives of St. Edmund : John Lydgate to John Stow / Alexandra Gillespie. The cult of St Edmund was one of the most important in medieval England, and further afield, as the pieces here show.St Edmund, king and martyr, supposedly killed by Danes (or'Vikings') in 869, was one of the pre-eminent saints of the middle ages; his cult was favoured and patronised by several English kings and spawned a rich array of visual,literary, musical and political artefacts. Celebrated throughout England, especially at the abbey of Bury St Edmunds, it also inspired separate cults in France, Iceland and Italy. The essays in this collection offer a range of readings from a variety of disciplines - literature, history, music, art history - and of sources - chronicles, poems, theological material - providing an overview of the multi-faceted nature of St Edmund's cult, from the ninthcentury to the early modern period. They demonstrate the openness and dynamism of a medieval saint's cult, showing how the saint's image could be used in many and changing contexts: Edmund's image was bent to various political andpropagandistic ends, often articulating conflicting messages and ideals, negotiating identity, politics and belief. CONTRIBUTORS: ANTHONY BALE, CARL PHELPSTEAD, ALISON FINLAY, PAUL ANTONY HAYWARD, LISA COLTON, REBECCA PINNER, A.S.G. EDWARDS, ALEXANDRA GILLESPIE

St Edmund, king and martyr, supposedly killed by Danes (or 'Vikings') in 869, was one of the pre-eminent saints of the middle ages; his cult was favoured and patronised by several English kings and spawned a rich array of visual, literary, musical and political artefacts. Celebrated throughout England, especially at the abbey of Bury St Edmunds, it also inspired separate cults in France, Iceland and Italy. The essays in this collection offer a range of readings from a variety of disciplines - literature, history, music, art history - and of sources - chronicles, poems, theological material - providing an overview of the multi-faceted nature of St Edmund's cult, from the ninth century to the early modern period. They demonstrate the openness and dynamism of a medieval saint's cult, showing how the saint's image could be used in many and changing contexts: Edmund's image was bent to various political and propagandistic ends, often articulating conflicting messages and ideals, negotiating identity, politics and belief. CONTRIBUTORS: ANTHONY BALE, CARL PHELPSTEAD, ALISON FINLAY, PAUL ANTONY HAYWARD, LISA COLTON, REBECCA PINNER, A. S. G. EDWARDS, ALEXANDRA GILLESPIE

Preface vii List of Contributors ix List of Abbreviations xi Introduction: St. Edmund's Medieval Lives / Anthony Bale 1 1. King, Martyr and Virgin: 'Imitatio Christi' in Ælfric's 'Life of St. Edmund' / Carl Phelpstead 27 2. Chronology, Genealogy and Conversion: The Afterlife of St. Edmund in the North / Alison Finlay 45 3. Geoffrey of Wells's 'Liber de infantia sancti Edmundi' and the 'Anarchy' of King Stephen's Reign / Paul Antony Hayward 63 4. Music and Identity in Medieval Bury St. Edmunds / Lisa Colton 87 5. Medieval Images of St. Edmund in Norfolk Churches / Rebecca Pinner 111 6. John Lydgate's 'Lives of Ss Edmund and Fremund': Politics, Hagiography and Literature / A. S. G. Edwards 133 7. St. Edmund in Fifteenth-Century London: The Lydgatian 'Miracles of St. Edmund' / Anthony Bale 145 8. The Later Lives of St Edmund: John Lydgate to John Stow / Alexandra Gillespie 163 Select Bibliography 187 Index 193