
What connects "Bad" King John, Charles Dickens' first novel and a wolf skulking under a hedgerow? All of them are woven into the history of the Suffolk town of Bury St Edmunds. Its sloping streets reflect its storied past: grand Georgian houses jostle against whitewashed, wood-beamed buildings, while at the bottom of the hill stands a ruined Norman abbey surrounded by glorious gardens.
The town first gained importance during the Middle Ages as the resting place of Saint Edmund. Following a Viking raid, this ninth-century East Anglian king was reputedly shot with arrows then beheaded after he refused to renounce his Christianity. According to legend, his followers found his head under a hedgerow, guarded by a wolf; after they retrieved the head and brought it back to his bloodied body, it was miraculously reattached - the first of many wonders attributed to Edmund's corpse.
Denne historien er fra December 2022-utgaven av BBC History UK.
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Denne historien er fra December 2022-utgaven av BBC History UK.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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