Ruins and royalty
BBC History UK|December 2022
Surrounded by verdant Suffolk countryside, Bury St Edmunds rose to prominence as a pilgrim hotspot in the Anglo-Saxon era before its fortunes dipped during the Dissolution. RHIANNON DAVIES pays a visit
RHIANNON DAVIES
Ruins and royalty

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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