Abbo Floriacensis: PASSIO SANCTI EDMUNDI REGIS ET MARTYRIS

Domino sanctae metropolitanae Dorobernensium ecclesiae archiepiscopo Dunstano, vere moribus et aetate maturo, Abbo Floriacensis monachus levita, etsi indignus, a Christo Domino irriguum superius et irriguum inferius. Postquam a te, venerabilis pater, digressus sum cum multa alacritate cordis et ad monasterium, quod nosti, festinus redii, coeperunt me obnixe hi, cum quibus, fraterna caritate detentus hospitando hactenus degui, pulsare manu sancti desiderii, ut mirabilium patratoris Edmundi regis et martyris passionem litteris digererem, asserentes, id posteris profuturum, tibi gratum, ac meae parvitatis apud Anglorum ecclesias non inutile monimentum. Audierant enim, quod eam pluribus ignotam, a nemine scriptam, tua sanctitas ex antiquitatis memoria collectam historialiter, me praesente, retulisset domino Rofensis ecclesiae episcopo et abbati monasterii, quod dicitur Malmesburi ac aliis circum assistentibus fratribus, sicut tuus mos est, quos pabulo divini verbi Latina et patria lingua pascere non desinis.

To the lord archbishop of the holy metropolitan church of Dorobernum, Dunstan, truly mature in morals and in age, Abbo of Fleury, monk and levite, though unworthy: from Christ the Lord a watering from above and a watering from below. After I departed from you, venerable father, with much alacrity of heart and hastened back to the monastery which you know, those with whom, detained by fraternal charity, I have until now lived as a guest began to press me earnestly with the hand of holy desire, that I should set in writing the passion of Edmund, king and martyr, the achiever of wonders, asserting that it would be profitable for posterity, agreeable to you, and, for my smallness, not an unuseful monument among the churches of the English. For they had heard that this account, unknown to many and written by no one, your sanctity, gathered from the memory of antiquity, had recounted historically, I being present, to the lord bishop of the church of Rochester and to the abbot of the monastery which is called Malmesbury, and to the other brothers standing around, as is your custom, whom you do not cease to feed with the pabulum of the divine word in Latin and in the native tongue.

Quibus fatebaris, oculos suffusus lacrimis, quod eam, iunior, didicisses a quodam sene decrepito, qui eam simpliciter et plena fide referebat gloriosissimo regi Anglorum Aethelstano, iureiurando asserens, quod eadem die fuisset armiger beati viri, qua pro Christo martyr occubuit.

To whom you confessed, your eyes suffused with tears, that you, being younger, had learned it from a certain decrepit old man, who was relating it simply and with full faith to the most glorious king of the English, Aethelstan, affirming on oath that on the same day he had been the armiger (arms-bearer) of the blessed man, on which he fell as a martyr for Christ.

Cuius assertioni, quia in tantum fidem accommodasti, ut in promptuario memoriae verba ex integro reconderes, quae postmodum iunioribus mellito ore eructares, coeperunt fratres instantius meae pusillitati incumbere, ut eorum ferventi desiderio satisfacerem ac pro virium facultate tantorum operum seriem perire non sinerem. Quorum petitioni cum pro sui reverentia nollem contradicere, posthabitis aliquantulum secularium litterarum studiis quasi ad interiorem animae phylosophiam me contuli dum eius, qui vere phylosophatus est in throno regni virtutes scribere proposui: maxime tamen eas, quae post eius obitum saeculis inauditae factae sunt, quibus nemo crederet nisi eas tuae assertionis irrefragabilis auctoritas roborasset. Siquidem tu, cui nix capitis credi compellit, quando referebas de ea, quae nunc est incorruptione regis, quidam diligentius requisivit utrum haec ita esse possent.

To whose assertion, because you lent faith to such a degree that you re-stowed in the promptuary of memory the words in their entirety, which thereafter you would eructate to the juniors with a honeyed mouth, the brothers began more insistently to press upon my pusillanimity, that I might satisfy their fervent desire and, according to the capacity of my powers, not allow the series of such great works to perish. To whose petition, since out of respect for them I did not wish to gainsay, with the studies of secular letters somewhat set aside I betook myself, as it were, to the inner philosophy of the soul, when I proposed to write the virtues of him who truly philosophized upon the throne of the kingdom: especially, however, those which after his death were made unheard-of to the ages—things which no one would believe unless the irrefragable authority of your assertion had strengthened them. For you, whom the snow of the head compels to be believed, when you were recounting about that which now is the incorruption of the king, someone inquired more diligently whether these things could be so.

Cuius questionis ambiguum volens purgare, tu, vastae peritiae sacrarium, pro exemplo adiecisti, quod multo magis audientium attonita corda concussit, quia sanctus Domini Cuthberhtus, incomparabilis confessor et episcopus, non solum adhuc expectat diem prime resurrectionis incorrupto corpore sed etiam perfusus quodam blando tepore. Quod ego admirans pro argumento habui quo tandem ad sancti regis gesta elucubranda certior accessi, fidens de eius et tuis incomparibilibus meritis, cui primitias mei laboris consecrans suppliciter obsecro ut vel una die vertas michi tuum otiumin honestum negotium, resecando hinc superflua, supplendo hiantia, quoniam ex ore tuo praeter seriem ultimi miraculi omnia veracem secutus verax digessi, exortans omnes ad amorem tanti martyris. Vale pater in Christo.

Desiring to purge the ambiguity of this question, you, a sanctuary of vast expertise, added by way of example something that shook still more the astonished hearts of the hearers: that the Lord’s Saint Cuthbert, an incomparable confessor and bishop, not only still awaits the day of the first resurrection with an incorrupt body, but is even suffused with a certain gentle warmth. Marveling at this, I took it as an argument by which at last I approached more assuredly to elucubrate the deeds of the holy king, trusting in his and your incomparable merits; to whom, consecrating the firstfruits of my labor, I humbly beseech that you turn for me even a single day of your leisure into an honorable business, by cutting away what is superfluous here, by filling what gapes, since from your mouth—apart from the sequence of the last miracle—I, truthful, following a truthful account, have digested everything, exhorting all to the love of so great a martyr. Farewell, father in Christ.

I. Asciti aliquando in Britanniam, praecario munere, in perniciosum auxilium tres Germaniae populi, hoc est Saxones, Iuti et Angli, primum Britonibus interdiu fuere praesidii. Qui cum saepius bello lacessiti se et suos defensarent fortiter, illi vero ignaviae operam dantes quasi prolaetarii ad solam voluptatem domi residerent, fixi de invicta fortitudine stipendianorum militum quos conduxerant, ipsos miseros indigenas domo patriaque pellere deliberant: factumque est. Et, exclusis Britonibus, statuunt inter se dividere victores alienigenae insulam, bonis omnibus fecundissimam, indignum iudicantes eam ignavorum dominio detineri, quae ad defensionem suam idoneis posset praebere sufficientem alimoniam et optimis viris.

1. Once three peoples of Germany—the Saxons, the Jutes, and the Angles—having been adscited into Britain, on a precarious commission, for pernicious aid, were at first for a while a safeguard to the Britons. When they, often provoked to war, bravely defended themselves and their own, but the latter, devoting themselves to sloth, as if proletarians, sat at home for mere pleasure, fixed in confidence upon the unconquered fortitude of the stipendary soldiers whom they had hired, they resolve to drive the wretched natives from home and fatherland: and so it was done. And, the Britons excluded, the foreign victors determine among themselves to divide the island, most fruitful in all goods, judging it unworthy that it be held under the dominion of the slothful—an island which could, for its own defense, furnish sufficient sustenance to men fit and to the very best men.

Qua occasione inducti orientalem ipsius insulae partem, quae usque hodie lingua Anglorum Eastengle vocatur, sortito nomine Saxones sunt adepti, Iutis et Anglis ad alia tendentibus in quibus suae sortis funiculo potirentur, ne esset cum sodalibus ullum de possessione litigium, quibus suppeteret amplitudo terrae ad regnandi emolumentum. Unde contigit ut, per regiones et provincias divisa, plurimis primum ducibus, deinde regibus sufficeret una eademque Britannia.

By which occasion induced, the Saxons obtained by lot the eastern part of the island itself, which to this day in the tongue of the Angles is called Eastengle, the Jutes and the Angles tending to other places in which they might take possession by the cord of their lot, lest there be any litigation about possession with their comrades, for whom the amplitude of the land sufficed for the emolument of reigning. Whence it befell that, divided into regions and provinces, one and the same Britain sufficed first for many dukes, then for kings.

II. At praedicta orientalis pars cum aliis tum eo nobilis habetur, quod aquis pene undique alluitur, quoniam a subsolano et euro cingitur oceano, ab aquilone vero immensarum paludum uligine, quae exorientes propter aequalitatem terrae a meditullio ferme totius Britanniae per centum et eo amplius milia cum maximis fluminibus descendunt in mare. Ab ea autem parte, qua sol vergitur in occasum ipsa provincia reliquae insulae est continua et ob id pervia; sed ne crebra irruptione hostium incursetur, aggere ad instar altioris muri fossa humo praemunitur. Interius ubere glaebae satis admodum laeta, ortorum nemorumque amoenitatae gratissima, ferarum venatione insignis, pascuis pecorum et iumentorum non mediocriter fertilis.

2. But the aforesaid eastern part is held noble both for other reasons and especially because it is bathed by waters almost on every side, since on the east and south-east it is girded by the ocean, and on the north by the mire of immense marshes, which, arising on account of the levelness of the land, from nearly the midmost of all Britain for a hundred miles and more, together with very great rivers, descend into the sea. From that side, however, where the sun inclines to its setting, the province itself is continuous with the rest of the island and for that reason traversable; but lest it be assailed by the frequent irruption of enemies, it is fortified in front with a rampart, in the likeness of a higher wall, with ditch and earth. Within, in the richness of the glebe, it is quite exceedingly luxuriant, most pleasing for the amenity of gardens and groves, notable for the hunting of wild beasts, and by no means poorly fertile in pastures for flocks and draught-animals.

De piscosis fluminibus reticemus, cum hinc eam, ut dictum est, lingua maris allambit, inde paludibus dilatatis stagnorum ad duo vel tria milia spatiosorum innumerabilis multitudo praeterfluit. Quae paludes praebent pluribus monachorum gregibus optatos solitariae conversationis sinus, quibus inclusi non indigeant solitudine heremi; ex quibus sunt sancti monachorum patris Benedicti caelibes coenobitae in loco celebri hac tempestate.

We keep silence about the fish‑rich rivers, since on the one side, as has been said, the tongue of the sea licks it, and on the other side an innumerable multitude of pools, two or three miles in extent, flows past through expanded marshes. These marshes afford to many flocks of monks the desired havens of solitary conversation (way of life), in which, enclosed, they are not in need of the solitude of the hermit‑desert; among whom are the celibate coenobites of the holy father of monks, Benedict, in a celebrated place at this time.

III. Sed ut ad propositum revertamur: huic provinciae tam feraci, quam diximus Eastengle vocabulo nuncupari, praefuit sanctissimus deoque acceptus Edmundus, ex antiquorum Saxonum nobili prosapia oriundus, a primaevo tempore suae etatis cultor veracissimus fidei Christianae. Qui atavis regibus aeditus, cum bonis polleret moribus, omnium comprovincialium unanimi favore non tantum eligitur ex generis successione, quantum rapitur, ut eis praeesset sceptrigera potestate.

3. But to return to our purpose: over this province, as fertile as we have said, which is called by the vocable East Anglia, there presided the most holy and God-acceptable Edmund, sprung from the noble lineage of the ancient Saxons, from the earliest time of his age a most veracious devotee of the Christian faith. He, born of ancestor-kings, since he excelled in good morals, by the unanimous favor of all his fellow-provincials was not so much chosen by succession of lineage as swept up, that he might preside over them with scepter-bearing authority.

Nam erat ei species digna imperio, quam serenissimi cordis iugiter venustabat tranquilla devotio. Erat omnibus blando eloquio affabilis, humilitatis gratia praecluis et inter suos coaevos mirabili mansuetudine residebat dominus absque ullo fastu superbiae. Iamque vir sanctus praeferebat in vultu, quod postea manifestatum est divino nutu: quoniam puer toto conamine virtutis arripuit gradum, quem divina pietas praesciebat martyrio finiendum.

For there was in him an aspect worthy of rule, which a tranquil devotion of a most serene heart was continually adorning. He was affable to all with a bland eloquence, remarkable for the grace of humility, and among his coevals the lord sat with wondrous mildness, without any haughtiness of pride. And already the holy man bore in his countenance what was afterward made manifest by the divine nod: since, as a boy, with the whole endeavor of virtue he seized the course which divine piety foreknew would be brought to an end in martyrdom.

IV. Nactus vero culmen regiminis, quantae fuerit in subiectos benignitatis, quantae in perversos districtionis non est nostrae facultatis evolvere, qui eius minima, quo conveniret sermone non possumus expedire. Siquidem ita columbinae simplicitatis mansuetudine temperavit serpentinae calliditatis astutiam, ut nec antiqui hostis deciperetur simulatione fraudulenta, nec malignorum hominum reciperet contra iustitiam sententias, rem quam nesciebat diligentissime investigans; gradiensque via regia nec declinabat ad dexteram, extollendo se de meritis, nec ad sinistram, succumbendo vitiis humanae fragilitatis. Erat quoque egentibus dapsilis liberaliter, pupillis et viduis clementissimus pater, semper habens prae oculis dictum illius sapientis: "Principem te constituerunt?

4. Having indeed obtained the summit of governance, of how great benignity he was toward subjects, of how great strictness toward the perverse, it is not within our capacity to unfold, we who cannot set forth in fitting speech even his least things. For thus did he temper the astuteness of serpentine callidity with the meekness of dove-like simplicity, that neither was he deceived by the fraudulent pretense of the ancient enemy, nor did he admit the sentences of evil men against justice, most diligently investigating a matter he did not know; and walking the royal way he turned neither to the right, by exalting himself on account of merits, nor to the left, by succumbing to the vices of human fragility. He was also liberally bountiful to the needy, a most clement father to orphans and widows, always having before his eyes the saying of that wise man: "Have they made you a prince?"

Noli extolli, sed esto in illis quasi unus ex illis." Cumque tam conspicuis in Christo et ecclesia emineret bonorum actuum ornamentis, eius patientiam, sicut et sancti Iob, aggressus est experiri inimicus humani generis, qui eo bonis iustius invidet quo appetitu bonae voluntatis caret.

"Do not exalt yourself, but be among them as one of them." And as he stood out with such conspicuous ornaments of good deeds in Christ and the church, the enemy of the human race undertook to test his patience, just as he did that of holy Job—who envies the good all the more “justly,” in proportion as he lacks the appetite of good will.

V. Quocirca unum ex suis membris ei adversarium inmisit, qui omnibus quae habuerat undeunde sublatis ad impatientiam (si posset) erumpere cogeret, ut desperans Deo in faciem bene diceret. Fuit autem idem adversarius Hinguar vocabulo dictus, qui cum altero, Hubba nomine, eiusdem perversitatis homine, nisi divina inpediretur miseratione conatus est in exterminium adducere totius fines Britanniae. Nec mirum, cum venerint indurati frigore suae malitiae ab illo terrae vertice, quo sedem suam posuit, qui per elationem Altissimo similis esse concupivit.

5. Wherefore he sent against him an adversary, one of his own members, who, with all that he had removed from him from wherever it might be, would compel him to burst forth into impatience (if he could), so that, in despair, he would “bless” God to His face. Now this same adversary was called by the name Hinguar, who, together with another, by the name Hubba, a man of the same perversity, would have brought the whole bounds of Britain to extermination, had not divine compassion intervened to impede it. Nor is it a marvel, since they have come hardened by the frost of their malice from that vertex of the earth where he set his seat—he who through exaltation desired to be like the Most High.

Denique constat iuxta prophetae vaticinium, quod ab aquilone venit omne malum, sicut plus aequo didicere, perperam passi adversos iactus cadentis tesserae, qui aquilonalium gentium experti sunt sevitiam: quas certum est adeo crudeles esse naturali ferocitate ut nesciant malis hominum mitescere, quandoquidem quidam ex eis populi vescuntur humanis carnibus, qui ex facto Graeca appellatione Anthropophagi vocantur. Talesque nationes abundant plurimae infra Scithiam prope Hyperboreos montes, quae antichristum, ut legimus, secuturae sunt ante omnes gentes, ut absque ulla miseratione pascantur hominum cruciatibus qui caracterem bestiae noluerint circumferre in frontibus. Unde iam inquietando Christicolas pacem cum eis habere nequeunt: maxime Dani, occidentis regionibus nimium vicini, quoniam circa eas piratycam exercent frequentibus latrociniis.

Finally, it stands, according to the prophet’s vaticination, that from the north comes every evil, as those have learned beyond measure—having wrongly suffered the adverse casts of the falling tessera (die)—who have experienced the savagery of the northern nations: which it is certain are so cruel by natural ferocity that they do not know how to be softened by the sufferings of men, since certain peoples among them feed on human flesh, who from the fact are called by the Greek appellation Anthropophagi. And very many such nations abound below Scythia near the Hyperborean mountains, who, as we read, are going to follow the Antichrist before all the nations, so that, without any pity, they may be fed on the torments of men who have been unwilling to bear about on their foreheads the character (mark) of the beast. Whence already, by their harrying, the Christ-worshipers cannot have peace with them: especially the Danes, exceedingly near the regions of the West, since around those parts they practice piracy with frequent brigandages.

Ex eorum ergo genere praedicti duces Hinguar et Hubba Nordanimbrorum primitus aggressi expugnare provinciam gravi depopulatione totam pervagantur ex ordine. Quorum pessimis conatibus nullus resistere potuit ex provincialibus quin multarentur merita supernae indignationis ira, agente ministro iniquitatis Hubba: quem, praeda facta, Hinguar reliquit ibi crudelitatis socium et a boreali parte orientali subito astans cum magna classe ad eius quandam civitatem latenter appulit. Quam ignaris civibus introgressus ignibus cremandam dedit, pueros senes cum iunioribus in plateis civitatis obviam factos iugulat et matronalem seu virginalem pudicitiam ludibrio tradendam mandat.

From their stock, therefore, the aforesaid leaders Hinguar and Hubba, having first attacked the Northumbrians, set about to storm the province, and with grievous depopulation traverse the whole in order. Against their worst attempts none of the provincials could stand, but paid penalties, the wrath of supernal indignation inflicting their deserts, Hubba acting as a minister of iniquity; whom, after taking plunder, Hinguar left there as a partner in cruelty, and, suddenly appearing from the northeastern side with a great fleet, he stealthily put in at a certain city of it. Entering it with the citizens unaware, he gave it to be consumed with fires; he slaughters boys and old men, together with younger men met in the streets of the city, and orders matronal or virginal chastity to be delivered over to mockery.

Maritus cum coniuge aut mortuus aut moribundus iacebat in limine; infans raptus a matris uberibus, ut maior esset heiulatus trucidabatur coram maternis obtutibus. Furebat impius miles lustrata urbe, ardendo ad flagitium, quo posset placere tyranno, qui solo crudelitatis studio iusserat perire innoxios.

The husband with his spouse lay either dead or dying on the threshold; an infant, snatched from the mother’s breasts, so that the wailing might be greater, was butchered before her maternal eyes. The impious soldier raged, the city scoured, burning for flagitiousness, in order that he might please the tyrant, who by zeal for cruelty alone had ordered the innocent to perish.

VI. Cumque iam multitudine interfectorum Achimeniam rabiem non tantum exsaturasset, quantum fatigatus in posterum distulisset, evocat quosdam plebeios, quos suo gladio credidit esse indignos, ac ubi rex eorum tunc temporis vitam degeret sollicitus perscrutator investigare studet. Nam ad eum fama pervenerat, quod idem rex gloriosus, videlicet Edmundus, florenti aetate et robustis viribus bello per omnia esset strenuus: et idcirco festinabat passim neci tradere quos circumcirca poterat repperire, ne stipatus militum agmine ad defensionem suorum posset rex sibi resistere, qui morabatur eo tempore ab urbe longius in villa, quae lingua eorum Haegilisdun dicitur (a qua et silva vicina eodem nomine vocatur), existimans impiisimus, ut se rei veritas habebat, quia, quantos suus funestus satelles praeoccuparet ad interitum perducere, tantos, si dimicandum esset, regius occursus in exercitu contraheret minus. Classem quoque absque valida manu non audebat deserere, quoniam, velut lupis vespertinis mos est clanculo ad plana descendere, repetitis quantotius notis silvarum latibulis, sic consuevit eadem Danorum et Alanorum natio, cum semper studeat rapto vivere, numquam tamen indicta pugna palam contendit cum hoste, nisi praeventa insidiis, ablata spe ad portus navium remeandi.

6. And when now, by the multitude of those slain, he had not so much satiated his Achaemenian rage as, wearied, deferred it to the future, he calls out certain plebeians whom he judged unworthy of his own sword, and, as an anxious scrutator, strives to investigate where their king at that time was passing his life. For rumor had reached him that the same glorious king, to wit Edmund, in flourishing age and with robust forces, was in war through and through strenuous; and therefore he was hastening everywhere to deliver to death those whom he could find round about, lest, hemmed in by a throng of soldiers for the defense of his own, the king could resist him—who at that time was staying farther from the city in a villa which in their tongue is called Haegilisdun (from which also the neighboring forest is called by the same name)—the most impious man supposing, as the truth of the matter stood, that the more whom his baleful satellite might forestall and lead to destruction, by so many fewer would the royal encounter draw together in the army, if there had to be fighting. He did not dare either to abandon the fleet without a strong force, since, just as it is the custom for vespertine wolves to descend secretly to the plains, and as quickly as possible to return to the well-known hiding-places of the woods, so the same nation of Danes and Alans is accustomed—since it ever strives to live by rapine—yet never, with battle undeclared, to contend openly with the foe, unless, having forestalled by ambushes, the hope of returning to the harbors of the ships has been taken away.

VII. Quapropter circumspectus plurimum, accito uno ex commilitonibus, eum ad regem, huiusmodi curarum tumultibus expeditum, dirigit, qui exploret, quae sit ei summa rei familiaris, improvisum, ut contigit, quaerens subiugare tormentis, si eius nollet obtemperare feralibus edictis. Ipse, cum grandi comitatu succenturiatus, lento pede subsequitur, et iniquae legationis baiulo imperat, ut timoris periculo nudus ita incautum adoriatur: "Terra marique metuendus dominus noster Hinguar, rex invictissimus, diversas terras subiciendo sibi armis, ad huius provinciae optatum litus cum multis navibus hiematurus appulit; atque idcirco mandat, ut cum eo antiquos thesauros et paternas divitias sub eo regnaturus dividas.

7. Wherefore, being very circumspect, having called to him one of his fellow-soldiers, he dispatches him to the king, unencumbered by the tumults of such cares, to explore what the total of his household resources may be, and, should it so fall out, to bring him under by torments if he were unwilling to obey his deadly edicts. He himself, reinforced with a great retinue, follows with slow step, and orders the bearer of the iniquitous embassy to approach the unsuspecting man thus, stripped of the peril of fear: "By land and sea to be feared, our lord Hinguar, most unconquered king, by subjugating diverse lands to himself by arms, has put in with many ships at the desired shore of this province to winter; and therefore he commands that you divide with him the ancient treasures and the ancestral riches, as one who will be reigning under him."

Cuius si aspernaris potentiam, innumeris legionibus fultam, tuo praeiudicio et vita indignus iudicaberis et regno. Et quis tu, ut tante potentiae insolenter audeas contradicere? Marinae tempestatis procella nostris servit remigiis, nec removet a proposito directae intentionis, quibus nec ingens mugitus caeli nec crebri iactus fulminum umquam nocuerunt, favente gratia elementorum.

If you spurn his power, supported by innumerable legions, by your own prejudice you will be judged unworthy both of life and of the kingdom. And who are you, that you insolently dare to contradict so great a power? The squall of a sea-storm serves our oar-crews, nor does it remove us from the purpose of our directed intention, to whom neither the vast bellowing of the sky nor the frequent hurling of thunderbolts has ever done harm, the grace of the elements favoring.

Esto itaque cum tuis omnibus sub hoc imperatore maximo, cui famulantur elementa pro sibi innata clementia: quoniam novit piissimus in omni negotio parcere subiectis et debellare superbos."

"Therefore be, with all yours, under this greatest emperor, to whom the elements do service by reason of the clemency innate to himself: since the most pious knows, in every business, to spare the subjected and to debellate the proud."

VIII. Quo audito rex sanctissimus alto cordis dolore ingemuit, et ascito uno ex suis episcopis, qui ei erat a secretis, quid super his respondere deberet consulit. Cumque ille timidus pro vita regis ad consentiendum plurimis hortaretur exemplis, rex obstipo capit defigens lumine terras paululum conticuit, et sic demum ora resolvit: "O episcope, vivi ad id pervenimus, quod numquam veriti sumus!

8. On hearing this, the most holy king groaned with deep pain of heart, and, having summoned one of his bishops, who was to him “of the secrets” (a privy councillor), he consults what he ought to answer concerning these matters. And when that man, timid for the king’s life, was urging assent with very many examples, the king, with head bowed, fixing his gaze upon the ground, was silent for a little, and thus at length he loosed his lips: "O bishop, alive we have come to that which we never feared!"

Ecce barbarus advena districto ense veteribus nostri regni colonis imminet, et quondam felix indigena suspirando gemens tacet. Et utinam inpraesentiarum vivendo quique gemerent ne cruenta cede perirent, quatinus patriae dulcibus arvis, etiam me occumbente, superstites fierent et ad pristinae felicitatis gloriam postmodum redirent!" Cui episcopus: "Quos -inquit- optas esse superstites patriae cum iam hostilis gladius vix aliquem reliquerit in plena urbe? Hebetatis securibus tuorum cadaveribus, te destitutum milite veniunt loris constringere.

"Behold, the barbarian newcomer, with drawn sword, threatens the ancient colonists of our kingdom, and the once-happy indigene, sighing and groaning, is silent. And would that those who at present live and groan might not perish by bloody slaughter, so that in the sweet fields of the fatherland, even if I fall, they might survive and thereafter return to the glory of pristine felicity!" To whom the bishop: "Whom -he says- do you wish to be survivors of the fatherland, when already the hostile sword has scarcely left anyone in the full city? With their axes dulled by the corpses of your men, they come to bind you with thongs, you abandoned by your soldiery."

Quapropter, rex, dimidium animae meae, nisi fugae praesidio aut deditionis infausto patrocinio praecaveas, hic statim aderunt tortores quorum nefando obsequio poenas lues." Ad haec rex beatissimus: "Hoc est -ait- quod desidero, quod omnibus votis antepono, ne supersim meis carissimis fidelibus, quos cum liberis et uxoribus in lecto eorum animas furando perdidit pyrata truculentus. Et quid suggeris? Ut in extremis vitae, desolatus meo satellite, fugiendo inferam crimen nostrae gloriae?

"Wherefore, O king, half of my soul, unless you take precautions by the safeguard of flight or by the ill‑omened patronage of surrender, here straightway the torturers will be present, by whose nefarious service you will pay the penalties." To this the most blessed king: "This is — he says — what I desire, what I set before all vows, that I may not outlive my dearest faithful ones, whom, together with their children and wives, a truculent pirate, in their bed, has destroyed by stealing their lives. And what do you suggest? That, at the last extremity of life, bereft of my bodyguard, by fleeing I should bring reproach upon our glory?"

Semper delatoriae accusationis calumniam evitavi, numquam relictae militiae probra sustinvi, eo quod honestum mihi esset pro patria mori: et nunc ero mei voluntarius proditor, cui pro amissione carorum ipsa lux est fastidio? Omnipotens rerum arbiter testis assistit, quod me seu vivum seu mortuum nullus separabit a caritate Christi, cuius in confessione baptismatis suscepi anulum fidei, abrenuntiato Satana et omnibus pompis eius. Qua ab renuntiatione contigit, ut ad laudem et gloriam Aeternae Trinitatis tertio mererer consecrari, delibutus ob conpendium perennis vitae sanctificati chrismatis per unctione: primo quidem accepta stola lavacri salutaris, secundo per confirmationem exhibitam maiusculo pontificali signaculo, tertio ubi vestra et totius populi communi acclamatione usus sum hac regni perfunctoria potestate.

I have always avoided the calumny of a delator’s accusation, I have never borne the disgraces of a relinquished soldiery, because it was honorable for me to die for my fatherland: and now shall I be a voluntary betrayer of myself, for whom, on account of the loss of my dear ones, the very light is loathsome? The Almighty Arbiter of things stands by as witness, that no one will separate me, whether living or dead, from the charity of Christ, in whose confession at baptism I received the ring of faith, Satan and all his pomps having been renounced. From that renunciation it befell that, to the praise and glory of the Eternal Trinity, I was deemed worthy to be consecrated for the 3rd time, anointed by the unction of sanctified chrism for the compendium of everlasting life: first indeed, with the stole of the saving laver received; second, through confirmation presented with the greater pontifical seal; third, when by your common acclamation and that of all the people I have exercised this perfunctory power of the kingdom.

Sicque unguento misticae consecrationis tripliciter irroratus, Anglorum reipublicae decrevi plus prodesse quam praeesse, aspernando subdere colla iugo nisi divino servitio. Nunc simulata benivolentia praetendit callidus suae machinationis muscipulam, qua servum Christi irretiri deliberat, maxime cum promittit , quod nobis largitas superna concessit. Vitam indulget, qua necdum careo; regnum promittit, quod habeo; opes conferre cupit, quibus non egeo.

Thus, thrice bedewed with the unguent of mystic consecration, I have resolved to benefit the commonwealth of the English more than to preside over it, by spurning to put the neck under a yoke save for divine service. Now with feigned benevolence the crafty one puts forward the mousetrap of his machination, by which he deliberates to ensnare the servant of Christ, especially when he promises , that which the supernal largess has granted to us. He indulges life, which I do not yet lack; he promises the kingdom, which I have; he desires to confer wealth, which I do not need.

Pro his ergo nunc incipiam servire duobus dominis, qui me sub Christo solo vivere, sub Christo solo regnare, praesentibus palatinis devoverim?"

For these things, then, shall I now begin to serve two masters—I who have devoted myself, with the palatines present, to live under Christ alone, to reign under Christ alone?"

IX. Tunc conversus ad eum qui de conditione regni locuturus ab impiissimo Hinguar fuerat missus "Madefactus -inquit - cruore meorum, mortis supplicio dignus extiteras; sed, plane Christi mei exemplum secutus, nolo puras manus commaculare, qui pro eius nomine, si ita contigerit, libenter paratus sum vestris telis occumbere. Ideo pernici gradu rediens festinus, domino tuo haec responsa perfer quantotius: Bene filius diaboli patrem tuum imitaris qui superbiendo intumescens caelo corruit et, mendacio suo humanum genus involvere gestiens, plurimos suae poenae obnoxios fecit. Cuius sectator praecipuus me nec minis terrere praevales nec blandae perditionis lenociniis illectum decipies, quem Christi institutis inermem repperies.

IX. Then, turning to him who, about the condition of the kingdom, had been sent to speak by the most impious Hinguar: “Steeped,” he said, “in the blood of my people, you would have proved worthy of the punishment of death; but, plainly following the example of my Christ, I do not wish to befoul pure hands, I who, for his name, if it should so befall, am gladly prepared to fall to your weapons. Therefore, returning in swift haste with a nimble step, carry these responses to your lord as soon as possible: Well do you, son of the devil, imitate your father, who, swelling with pride, fell from heaven and, eager to envelop the human race by his mendacity, made very many liable to his penalty. As his chief sectator you will neither prevail to terrify me with threats nor, even if enticed by the blandishments of flattering perdition, will you deceive me, whom, on account of Christ’s precepts, you will find unarmed.”

Thesauros et divitias, quas nobis hactenus contulit propitia divinitas, sumat et consumat tua insatiabilis aviditas: quoniam, etsi hoc corpus caducum fragile confringas velut vas fictile, vera libertas animi numquam tibi vel ad momentum suberit. Honestius enim est perpetuam defendere libertatem, si non armis, saltem iugulis, quam reposcere amissam lacrimosis quaerimoniis: quoniam pro altero gloriosum est mori, pro altero vero opponitur contumacia servilis. Quippe servus quascumque domini conditiones accepit, acceptas servare convenit.

Let your insatiable avidity take and consume the treasures and riches which a propitious divinity has conferred upon us until now: for even if you shatter this perishable, fragile body like an earthen vessel, the true liberty of the mind will never be at your disposal, not even for a moment. For it is more honorable to defend perpetual liberty, if not with arms, at least with our throats, than to demand back the lost by tearful querimonies: since for the one it is glorious to die, whereas for the other there is the objection of servile contumacy. Indeed, a slave—whatever conditions of the master he has accepted—it is fitting to keep the accepted.

Si eas quamlibet iniquas respuit, reus maiestatis adiudicatur servilibus suppliciis. Sed esto, gravis est huius servitutis usus: at gravior exulceratioquae solet nasci ex huiusmodi infortunio. Siquidem, ut noverunt qui frequentius ratiocinando forensibus causis intersunt, ex repugnantibus facta conplexionis consequentia, certum est quia, si libertas petitur, procul dubio dominus suo contemptu laeditur.

If he rejects them, however iniquitous, he is adjudged guilty of lèse‑majesté and sentenced to servile punishments. But grant it: the usage of this servitude is grievous; yet more grievous is the exulceration which is wont to be born of a misfortune of this kind. For indeed, as those know who more frequently, by ratiocination, take part in forensic causes, from repugnant facts the consequence of a complexion is made; it is certain that, if liberty is sought, without doubt the master is injured by the contempt shown to him.

Idcirco seu sponte seu invitus de carcere suo meus ad caelum evolet liber spiritus, nulla emancipationis aut abalienationis specie contaminatus: quia regem diminutum capite numquam, Danus, videbis ad triumphum supervivere. Sollicitas me spe regni, interfectis omnibus meis, ac si michi tam dira sit cupido regnandi ut velim praeesse domibus vacuis habitatore nobili et pretiosa supellectili. Ut coepit tua saeva feritas, post famulos regem solio diripiat, trahat, expuat, colaphis caedat, ad ultimum iugulet.

Therefore, whether of its own accord or against my will, let my free spirit fly forth from its prison to heaven, undefiled by any form of emancipation or alienation: for a king beheaded you will never, Dane, see survive to a triumph. You whet me with the hope of a kingdom, all my people having been slain, as if I had so dire a desire of reigning that I would wish to preside over houses emptied of their noble inhabitant and of their precious furnishings. As your savage ferocity has begun, let it, after the servants, tear the king from his throne, drag him, spit upon him, smite him with buffets, and at the last jugulate him.

Rex regum ista miserans videt, et secum, ut credo, regnaturum ad aeternam vitam transferet. Unde noveris , quod pro amore vitae temporalis Christianus rex Edmundus non se subdet pagano duci, nisi prius effectus fueris compos nostrae religionis, malens esse signifer in castrisaeterni regis."

The King of kings, pitying these things, sees, and, as I believe, will transfer him to reign with himself unto eternal life. Whence you should know , that for the love of temporal life the Christian king Edmund will not submit himself to a pagan duke, unless first you shall have been made a sharer of our religion, preferring to be a standard-bearer in the camps of the eternal King."

X. Vix sanctus vir verba compleverat et renuntiaturus miles pedem domo extulerat, cum ecce Hinguar obvius iubet brevi loquio utatur, illi pandens per omnia archana regis ultima. Quae ille dum exequitur, imperat tyrannus circumfundi omnem turbam suorum interius solumque regem teneant, quem suis legibus rebellem iam cognoverat. Tunc sanctus rex Edmundus in palatio ut membrum Christi proiectis armis capitur, et vinculis artioribus artatus constringitur, atque innocens sistitur ante impium ducem, quasi Christus ante Pilatum praesidem, cupiens eius sequi vestigia qui pro nobis immolatus est hostia.

10. Hardly had the holy man completed his words and the soldier, about to report back, had set foot out of the house, when—behold—Hinguar, meeting him, orders that he make use of a brief colloquy, laying open to him through and through the king’s final arcana. While he is carrying these out, the tyrant orders that the whole throng of his men be poured in within and that they seize only the king, whom he had already recognized as a rebel to his own laws. Then the holy king Edmund, in the palace, as a member of Christ, with arms cast aside, is taken, and, tightened with stricter bonds, is bound, and—innocent—is set before the impious duke, as Christ before Pilate the governor, desiring to follow his footsteps, who for us was immolated as a sacrificial victim.

Vinctus itaque multis modis illuditur ac tandem fustigatus acri instantia perducitur ad quandam arborem vicinam. Ad quam religatus flagris dirissimis diutissime vexatur, nec vincitur, semper Christum invocando flebilibus vocibus. Quare adversarii in furorem versi quasi ludendo ad signum eum toto corpore sagittarum telis confodiunt, multiplicantes acerbitatem cruciatus crebris telorum iactibus, quoniam vulnera vulneribus imprimebant dum iacula iaculis locum dabant.

Thus bound, in many ways he is made sport of, and at length, beaten with cudgels under fierce persistence, he is led to a certain nearby tree. To which, tied fast, he is long vexed with most cruel scourges, nor is he overcome, ever invoking Christ with tearful voices. Therefore the adversaries, turned to fury, as if playing at a target, pierce him through all his body with the missiles of arrows, multiplying the acerbity of the torment by frequent castings of missiles, since they were imprinting wounds upon wounds while darts gave place to darts.

Sicque factum est ut spiculorum terebratis aculeis circumfossus palpitans horreret, velut asper herecius aut spinis hirtus carduus, in passione similis Sebastiano egregio martyri. Cumque nec sic Hinguar furcifer eum lanistis assensum praebere conspiceret, Christum inclamantem iugiter, lictori mandat protinus ut amputet caput eius. Ille seminecem, cui adhuc vitalis calor palpitabat in tepido pectore, ut vix posset subsistere, avellit cruento stipiti festinus, avulsumque retectis costarum latebris praepunctionibus crebris ac si raptum equuleo aut saevis tortum ungulis iubet caput extendere, quod semper fuerat insigne regali diademate.

And so it came to pass that, pierced all around by the bored-through barbs of the darts, he quivered and shuddered, like a rough hedgehog or a thistle shaggy with spines, in his passion like Sebastian, the distinguished martyr. And when not even thus did Hinguar, the gallows-bird, perceive him to offer assent to the executioners, as he was continually calling upon Christ, he forthwith orders the lictor to cut off his head. He, half-dead, in whom the vital heat was still palpitating in his warm breast, so that he could scarcely stand, hastily tears him from the bloody stake, and, his ribs’ hiding-places laid bare by frequent pre-punctures, as if snatched to the rack or tortured by cruel claws, he bids him stretch out his head, which had always been distinguished by the royal diadem.

Cumque staret mitissimus, ut aries de toto grege electus, volens felici commercio mutare vitam saeculo, divinis intentus beneficiis, iam recreabatur visione internae lucis, qua in agone positus satiari cupiebat attentius: unde inter verba orationis eum, arrepto pugione, spiculator uno ictu decapitando hac luce privavit. Atque ita duodecimo Kal. Decembr.

And while he, most gentle, stood like a ram chosen out of the whole flock, willing by a happy commerce to exchange life with the world, intent upon divine benefactions, he was already being refreshed by a vision of inner light, by which, set in the contest, he was desiring more intently to be satisfied: whence, in the midst of the words of prayer, the executioner, having seized a dagger, by beheading him with one stroke, deprived him of this light. And so on the twelfth day before the Kalends of December (November 20).

Deo gratissimum holocaustum Edmundus igne passionis examinatus cum palma victoriae et corona iustitiae rex et martyr intravit senatum curiae caelestis.

Edmund, assayed by the fire of passion, a most pleasing whole burnt-offering to God, with the palm of victory and the crown of righteousness, king and martyr, entered the senate of the heavenly curia.

XI. Talique exitu crucis mortificationem, quam iugiter in suo corpore rex pertulit, Christi Domini sui secutus vestigia, consummavit. Ille quidem purus sceleris in columna ad quam vinctus fuit sanguinem non pro se sed pro nobis flagellorum suorum signa reliquit; iste pro adipiscenda gloria inmarcescibili cruentato stipite similes poenas dedit. Ille integer vitae ob detergendam rubiginem nostrorum facinorum sustinuit benignissimus immanium clavorum acerbitatem in palmis et pedibus; iste propter amorem nominis Domini toto corpore gravibus sagittis horridus et medullitus asperitate tormentorum dilaniatus in confessione patienter perstitit, quam ad ultimum accepta capitali sententia finivit.

11. And with such an end he consummated the mortification of the cross, which the king continually bore in his body, following the footsteps of Christ his Lord. He indeed, pure of crime, on the column to which he was bound, left not for himself but for us, in blood, the tokens of his scourges; this man, for acquiring immarcescible glory, upon a blood-stained stake paid out similar penalties. He, blameless in life, for the wiping away of the rust of our misdeeds, most benign, endured the acerbity of monstrous nails in his palms and feet; this man, for love of the name of the Lord, with his whole body bristling with heavy arrows and torn to the marrow by the harshness of torments, persisted patiently in confession, which at the last, upon receiving the capital sentence, he brought to its end.

Cuius corpus ita truncum et aculeis hirsutum relinquentes, cum suo auctore Dani, ministri diaboli, illud caput sanctum, quod non impinguaverat peccatoris oleum sed certi misterii sacramentum, in silvam cui vocabulum est Haeglesdun recedentes asportaverunt, ac inter densa veprium frutecta longius proiectum occuluerunt, id omni sagacitate elaborantes ne a Christianis, quos vix paucos reliquerant, sacratissimum corpus martyris cum capite pro tumulantium modulo honestae traderetur sepulturae.

Leaving his body thus truncated and bristling with barbs, the Danes, ministers of the devil, together with their leader, carried off that holy head—which had not been greased with a sinner’s oil but with the sacrament of a certain mystery—retiring into the forest whose name is Haeglesdun; and among the dense thickets of brambles, having cast it farther off, they concealed it, contriving this with every sagacity lest by the Christians, of whom they had scarcely left a few, the most sacrosanct body of the martyr together with the head be delivered to honorable sepulture in keeping with the buriers’ measure.

XII. Huic autem spectaculo tam horribili quidam nostrae religionis delitescendo interfuit, quem subtractum, ut credimus, paganorum gladiis divina providentia ad manifestandum huius rei indaginem reservavit, licet omnino ignoraverit quid de capite factum esset, nisi quod cum eo carnifices Danos interiorem silvam petere conspexisset. Quam ob rem, quantulacumque reddita ecclesiis pace, coeperunt Christiani de latibulis consurgere, diligenti inquisitione satagentes ut caput sui regis et martyris inventum reliquo corpori unirent et iuxta suam facultatem condigno honore reconderent.

12. But at this spectacle so horrible, a certain man of our religion, by hiding, was present; whom, withdrawn, as we believe, from the swords of the pagans, divine providence preserved to make manifest the investigation of this matter—although he was entirely ignorant of what had been done with the head, except that he had seen the executioners, the Danes, seek the inner woodland with it. For which reason, when however small a peace had been restored to the churches, Christians began to rise from their hiding-places, striving by diligent inquisition that the head of their king and martyr, once found, they might unite to the rest of the body and, according to their ability, lay it away with condign honor.

Siquidem paganis abeuntibus et depopulationi quoquo locorum operam dantibus, illud corpus sanctissimum, adhuc sub divo positum, facillime est repertum in eodem campo ubi rex occubuit, conpleto cursu sui certaminis. Quo propter antiquam beneficiorum memoriam et ingenitam regis clementiam populi undique gratuito confluentes coeperunt mesto animo graviter ferre , quod carvissent tanta corporis portione. Quorum animis superna inspiravit benignitas, postquam audierunt illius verba utilia qui tantae visionis, ut dictum est, particeps astiterat, ut collecta plurimorum multitudine quaqua versum per invia silvarum experirentur, si ad id loci devenire contingeret quo viri sancti caput iaceret.

Indeed, as the pagans were departing and giving their efforts to depredation in whatever places, that most holy body, still set under the open sky, was found very easily in the same field where the king fell, the course of his contest completed. Because of the ancient memory of benefits and the inborn clemency of the king, the people, converging from every side of their own accord, began to take it grievously with a mournful mind , that they had been deprived of so great a portion of the body. Into whose minds the supernal kindness inspired, after they heard the useful words of him who, as has been said, had stood by as a participant in so great a vision, that, a multitude of many having been gathered, they should make trial every way through the trackless places of the woods, if it should befall to come to the place where the head of the holy man lay.

Pro certo etenim omnibus vere sapientibus inerat , quod alienae sectae cultores, invidendo nostrae fidei, sustulissent caput martyris, quod non longius infra densitatem saltus abscondissent, aut vili cespite obrutum aut avibus et feris devorandum. Cunque inito consilio omnes pari affectu ad id concurrerent decreverunt ut cornibus vel tubis ductilibus singuli contenti essent, quatinus circumcirca pervagantes vocibus aut tubarum strepitu sibi mutuo innuerent, ne aut lustrata repeterent aut non lustrata desererent.

For it was sure to all truly sapient men that the worshipers of an alien sect, out of envy of our faith, had carried off the martyr’s head, and had not hidden it far within the density of the forest, either covered with vile turf or left to be devoured by birds and wild beasts. And when, counsel having been entered upon, all with equal zeal converged upon this, they decreed that each should be content with horns or ductile trumpets, so that, ranging all around, they might signal to one another by voices or by the din of the trumpets, lest they either go over again the places already searched, or abandon those not searched.

XIII. Quod ut factum est, res dictu mirabilis et saeculis inaudita contigit. Quippe caput sancti regis, longius remotum a suo corpore, prorupit in vocem absque fibrarum opitulatione aut arteriarum praecordiali munere.

13. As this was done, a thing marvelous to tell and unheard-of for ages befell. Indeed, the head of the holy king, removed farther from its own body, burst forth into a voice without the aid of fibers or the praecordial office of the arteries.

Vespillonum sane more pluribus pedetentim invia perlustrantibus, cum iam posset audiri loquens, ad voces se invicem cohortantium et utpote socii ad socium alternatim clamantium: "Ubi es?", illud respondebat designando locum patria lingua dicens: "Her, her, her!", quod interpretatum Latinus sermo exprimit: "Hic, hic, hic!" Nec umquam eadem repetendo clamare destitit, quoad omnes ad se perduxit. Palpitabat mortuae linguae plectrum infra meatus faucium, manifestans in se verbigenae magnalia, qui rudenti asellae compegit humana verba, ut increparet prophetae insipientiam. Cui miraculo rerum conditor aliud annexuit dum caelesti thesauro insolitum custodem dedit.

In the manner of undertakers, indeed, with several people, step by step, scouring the pathless places, when the speaking could already be heard, at the voices of those exhorting one another and, as comrade to comrade, shouting by turns: "Where are you?", that was replying, designating the place, saying in the native tongue: "Her, her, her!", which, translated, the Latin speech expresses: "Here, here, here!" Nor did it ever cease to shout, repeating the same words, until it led them all to itself. The plectrum of the dead tongue was palpitating beneath the passages of the throat, manifesting in itself the mighty deeds of the Word-born One, who fitted human words to a braying she-ass, so that it might rebuke a prophet’s foolishness. To this miracle the maker of things appended another, in that he gave to the heavenly treasure an unusual guardian.

Quippe immanis lupus eo loci divina miseratione est repertus, qui illud sacrum caput inter brachia complexus procumbebat humi, excubias impendens martyri, nec sibi depositum permisit laedere quampiam bestiarum, quod inviolabile, solo tenus prostratus, oblita voracitate servabat attentus. Quod stupefacti videntes qui confluxerant, beatissimum regem et martyrem Edmundum illi viro desideriorum iudicaverunt meritis similem, qui inter esurientium rictus leonum illesus sprevit minas insidiantium.

Indeed a monstrous wolf in that place, by divine compassion, was found, who, having clasped that sacred head between his forelegs, was lying prone on the ground, keeping watch for the martyr, nor did he permit any of the beasts to harm the deposit committed to him; which, inviolable, he guarded attentively, laid low to the very ground, his voracity forgotten. Seeing this, those who had flocked together, astonished, judged the most blessed king and martyr Edmund similar in merits to that man of desires, who, amid the gaping jaws of hungry lions, unharmed spurned the threats of the plotters.

XIV. Assumentes ergo unanimi devotione, quam invenerant inestimabilis pretii margaritam, cum profusis prae gaudio lacrimarum imbribus retulerunt ad suum corpus, benedicentes Deum in hymnis et laudibus, prosequente usque ad locum sepulchri lupo, earundem reliquiarum custode et baiulo. Qui eis a tergo imminens et quasi pro perdito pignore lugens, cum neminem etiam irritatus laederet, nemini inportunus existeret, nota dilectae solitudinis secreta illaesus repetiit, nec ulterius in illis locis lupus specie tam terribilis apparuit.

14. Therefore, taking up with unanimous devotion the pearl of inestimable price which they had found, with showers of tears poured out for joy they brought it back to its body, blessing God in hymns and praises, the wolf following all the way to the place of the sepulcher, the guardian and bearer of those same relics. He, pressing close behind them and as if mourning for the lost pledge, although he injured no one even when provoked, and proved importunate to no one, unharmed returned to the familiar secrets of his beloved solitude, nor thereafter in those places did a wolf of so terrible an aspect appear.

Quo tandem recedente, cum summa diligentia et omni sagacitatis studio aptantes, quibus creditum est, caput corpori sancto, pro tempore tradiderunt utrumque pariter iunctum competenti mausoleo. Qua etiam, edificata vili opere desuper basilica, multis annis requievit humatus, donec sedatis omnimodo bellorum incendiis et valida tempestate persecutionis, coepit respirare religiosa pietas fidelium, erepta de pressuris tribulationum. Quae ubi tempus oportunum invenit, devotionem quam erga beatissimum regem etmartyrem habuit operum exhibitione multipliciter propalavit.

When at length he withdrew, those to whom it had been entrusted, fitting with the greatest diligence and with every endeavor of sagacity, for the time committed the head to the holy body, both together joined, to a suitable mausoleum. And when a basilica had also been built above with cheap workmanship, he rested interred for many years, until, the conflagrations of wars in every respect having been calmed and the strong tempest of persecution abated, the religious piety of the faithful began to breathe again, rescued from the pressures of tribulations. Which, when it found a seasonable time, manifoldly made known by an exhibition of works the devotion which it had toward the most blessed king and martyr Edmund.

Idem namque sanctus, sub vili tugurio sanctificate domus, cuius esset apud Deum meriti crebris manifestabat miraculorum signis. Quibus rebus permota eiusdem provinciae multitudo, non solum vulgi sed etiam nobilium, in villa regia quae lingua Anglorum Bedricesgueord dicitur, Latina vero Bedricicurtis vocatur, construxit permaximam miro ligneo tabulatu ecclesiam, ad quam eum ut decebat transtulit cum magna gloria.

The same holy man, beneath a mean hut of the sanctified house, made manifest by frequent signs of miracles what merit he had before God. Moved by these things, the multitude of that same province, not only of the common folk but also of the nobles, in the royal villa which in the tongue of the English is called Bedricesgueord, but in Latin Bedricicurtis, constructed a very great church with wondrous wooden boarding, to which, as was fitting, they transferred him with great glory.

XV. Sed mirum dictu, cum illud pretiosum corpus martyris putrefactum putaretur ob diuturnum spatium transacti temporis, ita sanum et incolume est repertum ut non dicam caput redintegratum et conpactum corpori sed omnino in eo nihil vulneris, nihil cicatricis apparuerit. Sicque cum reverentia nominandus sanctus rex et martyr Edmundus integer et viventi simillimus ad praedictum locum est translatus, ubi adhuc in eadem forma expectat beatae resurrectionis gaudia repromissa. Tantum in eius collo ob signum martyrii rubet una tenuissima riga in modum fili coccinei, sicut testari erat solita quaedam beatae recordationis foemina, Osven vocabulo dicta: quae paulo ante haec nostra moderna tempora apud eius sacrosanctum tumulum ieiuniis et orationibus vacans multa transegit annorum curricula.

15. But wondrous to say, whereas that precious body of the martyr was thought to have putrefied on account of the long span of elapsed time, it was found so sound and unharmed that—not to say the head had been redintegrated and compacted to the body—but that absolutely nothing of wound, nothing of scar appeared in it. And so the holy king and martyr Edmund—one to be named with reverence—whole and most like to one living, was translated to the aforesaid place, where still in the same form he awaits the promised joys of the blessed resurrection. Only on his neck, as a sign of martyrdom, there reddens one most slender stripe in the manner of a scarlet thread, as a certain woman of blessed memory, called by the name Osven, was wont to testify, who a little before these our modern times, spending many courses of years at his most holy tomb, gave herself to fastings and prayers.

Cui venerabili foeminae aut divina revelatione aut nimia devotione mos inolevit ut, patefacto beati martyris sepulchro quotannis in dominica caena, eius attondendo praecideret capillos et ungues. Quae omnia diligenter colligens et in capsella recondens non neglexit, quamdiu vixit, excolere mira affectione, posita super altare eiusdem ecclesiae, ubi adhuc reservantur debita veneratione.

In that venerable woman, either by divine revelation or by excessive devotion, a custom took root that, the sepulcher of the blessed martyr having been opened each year on the Lord’s Supper, by shearing she would cut off his hair and nails. All of which, diligently gathering and stowing in a little casket, she did not neglect, so long as she lived, to cherish with wondrous affection, it having been placed upon the altar of the same church, where they are still kept with due veneration.

XVI. Sed et beatae memoriae Theodredus, eiusdem provinciae religiosus episcopus, qui propter meritorum praerogativam Bonus appellabatur, quod de incorruptione sancti regis diximus tali ordine est expertus. Cum, ut narrare adorsi sumus, praefato loco martyris tumulationi congruo a quibusque religiosis multa conferrentur donaria et ornamenta in auro et argento pretiosissima, quidam malignae mentis homines, omnis boni inmemores, agressi sunt sub nocturno silentio eandem infringere basilicam latrocinandi studio.

16. But also Theodred, of blessed memory, a religious bishop of the same province, who, on account of the prerogative of his merits, was called “the Good,” experienced in such order what we have said about the incorruption of the holy king. When, as we have begun to narrate, to the aforesaid place—congruous for the martyr’s burial—many donaries and ornaments most precious in gold and silver were being contributed by various religious persons, certain men of malign mind, forgetful of all good, under the silence of night set about breaking into the same basilica with a zeal for brigandage.

Fuerunt autem octo, qui absque ulla reverentia sancti decreverant satisfacere suae vesanae voluntati rapiendo furtim omnia quaecumque invenissent sibi utilia infra eiusdem monasterii septa. Unde sumptis machinis et quibuslibet utensilibus quibus ad id perficiendum habebant opus, quadam nocte aggrediuntur praemeditatum facinus, et stantes in atrio ecclesiae diverso conatu unusquisque instat conceptae nequitiae. Quorum alius postibus scalam applicat, ut per insertam fenestram se ingerat; alius cum lima aut fabrili malleo instat serae autpessulo; alii cum vangis et ligonibus suffossionem parietis machinantur.

There were eight, moreover, who, without any reverence for the saint, had decreed to satisfy their mad will by stealthily seizing all whatever they might find useful to themselves within the precincts of the same monastery. Wherefore, taking engines and whatever utensils they had need of for accomplishing this, on a certain night they attack the premeditated crime, and standing in the atrium of the church, with diverse effort each presses on with the conceived wickedness. One of them applies a ladder to the doorposts, that through the inset window he may thrust himself in; another, with a file or a smith’s hammer, presses upon the bolt or latch; others, with spades and mattocks, contrive an undermining of the wall.

Sicque disposito opere, cum singuli certatim insudant pro virium facultate, sanctus martyr eos ligat in ipso suo conamine, ut nec pedem loco possent movere nec arreptum officium deserere, sed alius cum sua scala penderet sullimis in aere, alius palam incurvus fossor fieret, qui ad id operis furtivus venisset. Interea quidam matriculariorum, qui infra basilicam iacebat, somno excitus lecto procumbebat invitus, quem martyris potentia suo conatu vinxerat, ne, suis obvius factis mirabilibus, sonus fragoris creber custodis pulsaret aures interius. Sed quid dicam non posse surgere quando nec in vocem poterat erumpere?

And thus, the work having been arranged, while each man in rivalry was sweating according to the capacity of his strengths, the holy martyr binds them in their very endeavor, so that they could neither move a foot from the place nor desert the office they had seized; but one, with his ladder, hung aloft in the air, another openly became a bent-over digger, who had come stealthily for that task. Meanwhile one of the matricularii, who was lying within the basilica, roused from sleep, was, against his will, collapsing upon the bed—the power of the martyr had bound his effort—lest, coming upon his own marvelous deeds, the frequent sound of the crashing should beat upon the ears of the guard within. But what shall I say of his not being able to rise, when he could not even burst forth into a voice?

Tandem mane adhuc persistentes fures in cepto opere conprehensi a pluribus traduntur vinculis artioribus, et tandem praedicti sancti episcopi Theodredi iudicio subduntur. Qui impraemeditatus sententiam dedit quam se dedisse postea omni tempore vitae suae penituit. Nam omnes simul iussit affigi patibulis, eo quod ausi fuissent atrium sancti martyris furtive ingredi, non reducens ad memoriam , quod Dominus per prophetam admonet: "Eos qui ducuntur ad mortem eruere ne cesses", factum quoque Helisaei prophetae, qui latrunculos de Samaria pastos pane et aqua remisit ad propria, dicens regi, volenti percutere ilico, quod non eos coepisset in gladio et arcu suo; Apostoli etiam praeceptum quo dicit: "Saecularia negotia si habueritis, contemptibiles qui sunt in ecclesia -id est, viros saeculares- constituite ad iudicandum." Unde canonum auctoritas prohibet ne quis episcopus aut quilibet de clero delatoris fungatur officio, quoniam satis dedecet ministros vitae caelestis assensum praebere in mortem cuiuslibethominis.

Toward morning at last, the thieves, still persisting in the undertaken work, having been seized by many, are handed over with tighter bonds, and at length are subjected to the judgment of the aforesaid holy bishop Theodred. He, without premeditation, gave a sentence which he later repented of having given for all the time of his life. For he ordered that all together be affixed to gibbets, on the ground that they had dared stealthily to enter the atrium of the holy martyr, not bringing back to memory , that the Lord through the prophet admonishes: "Do not cease to rescue those who are being led to death," and also the deed of the prophet Elisha, who sent the bandits from Samaria back to their own, fed with bread and water, telling the king, who wished to strike them at once, that he had not taken them with his sword and his bow; likewise the Apostle’s precept, wherein he says: "If you have secular affairs, appoint those who are contemptible in the church -id est, secular men- to judge." Whence the authority of the canons forbids that any bishop or anyone of the clergy perform the office of a delator, since it is quite unseemly for the ministers of heavenly life to offer assent to the death of any man.

Quam ob rem praedictus episcopus in se reversus graviter indoluit, et sibi poenitentiam indicens diutius se in gravibus lamentis dedit. Qua tandem peracta poenitentia, populos suae dioceseos mandat, mandando convocat, convocando suppliciter persuadet ut triduano ieiunio a se divinae indignationis iracundiam removeant, removendo avertant: quatinus, sacrificio spiritus contribulati placatus, Dominus illi suam gratiam concederet, qua corpus beati martyris tangere et lavare auderet, qui, licet tantis virtutibus floreret in mundo, vili tamen et sibi incongruo continebatur mausoleo; factumque est, et illud sanctissimi regis corpus, ante dilaceratum et truncum, ita ut iam retulimus unitum et incorruptum repperit, tetigit, lavit, et rursum novis et optimis vestibus indutum ligneolocello reposuit, benedicens Deum qui mirabilis est in sanctis suis et gloriosus in omnibus operibus suis.

Wherefore the aforesaid bishop, coming back to himself, grieved deeply, and, imposing penance upon himself, for a long time gave himself over to heavy laments. When at length the penance had been completed, he commands the peoples of his diocese, by commanding he convokes, by convoking he humbly persuades, that by a three-day fast they remove from him the wrath of divine indignation, by removing avert it: to the end that, appeased by the sacrifice of a contrite spirit, the Lord might grant to him His grace, by which he would dare to touch and to wash the body of the blessed martyr, who, although he flourished with such virtues in the world, nevertheless was contained in a cheap and for him incongruous mausoleum; and it came to pass, and that body of the most holy king, previously torn and truncated, such that, as we have already related, he found united and incorrupt, he touched, he washed, and again, clothed with new and finest garments, he placed back in a little wooden casket, blessing God who is wonderful in His saints and glorious in all His works.

XVII. Nec piget referre de quodam magnae potentiae viro, Leofstano vocabulo, qui, iuvenilis aetatis impetum non refrenans, ad id flagitii lasciviendo prorupit ut sibi quadam singularis potentiae auctoritate praeciperet ostendi corpus tanti martyris. Cumque inhiberetur a pluribus, maxime tamen a suis fidelibus, praevaluit eius imperium, quoniam propter arrogantiam suae nobilitatis omnibus erat terrori.

17. Nor is it irksome to relate about a certain man of great potency, by the name Leofstan, who, not restraining the impulse of youthful age, by wantoning burst forth into such an outrage that, by an authority of singular potency, he commanded that the body of so great a martyr be shown to him. And although he was checked by many, especially by his own faithful retainers, his command prevailed, since, on account of the arrogance of his nobility, he was a terror to all.

Reserato ergo locello astitit, aspexit, et eodem momento in amentiam versum tradidit illum Dominus in reprobum sensum, ac poena sua didicit quia praesumpsisset , quod non licuit. Quod audiens pater eius, vir religiosus admodum, cui erat Aelfgarus vocabulum, exhorruit facinus flagitiosissimum, ac martyri gratias retulit, filiumque a se removit. Qui tandem ad summam inopiam perductus, iudicio Dei vitam finivit, vermibus consumptus.

Therefore, the little casket having been unbarred, he stood by, he looked, and in that same moment, turned into madness, the Lord delivered him over into a reprobate mind; and by his own punishment he learned that he had presumed what was not lawful. Hearing this, his father, a man most religious, whose name was Aelfgar, shuddered at the most flagitious crime, returned thanks to the martyr, and removed his son from him. He, at length brought to extreme penury, by the judgment of God ended his life, consumed by worms.

XVIII. Sicque sanctus rex et martyr Edmundus omnibus innotuit non se esse inferiorem meritis Laurentii beati levitae et martyris, cuius corpus, ut refert beatus pater Gregorius, cum quidam seu digni seu indigni levare volentes conspicerent, contigit ut septem ex eis ibidem subita morte perirent. O quanta reverentia locus ille dignus existit, qui sub specie dormientis tantum Christi testem continet et in quo tantae virtutes fiunt et factae esse referuntur, quantas hac tempestate apud Anglos nusquam alibi audivimus.

18. Thus the holy king and martyr Edmund has become known to all as not inferior in merits to Lawrence, the blessed Levite and martyr, whose body, as blessed Father Gregory reports, when certain men, whether worthy or unworthy, wished to lift it and beheld it, it befell that seven of them there perished by sudden death. O how great a reverence that place is worthy of, which, under the appearance of one sleeping, contains so great a witness of Christ, and in which such great virtues (miracles) are done and are reported to have been done as we have heard nowhere else among the English at this time.

Quas ego brevitatis studio praetereo, ne alicuius fastidiosi offensam incurrem iusto prolixior, credens, ista posse sufficere. quae dicta sunt ardenti desiderio eorum, qui praeter Deum huius martyris patrocinio nil praeferunt. De quo constat, sicut et de aliis sanctis omnibus iam cum Christo regnantibus, quod, licet eius anima sit in caelesti gloria, non tamen per visitationem die noctuque longe est a corporis praesentia, cum quo promeruit ea quibus iam perfruitur beatae immortalitatis gaudia.

These things I pass over for the sake of brevity, lest, being more prolix than is just, I incur the offense of some fastidious person, believing that these can suffice. These have been said for the ardent desire of those who, next to God, prefer nothing to the patronage of this martyr. Concerning him it is established, as also concerning all the other saints now reigning with Christ, that, although his soul is in celestial glory, nevertheless by visitation he is not far from the presence of his body day and night, with which he merited those joys of blessed immortality which he already fully enjoys.

Nam dum in aeterna patria eiiungitur qui ubique totus est, de eo habet posse quicquid habuerit et velle, praeter id solum , quod infatigabili desiderio concupiscit ut per resurrectionem circumdetur stola demutatae carnis, quoniam tunc erit perfecta beatitudo sanctorum cum ad id fuerit Christo largiente perventum.

For while in the eternal fatherland he is joined to Him who is entire everywhere, from Him he has both to be able and to will whatever he shall have, except for that one thing , which with indefatigable desire he longs for: that through the resurrection he may be encompassed with the stole of transmuted flesh, since then there will be the perfect beatitude of the saints, when, Christ granting, that goal shall have been reached.

XIX. Sed de hoc sancto martyre estimari licet cuius sit sanctitatis in hac vita, cuius caro mortua praefert quoddam resurrectionis decus sine sui labe aliqua, quandoquidem eos qui huiuscemodi munere donati sunt extollant catholici patres suae relationis indiculo de singulari virginitatis adepto privilegio, dicentes, quod iusta remuneratione etiam hic gaudent praeter morem de carnis incorruptione, qui eam usque ad mortem servaverunt, non sine iugis martyrii valida persecutione. Quid enim maius sub caritate Christianae fidei quam adipisci hominem cum gratia , quod habet angelus ex natura?

19. But concerning this holy martyr it may be estimated of what sanctity he is in this life, whose dead flesh displays a certain resplendence of resurrection without any stain of its own, since the Catholic Fathers, by a brief notice of their relation, extol those who have been endowed with a gift of this kind, concerning the singular privilege of virginity attained, saying that by just remuneration even here they rejoice, beyond the common custom, in the incorruption of the flesh, they who preserved it unto death, not without the unremitting, strong persecution of martyrdom. For what, indeed, is greater under the charity of the Christian faith than that a man should acquire by grace , what an angel has by nature?

Unde divinum oraculum quasi singulari quodam dono repromittit, quod virgines sequentur agnum quocunque ierit. Considerandum igitur quis iste fuerit, qui in regni culmine, inter tot divitias et luxus saeculi, semet ipsum calcata carnis petulantia vincere studuit, quod eius ostendit caro incorruptibilis. Cui humano obsequio famulantes satagant illi placere ea munditia, quam ei perpetuo placuisse manifestant membra incorrupta, et, si non possunt virgineo flore pudicitiae, saltem expertae voluptatis iugi mortificatione.

Whence the divine oracle, as by a certain singular gift, promises anew that virgins will follow the Lamb wherever he goes. It should therefore be considered who this was, who at the summit of kingship, amid so many riches and the luxuries of the age, strove to conquer himself, the wantonness of the flesh having been trampled underfoot, as his incorruptible flesh shows. Those who serve him with human service should strive to please him by that purity which his incorrupt members manifest to have pleased him perpetually; and, if they cannot by the virginal flower of chastity, at least by the continual mortification of pleasure once experienced.

Quoniam si illa sanctae animae invisibilis et illocalis praesentia alicuius famulantium spurcitia offendatur, timendum est , quod propheta terribiliter comminatur: "In terra sanctorum iniqua gessit et ideo gloriam Domini non videbit." Cuius terrore sententiae permoti huius sancti regis et martyris imploremus patrocinium, ut nos cum sibi digne famulantibus expiet a peccatis quibus meremur supplicium, per eum, qui vivit et regnat in saecula saeculorum. Amen.

Since if that invisible and illocal presence of the holy soul is offended by the filth of any of the attendants, it is to be feared , what the prophet terribly threatens: "In the land of the saints he has acted wickedly, and therefore he will not see the glory of the Lord." Moved by the terror of this sentence, let us implore the patronage of this holy king and martyr, that he may purge us, together with those who serve him worthily, from the sins by which we deserve punishment, through Him who lives and reigns unto ages of ages. Amen.