Edmund and The Wolf

According to legend, King Edmund was killed by Viking raiders because he refused to renounce his religion.

The Vikings shot arrows into Edmund until he bristled like a hedgehog, then cut off his head and threw it deep into the briars in the forest.

Edmund’s body was found by his followers, they heard a voice shouting “Hic, hic, hic” – “here, here, here” - they followed the sound and found the head guarded by a wolf.

To their astonishment, they found a wolf with Edmund’s head between her paws and it had not harmed it. The wolf was protecting it.

The wolf and the crying head were common in images in late medieval art.

Edmund’s body was buried in a wooden chapel near where he was killed but much later in 903 his remains were transferred to Bedericsworth (later to be called Bury St Edmunds).

When Edmund's head was put back with the body it miraculously become reattached. This was felt to be a sign of sainthood and many miracles were then attributed to Edmund.

His shrine became an important centre of pilgrimage with people coming from afar to visit it. Payment for looking at sacred objects such as Edmund’s cup, buying souvenirs such as badges, scallop shells or even nail clippings continued to make the Abbey grow rich and wealthy. There were lots of stories of miracles believed to have been made by visiting Edmund’s shrine.

It was said that his wounds made by the arrows had all healed and that his head was now fused back to his body leaving only a red mark around his neck.

This resulted in the growth and prosperity of the Abbey and the town.

The Abbey and the town of St. Edmundsbury continued to grow but sadly when Henry 8th decided to close all the Abbeys and Monasteries in 1539, this all changed. The whereabouts of

St. Edmund's body is a still a mystery, probably hastily hidden all those years ago.

You can find lots of nods to the wolf that guarded Edmund all around Bury St Edmunds.

A wolf guards him today in The Great Churchyard by the statue of Edmund by Dame Elisabeth Frink.

On Southgate Green Roundabout into Bury St Edmunds, a beautiful wooden carved wolf by Ben Loughrill guards Edmund's battered crown on one of the town's many beautifully themed roundabouts.

The wolf can also be found in the Abbey Gardens. Norfolk based artist Luke Chapman carved a stunning wood sculpture of St Edmund's Wolf from a 170-year old Douglas fir from Sheringham Park. It took Luke over 30 hours to create using chainsaws and other traditional wood carving tools.

In St Edmundsbury Cathedral, St Edmund and his protective wolf are featured carvings in the Bishop’s Throne. The Bishop sits there when he visits the Cathedral.

A wolf can be seen guarding the head of St Edmund above the crest of St Edmund in the Banqueting Hall at Bury St Edmunds Guildhall, the oldest civic building in the country.