Edmund was a Christian, born in 841, who became king of East Anglia in 865. He was defeated in battle by the Vikings in 870, and was taken prisoner. On refusing to give up his Christian faith, he was executed. There are several versions of how he was killed, including being shot with an arrow and then beheaded. An arrow is his attribute. He was buried in Norfolk.
His body was exhumed about 915 and found not to have decomposed; it was subsequently re-buried at the place which then took the name Bury St Edmunds. A cult grew up around him in East Anglia and the south of England, and his feast day of 20 November was celebrated in monastic calendars.