For 15 years Edmund ruled over the East Angles with what all acknowledged as Christian dignity and justice. He himself seems to have modelled his piety on that of King David in the Old Testament, becoming especially proficient in reciting the Psalms in public worship.
From the year 866 his kingdom was increasingly threatened by Danish invasions. For four years the East Angles managed to keep a shaky, often broken peace with them. Then the invaders burned Thetford. King Edmund’s army attacked the Danes but could not defeat the marauders.
On reaching East Anglia, their leaders confronted Edmund and offered him peace on condition that he would rule as their vassal and forbid the practice of the Christian faith. Edmund refused this last condition, fought, and was captured.
After his refusal he was tied to a tree and became the target for Danish bowmen until he was pierced by dozens of arrows. This torture he endured bravely all the while calling on the name of Jesus. He was finally decapitated. His burial place is the town of Bury St. Edmunds.
The tree at which tradition declared Edmund to have been slain stood in the park at Hoxne until 1849, when it fell. In the course of its breaking up an arrow-head was found embedded in the trunk.
Saint Edmund thus remains the only English sovereign until the time of King Charles I to die for religious beliefs as well as the defense of his throne. Edmund was quickly revered as a martyr and his cultus spread widely during the middle ages. Along with St. George, St. Edmund is the Patron Saint of England.