Subj : March 18th - St. Edward The Martyr To : All From : rich Date : Sun Mar 17 2019 08:59:19 From: rich March 18th - St. Edward The Martyr Also known as Edward II Memorial 18 March 20 June=C2 (translation of=C2 relics) d. 979 ST EDWARD was the son of King Edgar, sovereign of all the English, by his first wife, Ethelfleda, who did not long survive the birth of her son; he was baptized by St. Dunstan, then archbishop of Canterbury. After Edgar's death a party sought to set aside Edward in favour of Ethelred, a boy hardly ten years old, who was Edgar's son by his second queen, Elfrida. Edward himself was but a youth when he came to the throne, and his reign lasted a brief three years. The guidance of St. Dunstan was unable to commend him to the disaffected thegns, for which the young king's violent temper was perhaps partly responsibl= e. The chroniclers, who are all agreed that he was murdered, are not in accord as to the actual perpetrator of the deed, but William of Malmesbury claims to describe the crime in detail. He tells us that, from the moment of Edward's accession, his stepmother had sought an opportunity to slay him. One day, after hunting in Dorsetshire, the king, who was weary and wished to see his little stepbrother, of whom he was fond, determined to visit Corfe Castle, the residence of Elfrida, which was close at hand. Apprised of his arrival, the queen went out to meet him and noticed that he was alone, having outstripped his companions and attendants. She feigned pleasure at seeing him and ordered a cup to be brought to allay his thirst. As he drank, Elfrida made a sign to one of her servants, who stabbed the young king with a dagger. Although Edward immediately set spurs to his horse and tried to regain his escort, he slipped from the saddle, his foot caught in the stirrup, and he was dragged along till he died. =E2=80=9CThis year=E2=80=9D, says the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle under 979, =E2= =80=9Cwas King Edward slain at eventide at Corfe-gate, and was buried at Wareham without any kind of kingly honours.=E2=80=9D William of Malmesbury says tha= t Elfrida had his body thrown into a marsh, thinking thus to dispose of it, but a pillar of light caused it to be discovered, and it was taken up and buried in the church at Wareham. His relics were afterwards removed to Shaftesbury. Elfrida herself was in the end seized with remorse for her crime and, retiring from the world, she built the monasteries of Amesbury and Wherwell, in the latter of which she died. The earliest account of the murder attributes it to Ethelred's retainers. There is no good evidence for Queen Elfrida's alleged pa= rt in it, which is not mentioned till over a hundred years after the event. Edward was a martyr only in the broad sense of one who suffers an unjust death, but his cultus was considerable, encouraged by the miracles reported from his tomb at Shaftesbury and his feast is still observed in the diocese of Plymouth. Our principal authorities are William of Malmesbury, Florence of Worcester, the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, Osbern the hagiographer and, earliest of all, the author of the Life of St. Oswald in the Historians of the Church of York (Rolls Series), vol. i, pp. 448-452. See also F.M. Stenton, Anglo-Saxon England (1943), pp. 366-369; and particularly K. M. Wilson, Lost Literature of Medieval England (1952), pp. 111-112. Saint Quote: I ought to die of shame to think I have not already died of gratitude to my good God. --Saint Julie Billiart Bible Quote Jesus saith to them: Have you never read in the Scriptures: The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner? By the Lord this has been done; and it is wonderful in our eyes. Therefore I say to you, that the kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and shall be given to a nation yielding the fruits thereof. And whosoever shall fall on this stone, shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it shall grind him to powder.=C2 (Matthew 21:42-44) <><><><> A prayer during affliction: O God! Keep me from bitterness. Tis so easy to nurse sharp bitter thoughts in such dull dark hours! Against self-pity, Man of Sorrows, defend me with Thy deep sweetness and Thy gentle power! Help me to harvest a new sympathy for suffering humanity and a wiser pity for those who lift a heavier cross with Thee. --- NewsGate v1.0 gamma 2 * Origin: News Gate @ Net396 -Huntsville, AL - USA (1:396/4) .