The history of the Abbey of Bury St. Edmunds, altho veiled in much
legendary and mythical lore, tells, nevertheless, in its actual history of
the progress of civilization and of the enlightenment of the human mind.
Sigberet, King of the East Angles, is said to have founded the first
monastery at Beodericsworth (a town known to the Romans, ancient Britains,
Saxons, and Danes), and to have subsequently laid aside his royal dignity
by joining the brotherhood which he had established. Following his example
of religious devotion, Edmund, last King of the Angles, sacrificed not
only his crown but his life in defense of the Christian faith, for he was
beheaded by the Danes at Eglesdene in 870....
His head was cast into a forest, and, as the story goes, was miraculously
discovered and found to be guarded by a wolf. It was then buried with the
body at the village of Hoxne, where it remained until 903. In this year,
"the precious, undefiled, uncorrupted body of the glorious king and
martyr" was translated to the care of the secular priests at
Beodericsworth, since when the town has been called St. Edmundsbury, in
memory of the sainted monarch. Other wonderful traditions are associated
with the shrine of St. Edmund. Sweyn, the violent Danish king, coming in
hot pursuit of a woman who had claimed sanctuary, was miraculously killed
by an imaginary spear which came out of the shrine when he was about to
seize the woman who was clinging to its side. Bishop Herfastus, too, was
struck blind, when on a visit to the abbot, in the attempt to establish
his new see in the monastical demesne, and afterward miraculously healed.
For centuries the highest in the land brought gifts and laid them before
the venerated shrine.
Canute was the actual founder of the monastery proper, for in the eleventh
century he brought over Benedictine monks from Hulm, granting them a
charter and many benefactions. The monastery yearly became more
prosperous, and, with the exception of Glastonbury, exceeded in
magnificence and privileges all other ecclestiastical establishments in
the country. In the height of its glory it must have been a most beautiful
and dignified structure. Leland writes:
"A monastery more noble, whether one considers the endowments, largeness,
or unparalleled magnificence, the sun never saw. One might think the
monastery alone a city: it has three grand gates for entrances, some
whereof are brass, many towers, high walls, and a church than which
nothing can be more magnificent."
The immense minster, with its lofty western and central towers, rose above
the monastic buildings, which were enclosed by a wall. To the north was a
great cloister, with the various conventual offices, to the southwest lay
the cemetery and church of St. Mary, while immediately before the west
front of the church stood the Norman tower leading to St. James's Church.
Sufficient is left of the reverend walls to convey some idea of the former
vastness of the abbey and its attendant buildings. Of the minster itself
little remains--some arches of the west front, now converted into private
houses, and the bases of the piers which supported the central tower. The
site of St. Edmunds' Chapel--the part of the building which contained the
famous and much-visited shrine--is at the east end of the church. Besides
these relics of the minster, there still exists the Norman tower--built
during the time of Abbot Anselm, and formerly known as the principal
entrance to the cemetery of St. Edmund, and latterly as the "Churchgate"
and bell tower of St. James's Church--the abbot's bridge (Decorated) of
three arches; portions of the walls, and the abbey gateway....
First among the abbots of Bury stands the name of Samson, "the wolf who
raged among the monks." Many of the brothers had become entangled with
Jewish money-lenders in the twelfth century, and Abbot Samson, while
protecting the Jews at the time of the massacre, discharged all the debts
of his house, established many new rules, and set a godly and strenuous
example to his followers. Later, in 1205, the chief barons met at Bury in
opposition to King John, and swore at the second meeting, four years
later, in the presence of the king and Archbishop Langton, to stand by
their cause till the king should be induced to sign the Great Charter, and
to establish those liberties which we still enjoy.