Who was the Patron Saint of England before St George?
The first patron saint of England was Saint Edmund, an East Anglian Anglo Saxon King who was born aroung 840 and died c 869 AD ,who was martyred by the Danes by having arrows fired at him for refusing to give up his Christian faith. Originally a local saint his fame soon spread to the rest of England and for 150 years prior to the Norman arrival he was venerated as the first patron saint of the English. Williiam was very active in removing all traces of the indigenous culture that sustained the country before his coming and wished to supplant it with that of his homeland in Normandy which he supposed to be in some way superior, he therefore replaced the English saint with one of doubtful provenance at the instigation of the papal decree . This was St. George. Many people now honour St. Edmund and his fame remains. He is commemorated by his name being given to Bury St. Edmunds in Suffolk.
