Editing Edmund the Martyr (section)

== Patronages ==
Edmund is the [[patron saint]] of [[pandemics]] as well as kings,{{sfn|Ball|2003|p=276}} the Catholic [[diocese of East Anglia]],<ref>Catholic diocese of East Anglia [http://www.catholiceastanglia.org/main/ website] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111217092458/http://www.catholiceastanglia.org/main/ |date=17 December 2011 }}.</ref> and Douai Abbey.<ref name="dou">{{cite web |title=Our Patron St Edmund |url=https://www.douaiabbey.org.uk/our-patron-st-edmund.php |website=Douai Abbey: Under the Patronage of St Edmund, King & Martyr |publisher=Trustees of Douai Abbey |access-date=14 December 2021}}</ref> England did not ever have a single patron saint before the [[Tudor period]];{{sfn|Young|2018|pp=11, 154}} during the Middle Ages, several saints were considered to have a close association with England and to be nationally important: St Edmund; [[Pope Gregory I|St Gregory the Great]]; [[Edward the Confessor|St Edward the Confessor]]; [[Thomas Becket|St Thomas Becket]]; and [[St George]]. Of these saints, Edmund was the most consistently popular with English kings,{{sfn|Young|2018|p=11}} although [[Edward III of England|Edward III]] raised the importance of George when he associated him with the [[Order of the Garter]].{{sfn|Cantor|1982|p=176}} 

In 2006, [[BBC Radio Suffolk]] radio presenter Mark Murphy and [[David Ruffley]], the [[Member of Parliament]] for [[Bury St Edmunds (UK Parliament constituency)|Bury St Edmunds]], failed in their campaign to reinstate Edmund as the patron saint of England.{{sfn|Young|2018|p=153}}{{refn|Ruffley had taken up the cause and helped deliver a large petition to the government in [[London]]. [[Prime Minister]] [[Tony Blair]] rejected the request; however, their attempt was successful on another level: "St Edmund (was) named patron saint of Suffolk...the high point of a successful campaign which was launched by Breakfast show presenter Mark Murphy and producer Emily Fellows in the autumn of 2006".<ref>{{cite news |title=St Edmund, Patron Saint of Suffolk |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/suffolk/content/articles/2007/04/18/st_edmund_day_feature.shtml |access-date=20 August 2007 |work=[[BBC News]] |date=25 April 2007}}</ref>|group=note}}
In 2013, [[BBC News]] reported a new campaign launched by Murphy and the [[Brewing|brewer]] [[Greene King]], which is based in Bury St Edmunds, to reinstate St Edmund as England's patron saint. Supporters of the campaign stated their hopes that a petition could be used to force Parliament to debate the issue.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Woodger |first1=Andrew |last2=Haugh |first2=Richard |title=St Edmund takes on St George for England's patron saint honour |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-suffolk-22649102 |access-date=6 June 2013 |work=[[BBC News]] |date=4 June 2013}}</ref><ref name="BBC13">{{cite news |title=Campaign for St Edmund to be England's patron saint |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-england-suffolk-22782644 |access-date=8 January 2022 |work=[[BBC News]] |date=5 June 2013}}</ref>