The following episode is from Ælfric’s Lives of the Saints, its Old English being modernized. The author wrote in the preface to his Lives of the Saints, “we say nothing new in this work because it was written down long ago in Latin books, although lay people did not know that.” Created for the benefit of two powerful aristocratic patrons related to the English royal family, the author’s project provided versions of the stories of saints’ lives, along with some sermons, that could be read, listened to, and meditated on even by those who were not priests, monks, or nuns. Edmund (841‑869) was an Anglo‑Saxon king of East Anglia (855‑869). In the year 869 an army of Danes invaded East Anglia. Edmund engaged them fiercely in battle, but the Danes remained in possession of the field of battle. The king himself was slain.

    下面这篇节选出自埃尔弗里克的《圣徒列传》，古英语文本已做现代改写。作者在该书序言中写道：“本书并无新的内容，这些故事早已记载于拉丁文典籍，只是世俗大众并不知晓。” 本书是为两位与英国王室有渊源的贵族赞助人所作，整理了圣徒生平故事以及部分布道文，即便是非神职人员，也可以阅读、聆听、沉思体悟。埃德蒙（841‑869）是东盎格利亚的盎格鲁‑撒克逊国王（855‑869 在位）。公元 869 年丹麦大军入侵东盎格利亚。埃德蒙奋力迎战，但战场最终落入丹麦人之手，国王本人遇害。