SAINT [

See also:

• EDMUND
• SAINT [EDMUND RICE] EDMUND (d. 1240)
• EDMUND, or EADMUND (c. 980-1016)

EDMUND

See also:

• RICE (Greek 6p6 a, Latin oryza, French riz, Italian riso, Spanish arroz, derived from the Arabic)
• RICE, EDMUND IGNATIUS (1762-1844)
• RICE, JAMES (1843-1882)

RICE] EDMUND (d. 1240)  , English saint and archbishop of Canterbury, was born at Abingdon, near Oxford, about 1175 . His father was a merchant of that town who retired, with his wife's consent, to the monastery of Eynsham, leaving in her hands the education of their family . Her name was Mabel; she was a devout woman who lived an ascetic life and encouraged her children to do the same . Both her daughters took the veil; three of her sons served the church in different capacities . Edmund, her first-born, began his education in a grammar school at Oxford . Of weak health and a contemplative disposition, he showed, from his earliest years, a remarkable taste for learning and religious exercises . He saw visions white still at school, and at the age of twelve took a vow of perpetual chastity in the Virgin's church at Oxford . Later he was sent, with his brother Robert, to study the liberal arts at Paris . His mother's death and family affairs recalled him for a time to England; but. he afterwards graduated at Paris . For six years he lectured in the liberal arts, partly in Paris and partly in Oxford; his career as an Oxford teacher commenced before 1205, f,nd is noteworthy for the fact that he was the first who lectured there on Aristotle . He then returned to Paris for a course of theological studies, and rapidly made himself proficient in that branch of learning . After spending a year in retirement with the Augustinian canons of Merton (Surrey) he became a theological lecturer in Oxford .

In this capacity he gained some reputation, and it is related that his

audience were often moved to tears by his eloquence .