Saint Edred

Saint Edred the Martyred
Saint Edred Weeping, depicted by an anonymous artist
First Martyr and Saint of Newrey, Patriarch of the North
Born	Edred Breakspear 950 AD Bielby, Manchia
Died	3rd August 1017 Cyningburgh
Venerated in	Most Alydian sects
Canonized	11th January 1026 by Pontiff Alexander III
Major shrine	St Edred's Cathedral
Feast	3rd August
Attributes	Keys of Cyningburgh; When Edred was seized by pagan Newreyans, he refused to hand over the keys to the Cyningburgh chapel, thereby allowing the congregation seated there to escape. Cloaks of St Edred; A pair of cloaks, one dark blue, and the other bright white, were the final vestments worn by Edred when he was killed.
Patronage	Newrey, Martyrs, Teachers, Missionaries, Veterans

Saint Edred (born: Isidore Breakspear, 950 - 2nd August 1017) was the first Alydian priest of Cyningburgh, who was sentenced to death by the ruling pagan kings of Newrey due to his refusal to cease preaching the Alydian word. His death quickly became a focal point of contention between the then pagan Newrey and its Alydian neighbours, leading to the destructive Newreyan crusade.

According to Alydian canon, he was executed via hanging, however the first branch of the oak tree he was to be hung from broke, so he was instead beheaded. In many Alydian sects, Edred is venerated as a major saint, however much contention is held over the point of whether or not he is considered the first Patriarch of the North, seeing as he was not officially named it in life, and neither had the institution existed at that point, however the Orthodox Church, especially its Newreyan followers, maintain the belief that he was named the Patriarch before death by God.

Saint Edred is considered an important figure in Newreyan culture, as well as being the patron saint of Newrey.

Hagiography

While the exact of Edred's birth is debated, most sources agree that Edred was born in the year 950 near Bielby along the Midrasian border. His birth name, Isidore Breakspear, was given to him in veneration of a legendary early pirate legend who raided along the southern Asuran coast during the fall of the Fiorentine Empire, his father reportedly wanting Edred to acquire a similar reputation. According to the Ecclesiastical History of Northern Europe by James Bennett, written many years after Edred's death, Edred's father was an esteemed pagan lord who despised the Alydian faith and frequently offered lives to the pagan Newreyan God, Grim, to ensure the destruction of Alydiandom.

Regarding Edred's conversion to Alydianism, both the Ecclesiastical History and the obscure source of The Chronicles of Newrey agree that Edred first encountered a Alydian priest at the age of 25. By that time, Isidore was an avid raider of northern Midrasia,. in particular Alydian churches, yet it was during a raid of the town of Vabre that Isidore encountered the priest Eudes, who had removed much of the gold and wealth from his local parish in the service of hiding the local populace. Shocked at both the charity and piety of the man, Isidore began talking with him, agreeing to return in three days to be baptised into the Alydian name. Upon baptism, Isidore discarded his pagan name, and instead took on the name of Edred. It was with Eudes that Edred began to learn more of Alydianism and became determined to spread the message to his homeland.

By 990, Edred had returned to Newrey as an Alydian missionary. Donning the traditional white robes, he travelled throughout southern Newrey in an attempt to revive Alydianism among the populace. It wouldn't be until the century, however, that Edred would return to his home of Bielby. By that time, his father had died, believing his son to have perished during his raids, so he instead found his sister, Aida, in charge. Initially overjoyed at her brother's return, she invited him to take back his rightful place, but Edred refused, instead choosing to continue his evangelist mission. Obviously surprised at her brother's change in attitude, Aida began to listen to Edred's words, spending many days debating with him over Alydianism. By the end of his stay, Aida and many of her younger supporters had adopted the Alydian faith, much to the chagrin of the older members of court, who saw it as a betrayal of the Newreyan faith. Following an aattempted assassination of his person, Edred opted to move on from Bielby, but had instructed many of the die-hard converts to continue is work to bring Bielby under the light of Alydianism.

Departing Biebly, Edred traveled to Cyningburgh, which already had a sizeable Alydian population that stretched back to the Fiorentine Empire. Aware of Edred's reputation of a successful evangelist, the reigning Bishop, Guthlac of Haisthorpe, granted Edred permission to build a new chapel in the outskirts of the city, away from the protection of the city's walls. By 1015, Edredmhad assembled a growing congregation that came to hear him speak frequently, however this growing reputation began to earn the ire of the reigning pagan lords, with only the threat of Aida's intervention staving off any direct attack. For much of Newrey's history, there had existed a stable antagonism between the Alydian populace of the west, and the pagan populace of the north and east, whereby neither would attempt to convert of displace the other. However, many lords and chieftains began to complain about Edred's conversion of their populace, claiming it breached the unspoken agreement. By 1017, the situation in Newrey had reached fever pitch, however Edred continued to ignore requests for him to return behind the safety of the city walls, believing that he was most needed outside of them for those Alydians that could not easily get inside should it be necessary. The attempted assassination of King Æthelbald II of Marchia by an band of Alydian fanatics proved to be the final straw against the Alydian populace.

Having captured a number of the assassins, they confessed, under torture, that they had been set to this course under the guidance of Edred, whom they had congregated with frequently. Many Alydians at the time disputed this, largely due to Edred's sermons comprising of love for their pagan neighbours, but the pagan lords ignored this, determined to rid themselves of the religious thorn. They army quickly marched on areas that had large Alydian populations, massacring them and laying waste to many churches whenever they came upon them. Only the Kingdom of Bielby was successfully resisting the attack. By early June, the pagans had reached Cyningburgh and demanded Edred step out of his church. Following this order, Edred locked the doors of the church, allowing the congregation to escape unscathed through a hidden basement. Deemed a heretic by the pagan lords, they apprehended Edred and placed him in a small cell with another Alydian, Beornred, with whom he left the custody of the keys and his final words. Beornred was released soon after, due to his charge being unrelated to his secret Alydian worship, and quickly headed south to gain the assistance of Newrey's Alydian neighbours. Edred was then brought out before the court and read his chrages, when asked for his words, Edred simply stated 'My fate is decided, I only pray my Lord has the mercy for you that you lack for his people' (A saying that became the common last words of condemned criminals).

Being found guilty of heresy and conspiracy to murder a King, Edred was sentenced to death via hanging. The night before his execution, the Ecclesiastical History writes that he was found to be weeping and praying that the Lord protect his people and have mercy upon those that had condemned him. The morning after, Edred was led through a hill that was filled with blossomed flowers and trees (Bennett remarks that this was a suitably beautiful place for a martyr to join his Lord), before having his rope attached to a high, strong oak branch. When the stool under his was kicked out, however, the branch reportedly snapped and fell to the ground, granting Edred a brief respite. Despite being astonished at the event of the branch breaking, the executioners resolved to behead Edred instead, doing so with a single sword swing. Bennett writes that, upon the hour of execution, a great wailing was heard throughout the heads of the pagan lords that had condemned him, driving them to near madness, and only ended when they quickly attempted to reattach the decapitated head to the body, however when the head had fallen, a blackberry bush had been discovered to have miraculously sprouted and blossomed, with Æthelbald II's successor, Ceolred, touching the plant and cutting his finger upon the thorns, miraculously converting to the Alydian faith and fleeing south.