Edmund Rich

Edmund Rich (1175–1240) (also known as Saint Edmund Rich, St Edmund of Canterbury, or St Edmund of Abingdon) was a 13th-century Archbishop of Canterbury in England. Today he is remembered for his connection to St Edmund Hall, Oxford, St Edmund's College, Cambridge, St Edmund's School, Canterbury and St. Edmund's College, Ware.

Life

Early life and career

Edmund was born on 20 November, circa 1180, in Abingdon in Berkshire (now Oxfordshire), 7 miles south of Oxford, England. It was the feast of St. Edmund the Martyr, so he was given the name Edmund. He was the oldest of four children.

"Rich" was an epithet sometimes given to his wealthy merchant father. It was never applied to Edmund or his siblings in their lifetimes. Edmund may have been educated at the monastic school in Abingdon. His early studies were in England, but he completed his higher learning in France at the University of Paris. About 1195, in company with his brother Richard, he was sent to the schools of Paris. He studied at the universities of Oxford and Paris and became a teacher about 1200, or a little earlier. For six years he lectured on mathematics and dialectics, apparently dividing his time between Oxford and Paris, and helped introduce the study of Aristotle.