Anne-Marie Amiel

Mabel of Bury

Anne-Marie Amiel — Thu, 25 Sep 2025 14:09:54 +0000

Some of you will remember that Aileen’s little sister in the St. Edmundsbury series is named Mabel. Well, Mabel was a real person who lived in the 13th century. She became a renowned embroiderer and was commissioned by King Henry III to embellish panels for the rebuilt Westminster Cathedral and to add beautiful silk and pearl embroidery to garments for both clergy and laypeople.

Mabel was so highly regarded by the king that he asked around to make sure he was paying her enough for her work, and when he visited St. Edmundsbury later in life he awarded the retired Mabel some fine cloth and materials.

Watch this space for more information on Mabel and on the upcoming book in which she solves a royal mystery.

What Happened to the End of the Bayeux Tapestry?

Anne-Marie Amiel — Mon, 26 Feb 2024 15:55:58 +0000

Most people have heard of the Bayeux Tapestry, but few know that the end of this account of the Norman invasion of England in 1066 was torn off the work at some time in the past. The “tapestry” was in fact a work of embroidery. It is currently displayed in Bayeux, France although it was actually made in England under the orders of Bishop Odo of Bayeux, the half-brother of William the Conqueror. Odo fell out of favor and the tapestry, made for his cathedral in Bayeux, was hung for public display only once a year during the feast of St. John the Baptist. No one knows for sure when the last part of the tapestry disappeared, but in 2013 a group of embroiderers in the Channel Island of Alderney stitched a final panel depicting the coronation of William the Conqueror in Westminster Abbey. Scholars have long thought the coronation would have been the culmination of the original work and thus the picture above shows how authentic was the work of the Alderney stitchers.

St. Edmund was the First Patron Saint of England

Anne-Marie Amiel — Fri, 03 Jun 2022 13:25:59 +0000

Yes, that’s correct. St. George has been the patron saint of England since 1350, but before that the martyr king of East Anglia was the country’s patron saint.

Edmund was born on Christmas Day 841 A.D. He became king of East Anglia in 856 and fought alongside Alfred of Wessex against the Vikings. In 869 he was captured. On November 20th he was executed when he refused to renounce his Christian faith.

In 902 his remains were moved to Boedricsworth, (modern-day Bury St. Edmunds). In 1020 King Canute built a stone abbey to house the saint’s shrine. St. Edmund’s patronage of England was established and from then on he was regarded as such a powerful saint that in 1214 English barons met in secret in the abbey to draw up the document that became the forerunner to the Magna Carta.

History Matters!

Anne-Marie Amiel — Sun, 08 May 2022 16:07:00 +0000

How many times have you heard “History’s boring,” or “Who cares about history?”

If I had a penny for every time I’ve heard comments such as these, I’d be a rich woman! Since I’m not burdened by the weight of many pennies, however, I’ve decided to start a site that talks about the details that bring to life the people who inhabited the past.

Welcome to the journey!

The picture above is of the ruins of the Abbey in Bury St. Edmunds, in Suffolk. The abbey was founded in 1020, but the history of this area goes back many centuries before then. As we walk through time, and look at the lives of the people who inhabited the area over many centuries, I think we will see that these were people very like us. We share many of the same hopes, fears and attitudes. Perhaps we can learn from their past something of how to handle our present.