St. Edward the Confessor, King of England

     As monarch, St. Edward (circa 1003-1066), the last Saxon King of England, banished all who charged interest on loans.  Usurers who remained in England were subject to the confiscation of their property and declared to be outside the protection of the law (i.e. outlaws).

     A few months before his death, Edward's usury-free England, "was a rich and prosperous kingdom...Later generations did right to appeal to the good old laws of King Edward.  He had become a symbol of a way of life which refused to die..."  King Edward was canonized in 1161.