Edmund Shaa

Sir Edmund Shaa or Shaw (died 20 April 1488) was a London goldsmith, Sheriff of London in 1475 and Lord Mayor of London in 1482. Shaa lent money to Edward IV and, as mayor (at least), was extensively involved in the coronation of Edward IV's brother Richard III. He was later knighted and made a member of the Privy Council.

Edmund Shaa, the son of John Shaa of Dukinfield, Cheshire, is said to have been born in the district of Mottram in Longdendale, Cheshire. He was the brother of Ralph Shaa, and the uncle of Sir John Shaa (died c.1503), later Lord Mayor of London. His granddaughter, Julian Browne, was the second wife of Sir John Mundy, Lord Mayor of London.

In 1450 Shaa was apprenticed to a London goldsmith, probably Robert Butler. He completed his apprenticeship in 1458, and in 1462 was appointed engraver to the Royal Mint at the Tower of London and Calais. He held the office for the next twenty years.

Shaa was mayor in interesting times. It is sometimes stated that Shaa's brother, Ralph Shaa, preached against the legitimacy of Edward IV's marriage and that Shaa (as mayor) offered the crown to Richard III. Shaa is a character in William Shakespeare's play Richard III. Sir John Shaa, the first 16th century Lord Mayor, was his nephew, while Sir William Browne (d. 3 June 1514), Lord Mayor in 1513, was his son-in-law. He was knighted in 1483.