Rumbold of Buckingham

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Rumwold of Buckingham
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For the Anglo-Saxon martyr of Mechelen, see
Rumbold of Mechelen
.

Saint Rumwold (or Rumbold)
3 November[1]

Rumbold or Rumwold was a medieval infant

sermon prior to his early death. Several churches were dedicated to him, of which at least four survive, one being at Pentridge
in Dorset.

Name

His name has a number of alternative spellings: Rumbold, Rumwold, Rumwald and Rumbald.[2] Rumbold is the more common name used today, with streets in Buckingham and Lincoln being spelt this way.

Hagiography

According to the 11th-century

Deira. Also the Northumbrian king is described as a pagan, but according to Bede, Alhfrith was a Christian and convinced Penda's son Peada to convert to Christianity too.[4] Although it has been stated that Cyneburh is not known to have had any children, Northumbrian genealogy states she and Alhfrith had a further son, Osric, who subsequently became King of Northumbria himself.[5]

In the Vita, Rumwold's mother is described as a pious Christian who, when married to a pagan king, tells him that she will not consummate the marriage until he converts to Christianity; he does so, and she becomes pregnant. The two are called by Penda to come to him when the time of her birth is near, but she gives birth during the journey, and immediately after being born the infant is said to have cried out: Christianus sum, christianus sum, christianus sum [transl. I am a Christian, I am a Christian, I am a Christian]. He went on to further profess his faith, to request baptism, and to ask to be named "Rumwold", afterwards giving a sermon. He predicted his own death, and said where he wanted his body to be laid to rest, in Buckingham.[citation needed]

Rumwold is reported to have been born in Walton Grounds, near King's Sutton in Northamptonshire, which was at that time part of the Mercian royal estates, possessing a court house and other instruments of government. The field in which he was born, where a chapel once stood on the supposed spot, may still be seen. King's Sutton parish church claims that its Saxon or Norman font may well have been the one where Rumwold was baptised. Rumwold was baptized by Bishop Widerin.[6]

There are two wells associated with his name: in

Lincoln, Essex and Dorset.[citation needed
]

Dissolution of the Monasteries in England, it was discovered that the statue was held or released by a wooden pin by an unseen person behind the statue.[9]

In 2005, the former church of Saint Rumwold in Lincoln, which is now a college, erected a plaque to celebrate the connection.

St. Rumbold of Mechelen

A statue of St. Rombout,
Hanswijk Basilica, Mechelen

There has been some historical confounding between Rumwold of Buckingham and

Rumbold of Mechelen. The latter is locally known by the Latin name Rumoldus and in particular his name in Dutch, Rombout (in French spelled as Rombaut), and assumedly never called Rumwold. His usual names in English are Rumold, Rumbold, Rombout, and Rombaut. A compilation about three saints' lives as translated by Rosalind Love shows that an unknown author "corrected" a 15th-century attribution as "martyr" (assumedly Rumbold, who was murdered in Mechelen) by annotating "confessor" .[10]

References

  1. ^ Love (1996), p. cxl-cxli.
  2. ^ "Biography of St Rumwold, University of Buckingham". University of Buckingham. 19 August 2008.
  3. ^ Love (1996), p. xii.
  4. ^ Kirby (1991), p. 79.
  5. ^ Kirby (1991), pp. 92, 123.
  6. ^ Butler, Alban (1866). "Saint Rumwald, Confessor". Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs, and Principal Saints – via CatholicSaints.Info.
  7. ISBN 9780850331820
    .
  8. ISBN 9780820427645
    .
  9. ^ Sidney Heath (1912). Pilgrim Life in the Middle Ages. T.F. Unwin. pp. 232–233. rood of grace.
  10. ^ Love (1996), p. cxliii–cxliv, cli & cliv, clii.

Sources

External links
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