Rumwold
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Rumwold was a medieval infant saint in England, said to have lived for three days in the 7th century. He is said to have been miraculously full of Christian piety despite his tender age, and able to speak from the moment of his birth, professing his faith, requesting baptism, and delivering a sermon prior to his early death. Many churches were dedicated to him.
According to the 11th century hagiography, Vita Sancti Rumwoldi, he was the grandson of Penda of Mercia (a pagan, but incorrectly described in Rumwold's hagiography as having converted to Christianity) and the son of a king of Northumbria. His parents are not actually named; Alhfrith, son of Oswiu of Northumbria, did marry a daughter of Penda, Cyneburh, but Alhfrith was never king of Northumbria himself, although his father was (Alhfrith did rule the subkingdom of Deira for a time). There have, however, been doubts about whether these were his parents: for instance, the Northumbrian king is described as a pagan, but Alhfrith was a Christian (at least according to Bede, who says Alhfrith convinced Penda's son Peada to convert to Christianity), and Cyneburh is not known to have had any children (indeed, according to some accounts she retained her virginity—there is confusion on this point; William of Malmesbury writes at one point that she hated sex, and at another that she remained a virgin). Thus it may be that either Rumwold's parents were forgotten by the time his hagiography was written, or that his genealogy was fabricated. (Love, clxiv)
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 have sex with him 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" ("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.
[edit] Reference
- Rosalind C. Love, Three Eleventh-Century Anglo-Latin Saints' Lives: Vita S. Birini, Vita et Miracula S. Kenelmi, Vita S. Rumwoldi (1996). Oxford University Press.
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