caption death_date birth_place feast_day imagesize birth_date alt titles image article_title name
st rumbold 's well in buckingham 662 ad -lrb- aged 3 days -rrb- walton grounds near king 's sutton , northamptonshire 3 november 200px 662 ad st rumbold 's well in buckingham saint st_rumbold _ - _ 423381.jpg 's _ well _ - _geograph.org . uk rumwold of buckingham
 saint rumwold -lrb- or rumbold -rrb-
rumwold of buckingham

rumwold was a medieval infant saint in england , said to have lived for three days in 662 .
he is said to have been miraculously full of christian piety despite his young 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 .
several churches were dedicated to him of which about six survive .
his name has a number of alternative spellings : rumoalde , rumwald , runwald , rumbald , rumbold , romwold , rombout .
rumbold is the more common name used today , with streets in buckingham and lincoln being spelt this way .
according to the 11th century hagiography , `` vita sancti rumwoldi '' , he was the grandson of penda of mercia -lrb- a pagan , but incorrectly described in rumwold 's hagiography as having converted to christianity -rrb- 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 -lrb- alhfrith did rule the subkingdom of deira for a time -rrb- .
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 -lrb- at least according to bede , who says alhfrith convinced penda 's son peada to convert to christianity -rrb- .
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 -lrb- source : stenton -rrb- .
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 '' -lrb- `` i am a christian , i am a christian , i am a christian '' -rrb- .
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 .
saint 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 saint rumwold was baptised in .
there are two wells associated with his name in astrop just outside kings ' sutton and at brackley and buckingham where his relics once lay .
church dedications largely follow the missionary activity of saint wilfrid who was the personal chaplain of king alhfrith -lrb- source : bede -rrb- but once spread as far as north yorkshire , lincoln , essex and dorset .
boxley abbey had a famous portrait of the saint .
it was small and of a weight so small a child could lift it but at times became so heavy even strong people could not lift it .
according to tradition the attempt to lift the portrait was a test of a woman 's chastity .
in practice , those who paid the priest well could lift the portrait with ease , while others could not .
upon the dissolution of the monasteries in england , it was discovered that the portrait was held by a wooden pin by an unseen person behind the portrait .
in 2000 a complete orthodox christian service to saint rumwold was written along with a tone system -lrb- orthodox musical system -rrb- with which to sing it which also has more general application .
the service is performed on his two feast days which are november 3 -lrb- main feast -rrb- and august 28 -lrb- translation of relics -rrb- .
in 2005 the former church of saint rumwold in lincoln which is now a college erected a plaque to celebrate the connection .
