Rumwold of Buckingham - St. Rumbold of Mechelen

St. Rumbold of 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" (fitting Rumwold who was no martyr), and that the original dedication of churches in Northern England appears uncertain, be it that "There is little sign that St Rombaut was venerated in Anglo-Saxon England. Certainly his feast is not mentioned in any surviving pre-conquest calendar".