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Life of St Wilfrid
Eddius Stephanus, tr. Colgrave, 1927
18. How He Restored a Child to Life
“God is wondrous in His saints” and glorified in their miracles. In the Old Law we read that once the servants of God performed various miracles by His help. Even as Elijah and Elisha the servants of God raised the dead, so the Apostles of Christ, following the example of their Master, according to His promise, drove out all kinds of diseases in His name; and now in a similar manner those afflicted by infirmities are healed to the glory of God by their successors, one of whom is our holy bishop. It happened that St Wilfrid was out riding on a certain day, going to fulfil the various duties of his bishopric, baptizing and also confirming the people with the laying on of hands; among these there was a certain woman in a town called “On Tiddanufri,” sad at heart, moaning with grief and wearied with her load. For she held in her bosom the body of her first-born child, wrapped in rags and hidden from sight; she uncovered the face of the corpse for the bishop to confirm it amongst the rest, hoping thus to be able to bring it back to life. Now our holy bishop, as soon as he perceived that it was dead, hesitated a little as to what he ought to do. But the mother fell to the earth before the face of the bishop on his perceiving what she had done, and, weeping bitterly, she boldly adjured him, in the name of the Lord his God, by virtue of his holiness to raise her son, to baptize him and free him from the mouth of the lion. With such words she never ceased to adjure him again and again, by all the holiness of bishops, kneeling and kissing his feet, embracing and bedewing them with bitter tears, and saying, “Most holy man, do not destroy the faith of a bereaved mother but help thou my (un)belief, raise him up and baptize him and he will live to God and to you. By the power of Christ, do not hesitate!”
Then the holy bishop, not doubting the power of Christ, and hearing her faith like that of the Syro-Phoenician woman, uttered a prayer, and when he had placed his hand on the dead body it breathed again forthwith, receiving the spirit of life. So he baptized the child which had been brought to life again and gave it into the charge of the mother, bidding her, in the name of the Lord, give back her child to himself at the age of seven, for the service of God. The mother, however, when she saw how handsome the boy was, listened to the evil counsel of her husband, made light of her promise, and fled from her country.
The bishop’s reeve, named Hocca, having sought and found him hidden among others of the British race, took him away by force and carried him off to the bishop. The boy’s Christian name was Eodwald and his surname was Bishop’s Son: he lived in Ripon serving God until he died during the great plague. O how great and wonderful is God’s mercy, Who, by His servant of honoured memory, called back to life a little child who was dead and unbaptized, so that, being baptized, he might live to inherit an eternal life of future blessedness.