Bruno of Querfurt
Encyclopedia
Saint Bruno of Querfurt also known as Brun and Boniface, is a sainted missionary
bishop
and martyr
, who was beheaded near the border of Kievan Rus and Lithuania
while trying to spread Christianity in Eastern Europe. He is also called the second Apostle of the Prussia
ns (Old Prussians
).
(now in Saxony-Anhalt
). He is rumored to have been a relative of the Holy Roman Emperor Otto III
. At the age of six he was sent to be educated in Magdeburg
, seat of Adalbert of Magdeburg
, the teacher and namesake of Saint Adalbert
. While still a youth he was made a canon of Magdeburg cathedral. The fifteen-year-old Otto III made Bruno a part of his royal court. While in Rome for Otto's imperial coronation, Bruno met Saint Adalbert of Prague
, the first Apostle of the Prussians, killed a year later, which inspired Bruno to write a biography of St Adalbert when he reached the recently Christianized and consolidated Kingdom of Hungary
himself. Bruno spent much time at the monastery where Adalbert had become a monk and where abbot John Canaparius
may have written a life of Saint Adalbert. Later, Bruno entered a monastery near Ravenna
, founded by Otto, and underwent severe ascetic training under the guidance of St. Romuald.
In Otto III
hoped to open a monastery between the Elbe
and the Oder
(somewhere in the pagan
lands that became Brandenburg
or Western Pomerania
) to help convert the local population into Christianity. In 1003 Pope Sylvester II appointed Bruno, at the age of 33, to head a mission amongst the pagan peoples of Eastern Europe. Owing to a regional conflict between the Holy Roman Emperor Henry II
and Duke Boleslaus I of Poland he delayed the plans for the monastery, and so Bruno set out for Hungary
. There he went to the places that Saint Adalbert of Prague had attended. Bruno tried to get Ahtum
, the Duke of Banat
, who was under jurisdiction of Patriarchate of Constantinople to get under jurisdiction of Patriarchate of Rome, but this precipitated a large controversy leading to organized opposition from local monks. Bruno elected to gracefully exit the region after he first finished his book, the famous "Life of St. Adalbert," a literary memorial of much worth giving a history of the (relatively recent) conversion of the Hungarians.
After this diplomatic failure, Bruno went to Kiev
, where Grand Duke Vladimir I authorized him to make Christian
converts among the Pechenegs, semi-nomadic Turkic peoples
living between the Danube
and the Don rivers. Bruno spent five months there and baptized some thirty adults. He helped to bring about a peace treaty between them and the ruler of Kiev.
Before leaving for Poland, Bruno consecrated
a bishop for the Pechenegs. While in Poland he consecrated the first Bishop of Sweden and is said to have sent emissaries to baptize the king of Sweden, whose mother had come from Poland. Bruno found out that his friend Benedict and four companions had been killed by robbers in 1003. Bruno took eyewitness accounts and wrote down a touching history of the so-called Five Martyred Brothers.
; they succeeded in converting Netimer, a "king of Lithuanians", and then traveled to the east, heading very likely towards Yotvingia
. Yotvingia was a Prussian region, then subordinate to Kievan Rus (since 983), that intersected the borders of what was then Prussia, Kievan Rus and the Duchy of Lithuania
.
Saint Bruno was beheaded
on February 14, 1009, whereas most of his companions were hanged the same day by Zebeden, brother of newly-converted Netimer. Duke Boleslaus the Brave brought the bodies to Poland (it was supposed that they were laid to rest in Przemyśl
, where some historians place Bruno's diocese; such localization of the Bruno's burial place is hardly probable because Przemyśl then belonged to Orthodox
Kievan Rus through 1018). The "Annals of Magdeburg," "Thietmar of Merseburg's Chronicle," various works of Magdeburg Bishops, the "Annals of Quedlinburg
" and many other written sources of 11th-15th centuries record this story.
Soon after his death, Bruno and his companions were venerated as martyrs and Bruno was soon after canonized. It was said that Braunsberg was named after St Bruno.
Missionary
A missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to do evangelism or ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care and economic development. The word "mission" originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin...
bishop
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
and martyr
Christian martyrs
A Christian martyr is one who is killed for following Christianity, through stoning, crucifixion, burning at the stake or other forms of torture and capital punishment. The word "martyr" comes from the Greek word μάρτυς, mártys, which means "witness."...
, who was beheaded near the border of Kievan Rus and Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
while trying to spread Christianity in Eastern Europe. He is also called the second Apostle of the Prussia
Prussia
Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
ns (Old Prussians
Old Prussians
The Old Prussians or Baltic Prussians were an ethnic group, autochthonous Baltic tribes that inhabited Prussia, the lands of the southeastern Baltic Sea in the area around the Vistula and Curonian Lagoons...
).
Early life
Boniface was from a noble family of QuerfurtQuerfurt
Querfurt a town in Saalekreis district in the south of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany, situated in a fertile area on the Querne, west from Merseburg, on a branch line from Oberroblingen. Pop. 12,935 .-History:...
(now in Saxony-Anhalt
Saxony-Anhalt
Saxony-Anhalt is a landlocked state of Germany. Its capital is Magdeburg and it is surrounded by the German states of Lower Saxony, Brandenburg, Saxony, and Thuringia.Saxony-Anhalt covers an area of...
). He is rumored to have been a relative of the Holy Roman Emperor Otto III
Otto III, Holy Roman Emperor
Otto III , a King of Germany, was the fourth ruler of the Saxon or Ottonian dynasty of the Holy Roman Empire. He was elected King in 983 on the death of his father Otto II and was crowned Holy Roman Emperor in 996.-Early reign:...
. At the age of six he was sent to be educated in Magdeburg
Magdeburg
Magdeburg , is the largest city and the capital city of the Bundesland of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Magdeburg is situated on the Elbe River and was one of the most important medieval cities of Europe....
, seat of Adalbert of Magdeburg
Adalbert of Magdeburg
Saint Adalbert of Magdeburg , sometimes known as the Apostle of the Slavs, was the first Archbishop of Magdeburg and a successful missionary to the Slavic peoples to the east of Germany...
, the teacher and namesake of Saint Adalbert
Adalbert of Prague
This article is about St Adalbert of Prague. For other uses, see Adalbert .Saint Adalbert, Czech: ; , , Czech Roman Catholic saint, a Bishop of Prague and a missionary, was martyred in his efforts to convert the Baltic Prussians. He evangelized Poles and Hungarians. St...
. While still a youth he was made a canon of Magdeburg cathedral. The fifteen-year-old Otto III made Bruno a part of his royal court. While in Rome for Otto's imperial coronation, Bruno met Saint Adalbert of Prague
Adalbert of Prague
This article is about St Adalbert of Prague. For other uses, see Adalbert .Saint Adalbert, Czech: ; , , Czech Roman Catholic saint, a Bishop of Prague and a missionary, was martyred in his efforts to convert the Baltic Prussians. He evangelized Poles and Hungarians. St...
, the first Apostle of the Prussians, killed a year later, which inspired Bruno to write a biography of St Adalbert when he reached the recently Christianized and consolidated Kingdom of Hungary
Kingdom of Hungary
The Kingdom of Hungary comprised present-day Hungary, Slovakia and Croatia , Transylvania , Carpatho Ruthenia , Vojvodina , Burgenland , and other smaller territories surrounding present-day Hungary's borders...
himself. Bruno spent much time at the monastery where Adalbert had become a monk and where abbot John Canaparius
John Canaparius
John Canaparius was a Benedictine monk at the Aventine monastery in Rome. It had long been assumed that in the year 999 he wrote the first Vita sancti Adalberti episcopi Pragensis, or "Life of St...
may have written a life of Saint Adalbert. Later, Bruno entered a monastery near Ravenna
Ravenna
Ravenna is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy and the second largest comune in Italy by land area, although, at , it is little more than half the size of the largest comune, Rome...
, founded by Otto, and underwent severe ascetic training under the guidance of St. Romuald.
Missionary life
Otto III, Holy Roman Emperor
Otto III , a King of Germany, was the fourth ruler of the Saxon or Ottonian dynasty of the Holy Roman Empire. He was elected King in 983 on the death of his father Otto II and was crowned Holy Roman Emperor in 996.-Early reign:...
hoped to open a monastery between the Elbe
Elbe
The Elbe is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Krkonoše Mountains of the northwestern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia , then Germany and flowing into the North Sea at Cuxhaven, 110 km northwest of Hamburg...
and the Oder
Oder
The Oder is a river in Central Europe. It rises in the Czech Republic and flows through western Poland, later forming of the border between Poland and Germany, part of the Oder-Neisse line...
(somewhere in the pagan
Paganism
Paganism is a blanket term, typically used to refer to non-Abrahamic, indigenous polytheistic religious traditions....
lands that became Brandenburg
Margraviate of Brandenburg
The Margraviate of Brandenburg was a major principality of the Holy Roman Empire from 1157 to 1806. Also known as the March of Brandenburg , it played a pivotal role in the history of Germany and Central Europe....
or Western Pomerania
Pomerania
Pomerania is a historical region on the south shore of the Baltic Sea. Divided between Germany and Poland, it stretches roughly from the Recknitz River near Stralsund in the West, via the Oder River delta near Szczecin, to the mouth of the Vistula River near Gdańsk in the East...
) to help convert the local population into Christianity. In 1003 Pope Sylvester II appointed Bruno, at the age of 33, to head a mission amongst the pagan peoples of Eastern Europe. Owing to a regional conflict between the Holy Roman Emperor Henry II
Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor
Henry II , also referred to as Saint Henry, Obl.S.B., was the fifth and last Holy Roman Emperor of the Ottonian dynasty, from his coronation in Rome in 1014 until his death a decade later. He was crowned King of the Germans in 1002 and King of Italy in 1004...
and Duke Boleslaus I of Poland he delayed the plans for the monastery, and so Bruno set out for Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
. There he went to the places that Saint Adalbert of Prague had attended. Bruno tried to get Ahtum
Ahtum
Ahtum, also Achtum or Ajtony , was a local ruler in the region of Banat in the first decades of the 11th century. King Saint Stephen I of Hungary sent Csanád - one of Ahtum’s former retainers - to fight against him...
, the Duke of Banat
Banat
The Banat is a geographical and historical region in Central Europe currently divided between three countries: the eastern part lies in western Romania , the western part in northeastern Serbia , and a small...
, who was under jurisdiction of Patriarchate of Constantinople to get under jurisdiction of Patriarchate of Rome, but this precipitated a large controversy leading to organized opposition from local monks. Bruno elected to gracefully exit the region after he first finished his book, the famous "Life of St. Adalbert," a literary memorial of much worth giving a history of the (relatively recent) conversion of the Hungarians.
After this diplomatic failure, Bruno went to Kiev
Kiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
, where Grand Duke Vladimir I authorized him to make Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
converts among the Pechenegs, semi-nomadic Turkic peoples
Turkic peoples
The Turkic peoples are peoples residing in northern, central and western Asia, southern Siberia and northwestern China and parts of eastern Europe. They speak languages belonging to the Turkic language family. They share, to varying degrees, certain cultural traits and historical backgrounds...
living between the Danube
Danube
The Danube is a river in the Central Europe and the Europe's second longest river after the Volga. It is classified as an international waterway....
and the Don rivers. Bruno spent five months there and baptized some thirty adults. He helped to bring about a peace treaty between them and the ruler of Kiev.
Before leaving for Poland, Bruno consecrated
Consecration
Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service, usually religious. The word "consecration" literally means "to associate with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different groups...
a bishop for the Pechenegs. While in Poland he consecrated the first Bishop of Sweden and is said to have sent emissaries to baptize the king of Sweden, whose mother had come from Poland. Bruno found out that his friend Benedict and four companions had been killed by robbers in 1003. Bruno took eyewitness accounts and wrote down a touching history of the so-called Five Martyred Brothers.
Mission to Prussia and death
In the autumn or at the end of 1008 Bruno and eighteen companions set out to found a mission among the PrussiansOld Prussians
The Old Prussians or Baltic Prussians were an ethnic group, autochthonous Baltic tribes that inhabited Prussia, the lands of the southeastern Baltic Sea in the area around the Vistula and Curonian Lagoons...
; they succeeded in converting Netimer, a "king of Lithuanians", and then traveled to the east, heading very likely towards Yotvingia
Yotvingians
Yotvingians or Sudovians were a Baltic people with close cultural ties to the Lithuanians and Prussians...
. Yotvingia was a Prussian region, then subordinate to Kievan Rus (since 983), that intersected the borders of what was then Prussia, Kievan Rus and the Duchy of Lithuania
Duchy of Lithuania
Duchy of Lithuania was a state-territorial formation of ethnic Lithuanians, that existed from the 12th century until 1413. Most of the time it was a constituent part and a nucleus of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania...
.
Saint Bruno was beheaded
Decapitation
Decapitation is the separation of the head from the body. Beheading typically refers to the act of intentional decapitation, e.g., as a means of murder or execution; it may be accomplished, for example, with an axe, sword, knife, wire, or by other more sophisticated means such as a guillotine...
on February 14, 1009, whereas most of his companions were hanged the same day by Zebeden, brother of newly-converted Netimer. Duke Boleslaus the Brave brought the bodies to Poland (it was supposed that they were laid to rest in Przemyśl
Przemysl
Przemyśl is a city in south-eastern Poland with 66,756 inhabitants, as of June 2009. In 1999, it became part of the Podkarpackie Voivodeship; it was previously the capital of Przemyśl Voivodeship....
, where some historians place Bruno's diocese; such localization of the Bruno's burial place is hardly probable because Przemyśl then belonged to Orthodox
Eastern Orthodox Church
The Orthodox Church, officially called the Orthodox Catholic Church and commonly referred to as the Eastern Orthodox Church, is the second largest Christian denomination in the world, with an estimated 300 million adherents mainly in the countries of Belarus, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Georgia, Greece,...
Kievan Rus through 1018). The "Annals of Magdeburg," "Thietmar of Merseburg's Chronicle," various works of Magdeburg Bishops, the "Annals of Quedlinburg
Annals of Quedlinburg
The Annals of Quedlinburg were written between 1008 and 1030 in the convent of Quedlinburg Abbey. In recent years a consensus has emerged that the annalist was a woman.The annals are mostly dedicated to the history of the Holy Roman Empire; they also contain the first written mention of the name...
" and many other written sources of 11th-15th centuries record this story.
Soon after his death, Bruno and his companions were venerated as martyrs and Bruno was soon after canonized. It was said that Braunsberg was named after St Bruno.
See also
- Name of LithuaniaName of LithuaniaThe first known record of the name of Lithuania is in a 9 March 1009 story of Saint Bruno recorded in the Quedlinburg Chronicle . The Chronicle recorded a Latinized Slavic form of the name Lietuva: Litua pronounced [litvā]...
- A. Bumblauskas. Lithuania’s Millennium –Millennium Lithuaniae Or What Lithuania Can Tell the World on this Occasion. Lietuvos istorijos studijos, 2009, t. 23, p. 127-158.
- A. Bumblauskas. Lithuania's Millennium - Millennium Lithuaniae