![BrunoCarinthicebw](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4b/BrunoCarinthicebw.jpg)
Bruno of Würzburg (c. 1005 – 27 May 1045), also known as Bruno of Carinthia, was
imperial chancellor of Italy from 1027 to 1034 for
Conrad II, Holy Roman Emperor
Conrad II ( – 4 June 1039), also known as and , was the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire from 1027 until his death in 1039. The first of a succession of four Salian emperors, who reigned for one century until 1125, Conrad ruled the kingdoms ...
, to whom he was related, and from 1034 until his death
prince-bishop of Würzburg.
Origin and Imperial politics
Bruno was the son of
Conrad I, Duke of Carinthia
Conrad I ( – 12 or 15 December 1011), a member of the Salian dynasty, was Duke of Carinthia from 1004 until his death.
Biography
He was the third son of Duke Otto I of Carinthia (d. 1004), who at the time of his birth ruled the Wormsgau in Rhe ...
, and
Matilda of Swabia
Matilda of Swabia (german: Mathilde von Schwaben; – 29 July 1032), a member of the Conradine dynasty, was Duchess of Carinthia by her first marriage with Duke Conrad I and Duchess of Upper Lorraine by her second marriage to Duke Frederic ...
, and thus a cousin of the
Salian
The Salian dynasty or Salic dynasty (german: Salier) was a dynasty in the High Middle Ages. The dynasty provided four kings of Germany (1024–1125), all of whom went on to be crowned Holy Roman emperors (1027–1125).
After the death of the l ...
Emperor
An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...
Conrad II. He courted
Agnes of Poitou
Agnes of Poitou ( – 14 December 1077), was the queen of Germany from 1043 and empress of the Holy Roman Empire from 1046 until 1056 as the wife of Emperor Henry III. From 1056 to 1061, she ruled the Holy Roman Empire as regent during the m ...
on behalf of Conrad's son and successor
Emperor Henry III
Henry III (28 October 1016 – 5 October 1056), called the Black or the Pious, was Holy Roman Emperor from 1046 until his death in 1056. A member of the Salian dynasty, he was the eldest son of Conrad II and Gisela of Swabia.
Henry was raised by ...
. Bruno laid the corner-stone of
Würzburg Cathedral
Würzburg Cathedral (german: Würzburger Dom) is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Würzburg in Bavaria, Germany, dedicated to Saint Kilian. It is the seat of the Bishop of Würzburg and has served as the burial place for the Prince-Bishops of Würzb ...
, and in 1042 dedicated the
Abbey of St. Burchard, rebuilt by Abbot Willemund.
He also accompanied Henry on his second Hungarian Campaign, during which Bruno died in an accident at Persenbeug on the
Danube
The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...
in the present
Lower Austria
Lower Austria (german: Niederösterreich; Austro-Bavarian: ''Niedaöstareich'', ''Niedaestareich'') is one of the nine states of Austria, located in the northeastern corner of the country. Since 1986, the capital of Lower Austria has been Sankt P ...
.
Death
The retinue of Henry III had stopped at the residence of Countess Richlinde of Ebersberg, who was faced with the task of distributing the estate of her recently deceased husband Count Adalbero II of Ebersberg. During a great banquet given by the countess a load-bearing pillar supporting the banqueting hall broke, causing the entire floor to collapse. The king was only slightly hurt but the countess, Bishop Bruno and Abbot Altmann of
Ebersberg Abbey were so badly injured that they did not survive more than a few days. The Annals of
Niederaltaich add a legend to the story: before the feast, at the ''
Strudengau'' on the Danube near
Grein, the devil was supposed to have appeared to the bishop and threatened him already, but the bishop was able to repel him. Bruno's body was returned to his residence in Würzburg.
He was succeeded by his nephew,
Adalbero of Würzburg.
Burial and cultus
Many cathedrals were built in that period, and from 1040 Bruno began the construction of
Würzburg Cathedral
Würzburg Cathedral (german: Würzburger Dom) is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Würzburg in Bavaria, Germany, dedicated to Saint Kilian. It is the seat of the Bishop of Würzburg and has served as the burial place for the Prince-Bishops of Würzb ...
. The consecration of the
crypt
A crypt (from Latin ''crypta'' "vault") is a stone chamber beneath the floor of a church or other building. It typically contains coffins, sarcophagi, or religious relics.
Originally, crypts were typically found below the main apse of a chur ...
on 16 June 1045 was combined with his burial. Bruno was not formally
canonized
Canonization is the declaration of a deceased person as an officially recognized saint, specifically, the official act of a Christianity, Christian communion declaring a person worthy of Cult (religious practice), public veneration and enterin ...
by the Roman Catholic Church, but is nevertheless
revered as a
saint
In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of Q-D-Š, holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and Christian denomination, denominat ...
. His
feast day
The calendar of saints is the traditional Christian method of organizing a liturgical year by associating each day with one or more saints and referring to the day as the feast day or feast of said saint. The word "feast" in this context d ...
is May 17th (not the 27th, see Roman Martyrology).
Bruno wrote a well-known commentary on the
Psalms
The Book of Psalms ( or ; he, תְּהִלִּים, , lit. "praises"), also known as the Psalms, or the Psalter, is the first book of the ("Writings"), the third section of the Tanakh, and a book of the Old Testament. The title is derived ...
, to which he appended an analysis of ten Biblical hymns, consisting of extracts from the writings of the
Church Fathers
The Church Fathers, Early Church Fathers, Christian Fathers, or Fathers of the Church were ancient and influential Christian theologians and writers who established the intellectual and doctrinal foundations of Christianity. The historical per ...
.
References
Sources
* Peter Kolb and Ernst-Günther Krenig (eds.), 1989: ''Unterfränkische Geschichte'', pp. 229–232. Würzburg
External links
*
*
''Psalterium beati Brunonis episcopi herbipolensis'' (Nürnberg 1497 and Lipsiae 1533) digitised by www.digitale-sammlungen.de
Inkunabel ''Psalterium beati Brunonis episcopi herbipolensis'' (Anton Koberger, Nürnberg 1497) digitised by the Universidad de los Andes
* http://www.santiebeati.it/dettaglio/54850
*
*
digitalised by the University of the Andes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bruno of Wurzburg
Roman Catholic bishops of Würzburg
Salian dynasty
German Roman Catholic saints
11th-century German bishops
1045 deaths
11th-century Christian saints
Year of birth unknown