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

. 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