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Bruno the Great (german: Brun(o) von Sachsen, "Bruno of Saxony"; la, Bruno Magnus; May 925 – 11 October 965 AD) was
Archbishop of Cologne The Archbishop of Cologne is an archbishop governing the Archdiocese of Cologne of the Catholic Church in western North Rhine-Westphalia and is also a historical state in the Rhine holding the birthplace of Beethoven and northern Rhineland-Pala ...
''Religious Drama and Ecclesiastical Reform in the Tenth Century'', James H. Forse, ''Early Theatre'', Vol. 5, No. 2 (2002), 48. from 953 until his death and Duke of Lotharingia after 954. He was the brother of Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor.


Biography

Bruno was the youngest son of Henry the Fowler and his second wife
Matilda Matilda or Mathilda may refer to: Animals * Matilda (chicken) (1990–2006), World's Oldest Living Chicken record holder * Matilda (horse) (1824–1846), British Thoroughbred racehorse * Matilda, a dog of the professional wrestling tag-team The ...
. While he was still a child, it was decided that he should pursue a clerical career. In the early 940s he was educated in
Trier Trier ( , ; lb, Tréier ), formerly known in English as Trèves ( ;) and Triers (see also Names of Trier in different languages, names in other languages), is a city on the banks of the Moselle (river), Moselle in Germany. It lies in a valley b ...
by the leading scholar,
Israel the Grammarian Israel the Grammarian ( – c. 965) was one of the leading European scholars of the mid-tenth century. In the 930s, he was at the court of King Æthelstan of England (r. 924–39). After Æthelstan's death, Israel successfully sought the ...
. In 951, Otto appointed Bruno as his archchaplain. Bruno soon received further advancement. In 953, the Archbishopric of Cologne fell vacant just when
Conrad the Red Conrad ( – 10 August 955), called the Red (german: Konrad der Rote), was Duke of Lorraine from 944 until 953. He became the progenitor of the Imperial Salian dynasty. Life He was the son of Werner V (died about 935), a Franconian count in the ...
, Duke of Lotharingia and Otto's son-in-law, had joined a rebellion against Otto. By appointing Bruno to the vacant position, Otto provided himself with a powerful ally against Conrad (much of Lotharingia fell under the archdiocese of Cologne) just when he needed one most. By the next year, the rebellion had collapsed. Otto deposed Conrad as Duke of Lotharingia and appointed Bruno in his place. Bruno was to be almost the last duke of the whole of Lotharingia: in 959 two local nobles,
Godfrey Godfrey may refer to: People * Godfrey (name), a given name and surname * Godfrey (comedian), American comedian, actor Places In the United States * Godfrey, Georgia, an unincorporated community * Godfrey, Illinois, a village * Godfrey, Kansas, an ...
and Frederick, were appointed as margraves of Lower Lotharingia and
Upper Lotharingia The Duchy of Lorraine (french: Lorraine ; german: Lothringen ), originally Upper Lorraine, was a duchy now included in the larger present-day region of Lorraine in northeastern France. Its capital was Nancy. It was founded in 959 following th ...
respectively. Both margraves were recognised as dukes after Bruno's death. The two duchies were reunited between 1033 and 1044 under
Gothelo I, Duke of Lotharingia Gothelo (or Gozelo) ( 967 – 19 April 1044), called the Great, was the duke of Lower Lorraine from 1023 and of Upper Lorraine from 1033. He was also the margrave of Antwerp from 1005 (or 1008) and count of Verdun. Gothelo was the youngest son of ...
. The combined positions of archbishop and duke — or ''
archduke Archduke (feminine: Archduchess; German: ''Erzherzog'', feminine form: ''Erzherzogin'') was the title borne from 1358 by the Habsburg rulers of the Archduchy of Austria, and later by all senior members of that dynasty. It denotes a rank within ...
'', as his biographer Ruotger called him — made Bruno the most powerful man after Otto not just in Germany but also beyond its borders. After the deaths of Louis IV of West Francia in 954 and Hugh the Great, his most powerful feudatory, in 956, Bruno, as brother-in-law to both of them and maternal uncle to their heirs Lothair, the new king, and Hugh Capet, acted as regent of west Francia. From 962 onwards, Bruno was also appointed as Otto's regent in Germany while Otto was absent in Italy. Bruno died in
Reims Reims ( , , ; also spelled Rheims in English) is the most populous city in the French department of Marne, and the 12th most populous city in France. The city lies northeast of Paris on the Vesle river, a tributary of the Aisne. Founded by ...
in 965 and was buried in the monastery of St Pantaleon, which he had founded, just outside Cologne. Bruno's position in Cologne was little short of royal. Indeed, Otto delegated to Bruno and his successors as archbishop a number of normally royal privileges — the right to build fortifications and set up markets, to strike coins and collect (and keep) such taxes as the special ones on
Jew Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
s in return for royal protection, those on market trading and tolls from traffic along the Rhine. Even though Bruno's successors as archbishops would not be dukes as well, they would be the secular as well as the ecclesiastical rulers of Cologne until the
battle of Worringen The Battle of Worringen was fought on 5 June 1288 near the town of Worringen (also spelled Woeringen), which is now the northernmost borough of Cologne. It was the decisive battle of the War of the Limburg Succession, fought for the possession ...
three centuries later. Bruno's court in Cologne was the main intellectual and artistic centre of its period in Germany — far more so than that of his brother Otto, which was far more peripatetic and militarily oriented. Among others,
Ratherius Ratherius (887–890 AD – 974 AD) or Rathier or Rather of Verona was a teacher, writer, and bishop. His difficult personality and political activities led to his becoming an exile and a wanderer. Early life and career He was born sometime betw ...
and
Liutprand of Cremona Liutprand, also Liudprand, Liuprand, Lioutio, Liucius, Liuzo, and Lioutsios (c. 920 – 972),"LIUTPRAND OF CREMONA" in ''The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium'', Oxford University Press, New York & Oxford, 1991, p. 1241. was a historian, diplomat, ...
spent time at the court. Many of the next generation of German ecclesiastical leaders were educated at Bruno's court, like Everaclus of Liège, Gerard bishop of Toul, Wikfrid, bishop of Verdun, and
Theoderic Theodoric is a Germanic given name. First attested as a Gothic name in the 5th century, it became widespread in the Germanic-speaking world, not least due to its most famous bearer, Theodoric the Great, king of the Ostrogoths. Overview The name ...
, bishop of Metz. Bruno's effect on medieval Cologne was immense. Apart from building a palace, he extended the
cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the ''cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominat ...
to the point where it was regarded as rivalling St Peter's in Rome (this cathedral burned down in 1248 and was replaced by the current one). He brought the area between the old Roman walls and the Rhine within the city fortifications; and built new churches to Saint Martin of Tours within this area and to
Saint Andrew Andrew the Apostle ( grc-koi, Ἀνδρέᾱς, Andréās ; la, Andrēās ; , syc, ܐܰܢܕ݁ܪܶܐܘܳܣ, ʾAnd’reʾwās), also called Saint Andrew, was an apostle of Jesus according to the New Testament. He is the brother of Simon Peter ...
just outside the northern city wall and a
Benedictine monastery , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , found ...
dedicated to St Pantaleon to the south-west of the city. Bruno translated St. Patroclus'
relics In religion, a relic is an object or article of religious significance from the past. It usually consists of the physical remains of a saint or the personal effects of the saint or venerated person preserved for purposes of veneration as a tangi ...
from
Troyes Troyes () is a commune and the capital of the department of Aube in the Grand Est region of north-central France. It is located on the Seine river about south-east of Paris. Troyes is situated within the Champagne wine region and is near to ...
and buried them in 964 at St Patrokli Dom in Soest, where Patroclus is still today venerated.


See also

* Saint Bruno the Great, patron saint archive


Notes


References

*
Timothy Reuter Timothy Alan Reuter (25 January 1947 – 14 October 2002), grandson of the former mayor of Berlin Ernst Reuter, was a German-British historian who specialized in the study of medieval Germany, particularly the social, military and ecclesiastical ...
, ''Germany in the early Middle Ages'' (1991, Longman. ) * Pierre Riché, ''The Carolingians: a family who forged Europe'' (translator Michael Idomir Allen, 1993, University of Pennsylvania Press. ) * Carl Dietmar and Werner Jung, ''Kleine illustrierte Geschichte der Stadt Köln'' (9th edition, 2002, J. P. Bachem Verlag, Köln. ) * Cora E. Lutz, ''Schoolmasters of the Tenth Century''. Archon Books 1977.


External links


Santiebeati.it
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bruno the Great
Bruno I Bruno, also called Brun or Braun ( 2 February 880), a member of the Ottonian dynasty, was Duke of Saxony from 866 until his death. He is rated as an ancestor of the Brunonids, a cadet branch of the Ottonians, though an affiliation is uncertain. ...
Bruno I Bruno, also called Brun or Braun ( 2 February 880), a member of the Ottonian dynasty, was Duke of Saxony from 866 until his death. He is rated as an ancestor of the Brunonids, a cadet branch of the Ottonians, though an affiliation is uncertain. ...
Bruno 1 German Roman Catholic saints Saints from East Francia Dukes of Lorraine 10th-century archbishops in Holy Roman Empire 10th-century Christian saints 10th-century rulers in Europe Ottonian dynasty Sons of kings