Stephan Bodecker (1384 – 15 February 1459) was the 37th

Bishop of Brandenburg The Prince-Bishopric of Brandenburg (german: Hochstift Brandenburg) was an ecclesiastical principality of the Holy Roman Empire from the 12th century until it was secularized during the second half of the 16th century. It should not be confused wi ...

and a

Christian Hebraist A Christian Hebraist is a scholar of Hebrew who comes from a Christian family background/belief, or is a Jewish adherent of Christianity. The main area of study is that commonly known as the Old Testament to Christians (and Tanakh to Jews), but C ...

. He is known as the most important of the bishops of Brandenburg. He was born the son of a poor

cooper Cooper, Cooper's, Coopers and similar may refer to: * Cooper (profession), a maker of wooden casks and other staved vessels Arts and entertainment * Cooper (producers), alias of Dutch producers Klubbheads * Cooper (video game character), in ...

from

Rathenow Rathenow () is a town in the district of Havelland in Brandenburg, Germany, with a population of 24,063 (2020). Overview The Protestant church of St. Marien Andreas, originally a basilica, and transformed to the Gothic style in 1517-1589, and the ...

, a small town on the river

Havel The Havel () is a river in northeastern Germany, flowing through the states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Brandenburg, Berlin and Saxony-Anhalt. It is a right tributary of the Elbe and long. However, the direct distance from its source to its mo ...

around 20 miles north of

Brandenburg an der Havel Brandenburg an der Havel () is a town in Brandenburg, Germany, which served as the capital of the Margraviate of Brandenburg until it was replaced by Berlin in 1417. With a population of 72,040 (as of 2020), it is located on the banks of the H ...

. The very gifted young Bodecker studied arts, philosophy and law at the universities of

Erfurt Erfurt () is the capital and largest city in the Central German state of Thuringia. It is located in the wide valley of the Gera river (progression: ), in the southern part of the Thuringian Basin, north of the Thuringian Forest. It sits i ...

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as wel ...

and

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

and became a well known scholar and adviser to the Brandenburgian

margrave Margrave was originally the medieval title for the military commander assigned to maintain the defence of one of the border provinces of the Holy Roman Empire or of a kingdom. That position became hereditary in certain feudal families in the Emp ...

s. As bishop of Brandenburg he became a Prince of the Empire, thus having a very unusual career for the Middle Ages. Bishop Bodecker was a knowledgeable friend and strong defender of the discriminated Jews in

Brandenburg Brandenburg (; nds, Brannenborg; dsb, Bramborska ) is a states of Germany, state in the northeast of Germany bordering the states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony, as well as the country of Poland. With an ar ...

. Furthermore, he reorganized the diocese, which was in a chaotic state when he took office. Bishop Bodecker was a member of the order of

Premonstratensian The Order of Canons Regular of Prémontré (), also known as the Premonstratensians, the Norbertines and, in Britain and Ireland, as the White Canons (from the colour of their habit), is a religious order of canons regular of the Catholic Church ...

s. He is buried in the Cathedral of Ss. Peter and Paul in Brandenburg.

References

* Annette Wigger. ''Stephan Bodeker, O. Praem, Bischof von Brandenburg (1421-1459), Leben, Wirken und ausgewählte Werke.'' Frankfurt, Peter Lang 1992. * John, James J. ''The University Career of Bishop Stephen Bodeker (1348-1459) of Brandenburg. With the Text of his Repetition on the Judge and his Conscience.'' In: Domonkos, Leslie S.; Schneider, Robert J. ubl. ''Studium generale. Studies offered to Astrik Ladislas Gabriel.'' Notre Dame, Ind. 1967, p. 131-147. * ''Jewish Encyclopedia'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Bodecker, Stephan 15th-century German Roman Catholic bishops Christian Hebraists 1384 births 1459 deaths