Werner of Steusslingen () was the

bishop of Münster A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of dioceses. The role ...

from 1132 until 1151. Werner was probably related to the lords of

Arnstedt Arnstedt is a village and a former municipality in the Mansfeld-Südharz district, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea ...

and . His uncles Anno of Steusslingen and Werner of Steusslingen were archbishops of Cologne and Magdeburg, respectively. From Anno he received a

canonry Canon () is a Christian title usually used to refer to a member of certain bodies in subject to an canon law, ecclesiastical rule. Originally, a canon was a cleric living with others in a clergy house or, later, in one of the houses within the p ...

Xanten Xanten (, Low Rhenish: ''Santen'') is a town in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located in the district of Wesel. Xanten is known for the Archaeological Park, one of the largest archaeological open air museums in the ...

and from Werner

prebend A prebendary is a member of the Catholic or Anglican clergy, a form of canon with a role in the administration of a cathedral or collegiate church. When attending services, prebendaries sit in particular seats, usually at the back of the choir ...

s in

Halberstadt Halberstadt (; Eastphalian dialect, Eastphalian: ''Halverstidde'') is a town in the state of Saxony-Anhalt in central Germany, the capital of Harz (district), Harz district. Located north of the Harz mountain range, it is known for its old town ...

and

Hildesheim Hildesheim (; or ; ) is a city in Lower Saxony, in north-central Germany with 101,693 inhabitants. It is in the district of Hildesheim (district), Hildesheim, about southeast of Hanover on the banks of the Innerste River, a small tributary of t ...

cathedrals.Wilhelm Kohl, ''Das Bistum Münster, 7: Die Diözese, 1'', Germania Sacra, Neue Folge 37.1 (De Gruyter, 1999), pp. 97–100. Marienfeld Wadenhartkapelle

Werner's election as bishop in 1132 was supported by the Emperor

Lothair III Lothair III, sometimes numbered Lothair II and also known as Lothair of Supplinburg ( June 1075 – 4 December 1137), was Holy Roman Emperor from 1133 until his death. He was appointed Duke of Saxony in 1106 and elected King of Germany in 1125 b ...

and Archbishop Bruno II of Cologne. His religious ideas were shaped by the reformers

Bernard of Clairvaux Bernard of Clairvaux, Cistercians, O.Cist. (; 109020 August 1153), venerated as Saint Bernard, was an abbot, Mysticism, mystic, co-founder of the Knights Templar, and a major leader in the reform of the Benedictines through the nascent Cistercia ...

and

Norbert of Xanten Norbert of Xanten, O. Praem (c. 1080 – 6 June 1134), also known as Norbert Gennep, was a German Catholic bishop who was the Archbishopric of Magdeburg, Archbishop of Magdeburg, founder of the Premonstratensian order of canons regular, and is ...

. He was a patron of monastic foundations, especially the

Premonstratensians The Order of Canons Regular of Prémontré (), also known as the Premonstratensians, the Norbertines and, in United Kingdom, Britain and Ireland, as the White Canons (from the colour of their religious habit, habit), is a religious order of cano ...

. Early in his episcopate, Werner made donations to the

Überwasserkirche Überwasserkirche () is the common name of a Gothic architecture, Gothic hall church in Münster, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is a ''Liebfrauenkirche'' (Church of Our Dear Lady), dedicated to Mary, mother of Jesus, St. Mary. Officially St. ...

. He was less generous to the secular clergy of his diocese, but a grant of wine he made to the canons of

Münster Cathedral Münster Cathedral or St.-Paulus-Dom is the cathedral church of the Catholic Diocese of Münster in Germany, and is dedicated to Saint Paul. It is counted among the most significant church buildings in Münster and, along with the Historical ...

in 1137 remained one of their perquisites as late as 1574. In 1134, Werner gave the chapel of Wadenhart to Liesborn Abbey. In 1137, he consecrated a chapel at , which later fell to the congregation of the Überwasserkirche. In 1142, he confirmed the foundation of by his own

ministerialis The ''ministeriales'' (singular: ''ministerialis'') were a legally unfree but socially elite class of knights, administrators, and officials in the High Middle Ages in the Holy Roman Empire, drawn from a mix of servile origins, free commoners, and ...

, Liudbert von Holenbeck. Werner was also generous to and above all to Cappenberg Abbey. He helped facilitate the transfer of lower body from to Cappenberg, where it arrived on 12 February 1149. He himself solemnly raised the venerated relics in the church on 16 September 1150. In 1151, he founded the Premonstratensian double house of . Werner built the to defend his diocese's property in . He attended Lothair III's court regularly and that of

Conrad III Conrad III (; ; 1093 or 1094 – 15 February 1152) of the Hohenstaufen dynasty was from 1116 to 1120 Duke of Franconia, from 1127 to 1135 anti-king of his predecessor Lothair III, and from 1138 until his death in 1152 King of the Romans in the ...

in 1140, 1142, 1143 and 1149. At the

diet Diet may refer to: Food * Diet (nutrition), the sum of the food consumed by an organism or group * Dieting, the deliberate selection of food to control body weight or nutrient intake ** Diet food, foods that aid in creating a diet for weight loss ...

held in

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

on 3 April 1138, he vocally backed the recently elected Conrad. Perhaps because of the leadership of a Premonstratensian,

Anselm of Havelberg Anselm of Havelberg (c. 1100 – 1158) was a German bishop, statesman, secular and religious ambassador to Constantinople. He was a Premonstratensian, a defender of his order, a critic of the monastic life of his time, and a theorist of Chris ...

, Werner participated in the

Wendish Crusade The Wendish Crusade () was a military campaign in 1147, one of the Northern Crusades, led primarily by the Kingdom of Germany within the Holy Roman Empire and directed against the Polabian Slavs (or "Wends"). The Wends were made up of the Slavic ...

of 1147. Werner died on 1 December 1151. Although he had intended to be buried in the cathedral as of 1137, he was actually buried in Cappenberg.

References

{{reflist 1151 deaths 12th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the Holy Roman Empire Christians of the Wendish Crusade