Bruno of Querfurt

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A medieval fresco depicting st.Bruno's death

Saint Bruno of Querfurt (c. 970 – February 14, 1009), also known as Brun and Boniface, is sometimes called the Apostle of the Prussians.

Life

Noble Born

Bruno was from a noble family of Querfurt, Saxony. He is said to have been a relative of the Holy Roman Emperor Otto III. At the age of six he was sent to be educated in Magdeburg, seat of Saint Adalbert. While still a youth he was made a canon of Magdeburg cathedral.

Age of 15

The fifteen-year-old Otto III made Bruno a part of his royal court. While in Rome for Otto's imperial coronation, Bruno met Adalbert of Prague, who was martyred a year later. Bruno spent much time at the monastery where Adalbert had become a monk and where abbot John Canaparius wrote a life of Saint Adalbert . Bruno entered a monastery near Ravenna, founded by Otto, and underwent severe ascetic training under the guidance of St. Romuald.

Papal Appointment

The pope appointed Bruno to mission among the pagan peoples of eastern Europe. Because of conflict between the Empire and Boleslaus I, duke of Poland, Bruno set out from Mainz for Hungary. There he went to the places that Saint Adalbert of Prague had attended.

Resistance of Greek Monks in Hungary

Bruno tried to convert the leader of "Black Hungary" named Achtum or Axum, but he encountered strong opposition, including that of the Greek monks there.

Journey to the Black Sea

After this failure, Bruno went to Kiev, where Grand Duke Vladimir I authorised him to make converts among the Pechenegs north of the Black Sea between the Danube and the Don rivers. The Pechenegs were considered the fiercest of all the pagan peoples, but Bruno spent five months there and baptized many. He helped to bring about a peace treaty between them and the Kiev ruler.

Journey to Poland

After consecrating a bishop of the area he went to Poland.

In Poland he consecrated a bishop from Sweden. While there he found out that his friend Benedict and four companions had been killed by robbers in 1003.

Wrote the History of the Five Martyred Brothers

Bruno took eyewitness accounts and wrote down a touching history of the so-called Five Martyred Brothers.

Exhortation for Clemency towards Boleslaus I

In 1008 Bruno wrote a letter to Henry II.. Exhorting him to show clemency towards Boleslaus I.

Attempted to Found a Mission in Prussia

At the end of 1008 Bruno and eighteen companions set out to found a mission among the Prussians, but met with little success. They then traveled to the north-east, preaching everywhere they went.

Journey to Lithuania

On February 14, 1009 at the Baltic Sea coast near Braunsberg they were beheaded. Annals of the monastery of Quedlinburg wrote about it. It was the first time Lithuania was mentioned. Duke Boleslaus bought the bodies and had them brought to Poland. They were laid probably in Przemyśl south-east of Poland where historians place Bruno's diocese.

Soon after his death Bruno and his companions were revered as martyrs and Saint Bruno was canonized.

Historical Basis for his Existence

Archaeological work conducted in 1961 found XI century chapel in the underground of the current latin basilica. There were 19 bodies found there including one buried in special niche in the wall of the chapel.

The city of Braunsberg (earlier Brunsberg) in East Prussia was named for Saint Bruno.

Saint Bruno of Querfurt is unlikely to be the same Saint Bruno that witnessed the miracle of the Doctor of Paris in 1038 AD - now known as the Legend of Cenodoxus - and which inspired him to found the Brotherhood of Carthusia outside of Paris.

References

• [Article at Catholic Encyclopedia]

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