Смерць
Бруна, фрэска з абацтва Святога Крыжа на Лысай гары ў Польшчы. Невядомы аўтар.
A
medieval fresco depicting St. Bruno's death. Author unknown.
Fresk z opactwa Św. Krzyż przedstawiający śmierć Brunona z Kwerfurtu
Saint Bruno ou Brunon
de Querfurt, évêque et martyr
Apparenté à la famille
impériale germanique, Bruno se rend à Rome où il entre au monastère bénédictin
de l'Aventin. Plus tard il se mettra sous la conduite de saint Romuald à
Ravenne. Le Pape Sylvestre II l'envoie évangéliser la Ruthénie et c'est là, en 1009,
qu'avec 18 de ses compagnons, il offre sa vie en sacrifice pour la conversion
et le salut des païens.
SOURCE : http://www.paroisse-saint-aygulf.fr/index.php/prieres-et-liturgie/saints-par-mois/icalrepeat.detail/2015/03/09/13431/-/saint-bruno-ou-brunon-de-querfurt-eveque-et-martyr
Saint Bruno de Querfurt
Evêque de Querfurt,
martyr (+ 1009)
Brunon ou Boniface.
Apparenté à la famille
impériale germanique, il se rend à Rome où il entre au monastère bénédictin de
l'Aventin. Plus tard il se mettra sous la conduite de saint Romuald à Ravenne.
Le Pape Sylvestre II l'envoie évangéliser la Ruthénie et c'est là qu'avec 18 de
ses compagnons, il offre sa vie en sacrifice pour la conversion et le salut des
païens.
9 mars: Dans la Moravie
orientale, en 1009, saint Bruno, évêque de Querfurt et martyr. Alors qu’il
accompagnait en Italie l’empereur Othon III, il fut remué par l’autorité de
saint Romuald, il se livra à sa règle de vie en recevant le nom de Boniface,
puis il retourna en Allemagne, ordonné évêque des païens par le pape Jean X et,
dans une de ses courses missionnaires, il fut massacré par des idolâtres avec
dix-huit compagnons.
Martyrologe romain
SOURCE : http://nominis.cef.fr/contenus/saint/1346/Saint-Bruno-de-Querfurt.html
San Brunone Bonifacio di Querfurt
Bruno's
fountain in Querfurt (district of Saalekreis, Saxony-Anhalt), associated with a
legend about Saint Bruno of Querfurt
Brunsbrunnen in Querfurt, wird mit einer Legende über den heiligen Brun von Querfurt in Verbindung gebracht
San Brunone Bonifacio di Querfurt
Bruno's
fountain in Querfurt (district of Saalekreis, Saxony-Anhalt), associated with a
legend about Saint Bruno of Querfurt
Brunsbrunnen
in Querfurt, wird mit einer Legende über den heiligen Brun von Querfurt in Verbindung gebracht
Bruno de Querfurt
974-1009
Il naquit vers 974 à
Querfurt (Saxe, Allemagne N), de parents de haute lignée.
C’est à Magdeburg qu’il
étudia, à l’école cathédrale, sous la direction de saint Adalbert (Vojtěch de
Prague, v. 23 avril).
Ces deux précédents,
familial et ecclésiastique, firent que Bruno fut bientôt chanoine de la
cathédrale de Magdeburg.
Il fut donc invité à la
cour impériale et devint le chapelain d’Otto III ; entre eux se serra une
profonde amitié.
L’année du martyre de
saint Adalbert (997), Bruno avait vingt-trois ans et il accompagna à Rome
l’empereur qui voulait y faire un pèlerinage et bâtir là une église sur l’île
Tiberina, en l’honneur du Martyr.
Bruno resta à Rome
jusqu’en 1001 et y prit l’habit bénédictin à l’abbaye Saint-Boniface (où avait
été moine saint Adalbert), puis rendit visite à saint Romuald (v. 19 juin) dans
son ermitage proche de Ravenne.
Il se porta alors
volontaire pour l’évangélisation de la Prusse, alors territoire de Pologne, sur
la demande du roi Boleslas et, dans ce but, alla recevoir du pape sa mission :
il fut nommé archevêque des Gentils, mais pas encore consacré. C’est
peut-être alors qu’il prit le nom de Bonifatius, en souvenir de l’apôtre
de la Germanie, saint Boniface (v. 5 juin).
L’Allemagne étant alors
entrée en guerre avec la Pologne, il chercha à passer en Hongrie (1003-1004),
sans grand succès, puis alla recevoir la consécration épiscopale à Magdeburg en
1004.
En 1007, Bruno repassa en
Hongrie, puis en Russie du Sud, où il fit beaucoup de conversions. A partir de
1008, il gagna la Pologne. Il fit tous ses efforts pour apaiser la tension
entre le nouvel empereur d’Allemagne, Henri II, et Boleslas, leur montrant combien
il était pernicieux de s’affronter au moment où justement un missionnaire
allemand cherchait à convertir cette région de Prusse. Les vues d’Henri II
n’étaient que politiques, visant à unifier et pacifier toutes ces régions
instables, mais sans penser qu’il pouvait atteindre le même but pacifique en
s’unissant à Boleslas dans l’effort de celui-ci de convertir sa nation. Malgré
cette erreur, Henri II fut canonisé (v. 13 juillet), et Boleslas sortit
vainqueur de la situation, affermissant ainsi le royaume chrétien de Pologne.
Si ses interventions
n’aboutirent pas, Bruno eut tout de même la joie de commencer l’évangélisation
des Prussiens. C’est cette année-là qu’il écrivit une Passio sancti Alberti,
ainsi qu’une autre Passio de cinq Martyrs tombés quelques années plus
tôt, également en Pologne.
Bruno n’eut que le temps
de semer le bon grain : sur l’ordre d’un prince païen de Ruthénie, on le fit
mourir avec dix-huit Compagnons, le 9 mars 1009.
On ne connaît pas le nom
de ces Compagnons.
Saint Bruno de Querfurt
est commémoré le 9 mars dans le Martyrologe Romain.
SOURCE : http://www.samuelephrem.eu/article-03-09-115924058.html
Bruno
of Querfurt Sanctuary in Giżycko.
Sanktuarium
św Brunona w Giźycku. Kościół zbudowany w latach 1936-1938
Also
known as
Boniface
Brun
Apostle of Livonia
Second Apostle of
the Prussians
19 June as
Boniface of Querfort
formerly 15
October
Profile
Great-uncle of Saint Bruno
of Wurzburg. In 996 he
accompanied Emperor Otto III to Rome, Italy where
he met Saint Adalbert
of Prague. Spiritual student of Saint Romuald and Saint Adalbert
of Magdeburg. Wrote a
biography of Saint Adalbert,
and of the martyred monks known
as The Five Polish Brothers. Head of the School of
Magdeburg. Chaplain of Emperor Otto III. Benedictine Camaldolese monk,
taking the name Boniface in 997. Archbishop to
the Slavs in Merseburg (in modern Germany)
in 1004. Evangelized Hungarians,
Petsbenges, Prussians and Russians. Martyr.
He is listed with two feast days because
he was known in some areas by his given name (Bruno), and in some by his cloistered name
(Boniface).
Born
c.970 at
Querfort (in modern Germany)
as Bruno
beheaded by pagan Prussians in 1009
crossing a red-hot furnace
blessing the chalice of
the Mass with
his hands cut off
Additional
Information
Book
of Saints, by the Monks of
Ramsgate
Lives
of the Saints, by Father Alban
Butler
Saints
of the Day, by Katherine Rabenstein
books
Our Sunday Visitor’s Encyclopedia of Saints
Patron Saints and Their Feast Days, by the Australian Catholic
Truth Society
other
sites in english
Medieval Religion Listserv, by John Dillon
images
sitios
en español
Martirologio Romano, 2001 edición
fonti
in italiano
Martirologio Romano, 2005 edition
websites
in nederlandse
nettsteder
i norsk
spletne
strani v slovenšcini
MLA
Citation
“Saint Bruno of
Querfort“. CatholicSaints.Info. 18 June 2024. Web. 24 June 2024. <https://catholicsaints.info/saint-bruno-of-querfort/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/saint-bruno-of-querfort/
Kościół
św. Brunona, Bartoszyce
Saint
Bruno of Querfurt church in Bartoszyce
Book of Saints –
Boniface – 19 June
Article
BONIFACE (Saint) Bishop
(June 19) (11th century) The Apostle of Livonia and of the West of Russia,
better known as Saint Bruno. He succeeded Saint Adalbert of Prague in the
headship of the School of Magdeburg, and was for some time chaplain to his
relative, the Emperor Otho III. Leaving the Imperial Court, he entered the
Camaldolese Order of monks, and retired to Italy. Thenceforward he lived in
solitude till, by order of Pope John XVIII, he took up the work of evangelising
the Northern countries. With great gain of souls he preached in Poland and
succeeded in penetrating into Russia proper, where however, he fell a victim to
the fury of the heathen. He was seized, and with eighteen Christians, his
fellow-workers, beheaded A.D. 1009.
MLA
Citation
Monks of Ramsgate.
“Boniface”. Book of Saints, 1921. CatholicSaints.Info. 5
September 2012.
Web. 24 June 2024.
<http://catholicsaints.info/book-of-saints-boniface-19-june/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/book-of-saints-boniface-19-june/
Saints of the Day – Bruno (Boniface)
of Querfurt, O.S.B., Camaldolese, Bishop, Martyr
Born
at Querfurt, Germany, in 974; died at Braunsberg, Germany, on February 14,
1009; the Roman Martyrology also shows his feast as Bruno on October 15. Born
into a noble Saxon family, Saint Bruno studied at the cathedral school of
Magdeburg. He joined the court of Otto III, was made court chaplain, an
accompanied the emperor to Rome c.998. Near Ravenna, he received the habit of a
Camaldolese monk from the founder Saint Romuald and the name Boniface. The
following year he entered a monastery at Pereum founded by Otto. When two of
its monks, Benedict and John, and three companions (the Five Martyred Brothers
whose story he wrote) were martyred in 1003 at Kazimierz, near Gniezno, Romuald
sent Boniface as a missionary to Germany. He was appointed missionary
archbishop, preached to the Magyars with considerable success, and then went to
Kiev to preach to the Pechenegs. He eventually worked to evangelize the
Prussians, and on February 14, he and 18 companions were massacred on the
Russian border near Braunsberg, Poland. He is often called “the Second Apostle
of the Prussians” (Benedictines, Delaney).
MLA Citation
Katherine
I Rabenstein. Saints of the Day, 1998. CatholicSaints.Info. 18 June
2024. Web. 24 June 2024.
<https://catholicsaints.info/saints-of-the-day-bruno-boniface-of-querfurt-o-s-b-camaldolese-bishop-martyr/>
Kościół
pw. Brunona z Kwerfurtu w Łomży
June
19
St.
Boniface, Archbishop and Martyr
[Of
the Order of Camaldoli, and Apostle of Russia.] BRUNO, called
also Boniface, was by extraction a nobleman of the first rank in Saxony, and
agreeable to his high birth was his education in the study of the liberal arts,
under Guido the philosopher, and other great masters. From his very cradle,
piety was the predominant inclination of his heart, and he received very young
the clerical tonsure. The Emperor Otho III. called him to his court, and
appointed him his chaplain, with the superintendency and care of the imperial
chapel. So much was this prince taken with the virtue of the young saint, and
with the sweetness of his disposition, that he placed in him an entire
confidence, could not forbear publicly testifying on every occasion his tender
affection and esteem for him, and usually called him his soul. Boniface was not
at all puffed up with his favour, and armed himself against the smiles of
prosperity by the constant practice of self-denial, and by the most profound
humility. Seeing himself surrounded with vanities and delights, he was sensible
that he stood in need of the stronger antidotes to preserve himself from their
dangerous poison. His tender devotion, and his affection for holy prayer,
especially for the public service of the church, are not to be expressed. And
by his watchfulness and fervour he found his sanctification in the very place
where so many others lose their virtue. One day as the saint was going into a
church dedicated to St. Boniface, the bishop of Mentz, and martyr, he felt his
heart suddenly inflamed with an ardent desire to lay down his life for Christ,
and in a pious transport, he said to himself: “Am not I also called Boniface?
Why may not I be a martyr of Jesus Christ as he was, whose intercession is
implored in this place?” From that time he never ceased sighing after the glory
of shedding his blood for Him who redeemed us by his most precious death. St.
Romuald coming to the emperor’s court in 998, Boniface, charmed with his
saintly deportment, begged to be admitted into his Order, and received the
habit. It was with the greatest regret that the emperor saw him quit his court;
but he thought he could not oppose his holy resolution, lest by so doing he
should incur the divine displeasure.
Boniface
inherited the spirit, and all the admirable virtues of the great St. Romuald.
He who had been accustomed to sleep on soft beds, to wear rich garments of
silk, and to eat at the table of an emperor to whom he was most dear; he who
had long seen himself environed with the pomp and splendour of the world, and
had been the first and the most favoured of the courtiers, and of all the
princes of the empire; contented himself with one poor coarse habit, walked
barefoot, knew no other food than insipid roots and pulse, worked with his
hands, earned his bread with the sweat of his brow, led a retired life, lay on
straw or boards, and often, after having worked all day, passed the whole or
the greater part of the night in prayer. He often ate only twice a week, on
Sundays and Thursdays, and sometimes rolled himself among nettles and thorns;
so that no part of his body was without wounds and pain, to punish his flesh
for what he called a neglect of penance and mortification in his youth. He with
David continually begged of God, that by his grace he would confirm him in the
good purpose which he had begun in his soul, and he marched a giant’s pace in
the road of perfection. Having spent some years, first at Mount Cassino,
afterwards under the direction of St. Romuald at Piræum, near Ravenna, and
lastly, in an eremitical life, he obtained his superior’s leave to go and
preach the gospel to the infidels. He therefore went to Rome barefoot, singing
psalms all the way, and allowing himself no other sustenance than half a pound
of bread a day, with water, and on Sundays and holidays a small quantity of roots
or fruit. When he had arrived at Rome, Pope John XVIII. approved his design,
gave him all necessary faculties, and obliged him to accept a brief, directing
that he should be ordained archbishop as soon as he should open his mission.
Boniface offered himself to God as a victim ready to be sacrificed for the
salvation of his brethren; and in these fervent sentiments travelled into
Germany in the depth of a severe winter. He on that occasion sometimes made use
of a horse, but always rode or walked barefoot, and it was often necessary to
thaw his feet with warm water before he could draw them out of the stirrups in
which they were frozen.
The
saint went to Mersbourg to sue for the protection of St. Henry II., emperor of
Germany; which having readily obtained, he was consecrated bishop by Taymont,
archbishop of Magdeburg, who conferred on him the pall which Boniface himself
had brought from Rome. The holy prelate, notwithstanding the fatigues of his
missions, continued his severe fasts and watchings, and devoted all his time on
his journeys to prayer, especially to the reciting of the psalms, in which he
found great sweetness and delight. His desire to rescue souls from the
blindness of sin and idolatry seemed insatiable; and the savage inhabitants of
Prussia appearing to be the fiercest and most obstinate in their malice, he
made them the first objects of his zeal. Boleslas, duke of Poland, and many
great lords, made him rich presents; all which he gave to the churches and to
the poor, reserving nothing for himself. He would have only heaven for the
recompense of his labours: everything else appeared unworthy of his ministry,
and too much beneath what he hoped: he even feared that it might diminish his
eternal reward, or infect his heart. It was in the twelfth year after his
conversion from the world that he entered Prussia. But the time of the visit of
the Lord was not yet come for the idolaters of that country. Boniface desired
at least to die a martyr among them; but they remembering that the martyrdom
and subsequent miracles of St. Adalbert of Prague had been an inducement to
many to embrace the faith, refused him the wished-for happiness of sealing his
love for Christ with his blood. Boniface being thus repulsed, left Prussia, and
advancing to the borders of Russia on the other side of Poland, began there
with great zeal to announce the gospel. 1 The Bollandists think 2 that in his mission in Prussia
he converted to the faith the Livonians and Samogitians.
The
Russians at that time were all barbarous idolaters, and had abated nothing of
their ancient ferocity when St. Boniface undertook to plant the gospel among
them. They sent him an order to leave their territories, and forbade him to
preach the faith in their dominions. The saint paid no regard to this
prohibition, and as he advanced into the country, the king of a small province
was desirous to hear him. But when he saw him barefoot, and meanly clad, he
treated him with contempt, and would not hear him speak. The holy bishop
withdrew, and having put on a plain suit of clothes which he carried with him
to say mass in, returned to the court. The king told him he would believe in
Christ, if he could see him walk through a great fire without receiving any
hurt. The saint, by a divine inspiration, undertook to perform the miracle in
presence of the king, who seeing him miraculously preserved amidst the flames,
desired to be instructed in the faith, and was baptized with many others. The
barbarians were alarmed at this progress of the gospel, and threatened the
saint if he proceeded further into their country. But words could not daunt him
who thirsted after nothing more earnestly than the glory of martyrdom. The
infidels soon after seized and beheaded him, with eighteen companions, in the
year 1009. The Roman Martyrology proposes him to our veneration on this day,
and again under the name of Bruno on the 15th of October, probably on account
of some translation. 3 See his life in Mabillon, Act.
Ord. S. Bened. sæc. 6. p. 79. and St. Peter Damian in his life of St. Romuald.
Also the Bollandists, t. 3. Junij, p. 907.
Note
1. The Russi or Rutheni derived their
pedigree from the Roxolani mentioned by Strabo, Mela, and Pliny; by whom we are
informed that they were the most northern people of European Scythia that were
known to the Romans, being situated beyond the Borysthenes at the back of the
Getæ, whom the Romans called Daci. Their territory lay west to the Alani, and
their name seems originally to have been Roxi or Rossi Alani. The word Rosscia
in the Russian language signifies a scattering or dispersion, and this people
were called Russi, because they lived dispersed in the fields and woods, often
changing their habitations, like their neighbours the Nomades, and the
wandering Tartars at this day. Whence Procopius, (l. 3, de Bello Gothico, c.
14,) by translating their name into Greek, calls them Spori or scattered. See
the etymology clearly proved by Herbersteinius in Comment, rerum Muscovit. by
Hoffman, in Lexic. and by Jos. Assemani, Origin, Sclavorum, c. 3, p. 222. The
name Roxolani was softened into Russia and Rutheni by the writers of the ninth
and tenth centuries; for so they are called by Luitprand, bishop of Cremona, in
968, by the Annals of St. Bertin, and by the Greeks, as Nicetas in the Life of
St. Ignatius, Simeon Metaphrastes in his Chronicon, and the continuator of
Theophanes. At this day all those nations are called Russians, which use the
Sclavonian, not the Greek tongue, in the divine office, yet follow the rites of
the Greek Church, as the Muscovites, and certain provinces subject to Poland;
some of which are Catholics, and others adhere to the Greek schism.
N. B.—Bayer, who wrote De Origin. Scythar. in Comm. Acad.
Petropolit. t. 1, p. 390, is very inaccurate in his Origines Russicæ. [back]
Note 2. Bolland, t. 3. Junij, p. 908, § 2, n.
8. [back]
Note
3. Some authors have distinguished this St.
Bruno, or rather Brun, and St. Boniface; but the life of St. Brun in Ditmar,
compared with that of St. Boniface, given by St. Peter Damian, demonstrates the
identity of the person. And the Chronicle of Magdeburg expressly names him
Brun, called Boniface. [back]
Rev. Alban Butler
(1711–73). Volume VI: June. The Lives of the Saints. 1866.
Menší
moderní kostel v severní části města Elblągu - na ulici Kosynierów Gdyńskich
Bruno
of Querfurt church in Elbląg, at Kosynierów Gdyńskich street
Elblag, ul.
Kosynierów Gdyńskich 61 - rzymskokatolicki kościół parafialny pw. św. Brunona z
Kwerfurtu
St. Bruno of Querfurt
(Also called BRUN and
BONIFACE).
Second Apostle of
the Prussians and martyr,
born about 970; died 14 February, 1009. He is generally represented with a hand
cut off, and is commemorated on 15 October. Bruno was a member of the
noble family of
Querfurt and is commonly said to have been a relative of the Emperor Otto
III, although Hefele (inKirchenlex., II, s.v. Bruno)
emphatically denies this. When hardly six years old he was sent
to Archbishop Adalbert of Magdeburg to
be educated and
had the learned Geddo as his teacher in the cathedral school.
He was a well-behaved, industrious scholar, while still a lad he was made
a canon of the cathedral.
The fifteen year-old Otto
III became attached to Bruno, made him one of his court, and took
him to Rome when
the young emperor went there in 996 to be crowned.
At Rome Bruno became
acquainted with St.
Adalbert Archbishop of Prague,
who was murdered a
year later by the pagan Prussians to
whom he had gone as a missionary. After Adalbert's death Bruno was
tied with an intense desire for martyrdom.
He spent much of has time in themonastery on
the Aventine where Adalbert had become a monk,
and where Abbot Johannes Canaparius wrote a life
of Adalbert. Bruno, however, did not enter the monastic
life here, but in the monastery of Pereum,
an island in the swamps near Ravenna.
Pereum was under the rule
of the founder of the Camaldoli reform, St.
Romuald, a saint who had great influence over
the Emperor Otto
III. Under the guidance of St. Romuald Bruno underwent a
severe ascetic training; it included manual work, fasting all
week except Sunday and Thursday, night vigils, and scourging on
the bare back; in addition Bruno suffered greatly from fever. He
found much pleasure in the friendship of a brother of the same age as
himself, Benedict of Benevento,
who shared his cell and who was one with him inmind and spirit.
The Emperor Otto
III desired to convert the lands; between the Elbe and the
Oder, which were occupied by Slavs,
to Christianity,
and to plant colonies there. He hoped to attain these ends through
the aid of a monastery to
be founded in this region by some of the most zealous of
Romuald's pupils. In 1001, therefore, Benedict another brother of the
same monastery, Joannes,
went, laden with gifts from the emperor, to Poland,
where they were well received by the Christian Duke Boleslas,
who taught them the language of the people. During this
time Bruno studied the language of Italy,
where he remained with Otto and awaited the Apostolic appointment
by the pope. Sylvester
II made him archbishop over
the heathen and
gave him thepallium,
but left the consecration to
the Archbishop of Magdeburg,
who had the supervision of the mission to the Slavs.
Quitting Rome in
1003, Bruno was consecrated in
February, 1004, by Archbishop Tagino of Magdeburg and
gave his property for
the founding of a monastery.
As war has
broken out between Emperor Henry II and
the Polish Duke, Bruno was not able to go at once to Poland;
so, starting from Ratisbon on
the Danube, he went into Hungary,
where St. Alalbert had also laboured. Here he finished his life of St.
Adalbert, a literary memorial of much worth.
Bruno sought
to convert the Hungarian ruler Achtum and his principality
of "Black-Hungary", but he met with so much opposition, including
that of the Greek monks,
that success was impossible. In December, 1007, he went to Russia.
Here the Grand duke Vladimir entertained him for a month and then
gave him a territory extending to the possessions of the
Petschenegen, who lived on the Black Sea between the Danube and the Don. This
was considered the fiercest and most cruel of the heathen tribes. Bruno spent
five months among them, baptized some
thirty adults, aided in bringing about a treaty of peace with Russia,
and left in that country one of his companions whom he had consecrated bishop.
About the middle of the year 1008 he returned to Polandand
there consecrated a bishop for Sweden.
While in Poland he
heard that his friend Benedict and four companions had
been killed by robbers on 11 May, 1003. Making use of the
accounts of eyewitnesses, he wrote the touching history of the lives
and death of the so-called Polish brothers. Towards the end of 1008
he wrote a memorable, but ineffectual, letter to the Emperor Henry
II, exhorting him to show clemency and to conclude a peace with Boleslas of Poland.
Near the close of this same year, accompanied by eighteen companions, he went
to found a mission among the Prussians,
but the soil was not fruitful, and Bruno and his companions travelled
towards the borders of Russia,
preaching courageously as
they went. On the borders ofRussia they
were attacked by the heathen,
the whole company were murdered, Bruno with
great composure meeting death by
decapitation. Duke Boleslas bought the bodies of
the slain and had them brought to Poland.
It is said that the city of Braunsberg is named after St.
Bruno.
Soon after the time of
their death St.
Bruno and his companions were reverenced as martyrs.
Little value is to be attached to a legendary account of the martyrdom by
a certain Wipert. Bruno's fellow-pupil, Dithmar,
or Thietmar, Bishop of
Merseburg, gives a brief account of him in his Chronicle. VI, 58.
Meier, Gabriel. "St. Bruno of Querfurt." The Catholic
Encyclopedia. Vol. 3. New York: Robert Appleton
Company, 1908. 9 Mar. 2017 <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/03018a.htm>.
Transcription. This
article was transcribed for New Advent by Joseph P. Thomas.
Ecclesiastical
approbation. Nihil Obstat. November 1, 1908. Remy Lafort, S.T.D.,
Censor. Imprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York.
Copyright © 2023 by Kevin Knight.
Dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
SOURCE : http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/03018a.htm
St.
Bruno of Querfurt church, Klaipėda, Lithuania
Церковь
Св. Бруно Кверфуртского, Клайпедa, Литва
BRUNO (Brun, Bruns) OF
QUERFURT, SAINT (c. 975–1009), German missionary bishop and martyr,
belonged to the family of the lords of Querfurt in Saxony. He was educated at
the famous cathedral school at Magdeburg, and at the age of twenty was attached
to the clerical household of the emperor Otto III. In 996 he accompanied the
emperor to Rome, and there gave up his post and entered the monastery of SS.
Alexius and Bonifacius on the Aventine, taking “in religion” the name of
Bonifacius. When the news reached Rome of the martyrdom of Adalbert, bishop of
Prague (997), Bruno determined to take his place, and in 1004, after being
consecrated by the pope as archbishop of the eastern heathen, he set out for
Germany to seek aid of the emperor Henry II. The emperor, however, being at war
with Boleslaus of Poland, opposed his enterprise, and he went first to the
court of St Stephen of Hungary, and, finding but slight encouragement there, to
that of the grand prince Vladimir at Kiev. He made no effort to win over
Vladimir to the Roman obedience, but devoted himself to the conversion of the
pagan Pechenegs who inhabited the country between the Don and the Danube. In
this he was so far successful that they made peace with the grand prince and
were for a while nominally Christians. In 1008 Bruno went to the court of Boleslaus,
and, after a vain effort to persuade the emperor to end the war between Germans
and Poles, determined at all hazards to proceed with his mission to the
Prussians. With eighteen companions he set out; but on the borders of the
Russian (Lithuanian) country he and all his company were massacred by the
heathens (February 14, 1009).
During his stay in
Hungary (1004) Bruno wrote a life of St Adalbert, the best of the three extant
biographies of the saint (in Pertz, Mon. Germ. Hist. Scriptores, iv. pp. 577,
596–612), described by A. Potthast (Bibliotheca hist. med. aev.) as “in the
highest degree attractive both in manner and matter.”
A life of St Bruno was
written by Dietmar, bishop of Merseburg (976–1019). This, with additions from
the life of St Romuald, is published in the Bollandist Acta Sanctorum (June
19), vi. 1, pp. 223-225. See further U. Chevalier, Répertoire des sources
historiques, Bio-Bibliographie (Paris, 1904), s.v. “Brunon
de Querfurt.”
Bruno of Querfurt, Saint.
1911 Encyclopædia Britannica, Volume 4
SOURCE : https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/1911_Encyclop%C3%A6dia_Britannica/Bruno_of_Querfurt,_Saint
San Brunone Bonifacio di Querfurt
St.
Bruno of Querfurt teaches a pagan ruler
Św.
Brunon z Kwerfurtu naucza pogańskiego władcę
June 19
ST BRUNO, or BONIFACE, OF
QUERFURT, BISHOP AND MARTYR (A.D. 1009)
This missionary monk was
born about the year 974 of a noble Saxon family at Querfurt, and was baptized
Bruno. He was educated in St Adalbert's city of Magdeburg, from whence he went
to the court of Otto III, who regarded him with much confidence and affection
and made him a court chaplain. When Otto went to Italy in 998, Bruno
accompanied him and, like his master, came under the influence of St Romuald.
With the memory of St Adalbert of Prague fresh in mind (who had been martyred
the previous year) he received the monastic habit at the abbey of SS. Boniface
and Alexis in Rome, and about 1000 he joined St Romuald. In the following year
the emperor founded a monastery for them at Pereum, near Ravenna.
It was here that there
came to Boniface (as he was now named) the call to carry the Christian message
to the Veletians and Prussians and thus to continue the work of St Adalbert,
whose life he had set himself to write. This scheme met with imperial approval,
and two monks were sent in advance to Poland to learn Slavonic, while Boniface
went to Rome for a papal commission; but these two, Benedict and John, with
three others, were murdered by robbers on November 10, 1003, at Kazimierz, near
Gniezno, before he could join them. These were the Five Martyred Brothers,
whose biography Boniface subsequently wrote. With the authorization of Pope
Silvester II duly granted, he set out for Germany in the depth of a winter so
severe that his boots sometimes froze tight to the stirrups. After interviewing
the new emperor, St Henry II, at Regensburg, he was consecrated a missionary
bishop by the archbishop of Magdeburg at Merseburg -- perhaps "missionary
archbishop" would be more accurate, for he had received a pallium from the
pope, which has given rise to the suggestion that Boniface was in fact meant to
be a metropolitan for eastern Poland. But owing to political difficulties he
had to work for a time among the Magyars around the lower Danube; here he had
no great success, and he went on to Kiev where, under the protection of St
Vladimir, he preached Christ's gospel among the Pechenegs.
Eventually Boniface made
another attempt to reach the Prussians from the Polish territories of Boleslaus
the Brave, after writing an eloquent but fruitless letter to the Emperor St
Henry, imploring him not to ally himself with the heathen against the Christian
Boleslaus. While much is uncertain in his career we can accept without
hesitation the statement made by the chronicler Thietmar, bishop of Merseburg,
who was related to Boniface. He tells us that his kinsman encountered violent
opposition in his efforts to evangelize the borderland people in eastern
Masovia; and that when he persisted in disregarding their warnings he was
cruelly slain with eighteen companions on March 14, 1009. The saint's body was
purchased by Boleslaus, who removed it to Poland; and the Prussians afterwards
honoured his memory by giving his name to the town of Braunsberg, on the
reputed site of his martyrdom. St Boniface was a missionary of large ideas,
including the evangelization of the Swedes, to whom he sent two of his helpers,
perhaps from Kiev; but his achievements were, humanly speaking, disappointing.
Because he was sometimes
called Bruno and sometimes Boniface, several later historians, including
Cardinal Baronius in the Roman Martyrology (June 19 and October 15), have made
the mistake of regarding Boniface and Bruno of Querfurt as different persons.
Sources for this life are
not copious. There is a passage in the chronicle of Thietmar of Merseburg,
another in St Peter Damian's Life of St Romuald, a short passio attributed
to Wibert, who claimed to be a companion of the martyr, and a set of legendae
in the Halberstadt Breviary. A rather tantalizing document has been published
by H. G. Voigt, which, though preserved in a manuscript of very late date, has
some pretensions to retain traces of a much older biography. It was first
edited in the periodical Sachsen und Anhalt, vol. iii (1927), pp. 87-134; but
it has since been included in Pertz, MGH., Scriptores, vol. xxx, part II.
See also H. G. Voigt, Bruno von Querfurt... (1907) and Bruno
als Missionar der Ostens (1909); the Historisches Jarbuch, vol.
xiii (1892), 493-500; the Stimmen aus Maria-Laach, vol. liii (1897), pp.
266 seq.; F. Dvornik, The Making of Central and Eastern Europe (1949),
pp. 196-204 and passim; and the Cambridge History of Poland, vol. i
(1950), pp. 66-67.
SOURCE : http://www.katolikus.hu/hun-saints/bruno.html
San Brunone Bonifacio di Querfurt
St.
Bruno of Querfurt baptizes a pagan ruler
Św.
Brunon z Kwerfurtu chrzci pogańskiego władcę.
San Brunone Bonifacio di Querfurt Vescovo camaldolese, martire
Querfurt (Sassonia), 974 – Moravia Orientale, 9 marzo 1009
Martirologio Romano: In Moravia orientale, san Bruno, vescovo di Querfurt e martire, che, mentre accompagnava in Italia l’imperatore Ottone III, affascinato dal carisma di san Romualdo, abbracciò la vita monastica prendendo il nome di Bonifacio e, tornato in Germania e fatto vescovo dal papa Giovanni X, nel corso di una missione apostolica fu trucidato dagli idolatri insieme con altri diciotto compagni.
Nacque verso il 974 da una nobilissima famiglia di Querfurt in Sassonia e dopo aver ultimato gli studi nella scuola della cattedrale di Magdeburgo, fu nominato canonico della stessa cattedrale e cappellano alla corte di Ottone III.
Nel 997 l’imperatore Ottone III si recò a Roma e Brunone lo accompagnò e sembra che in tale occasione si facesse benedettino, nel monastero dei santi Bonifacio e Alessio, sul Colle Aventino.
Conquistato dal prestigio e dall’autorità di s. Romualdo, fondatore del monastero di Camaldoli, ne divenne un seguace, seguendolo nell’eremo del Pereo presso Ravenna, prendendo il nome di Bonifacio.
Nel gennaio 1002, Ottone III morì e Brunone Bonifacio fece ritorno in Germania dove si diede ad evangelizzare i barbari delle regioni confinanti. Nel 1004 papa Giovanni XVIII lo nominò arcivescovo “ad gentium” e insieme ad altri missionari intraprese varie spedizioni apostoliche, non si sa in quali Paesi, si pensa in Svezia oppure nei territori presso il Mar Nero.
Fu trucidato il 9 marzo 1009, insieme a 18 compagni, nella Moravia Orientale. Fu autore di varie opere letterarie fra le quali la ‘Vita’ di s. Adalberto vescovo di Praga e la ‘Vita dei Cinque Fratelli’ prezioso testo che narra il martirio in Polonia, avvenuto nel 1003, di cinque camaldolesi.
Finora aveva avuto due feste: il 19 giugno con il nome di Bonifacio e il 15 ottobre con il nome di Brunone; ma il moderno e recentissimo “Martyrologium Romanum” lo pone solo al 9 marzo.
Autore: Antonio Borrelli
SOURCE : http://www.santiebeati.it/dettaglio/91305
San Brunone Bonifacio di Querfurt
St.
Bruno of Querfurt before a pagan ruler
Próba
ognia św. Brunona z Kwerfurtu przed poganskim władcą.
Den hellige Bruno av
Querfurt (~974-1009)
Minnedag: 9.
mars
Skytshelgen for Preussen
Den hellige Bruno (ty:
Brun) ble født rundt år 974 i Querfurt ved Halle i Sachsen, vest for Leipzig, i
dagens tyske delstat Sachsen-Anhalt). Han tilhørte muligens den saksiske
kongefamilien og var en slektning av keiser Otto III (983-1002; keiser fra
996). Han var en av de fire sønnene av grev Bruno II av Querfurt og hans hustru
Ida. Faren var den første kjente herren av borgen Querfurt i Hassegau og en av
de viktigste militære rådgiverne til keiser Otto II (973-83). Deres andre
sønner var Gebhard, Dietrich og Vilhelm.
Ettersom Brunos bror
Gebhard I skulle arve tittelen som greve av Querfurt, ble Bruno bestemt til en
kirkelig karriere. Han ble som seksåring sendt til den berømte katedralskolen i
Magdeburg, som var grunnlagt av den hellige biskop Adalbert av Magdeburg (968-81),
og der fikk han en fremragende utdannelse under Adalberts etterfølger,
erkebiskop Giselher (981-1004). Blant hans medstudenter var Thietmar av
Walbeck, senere biskop av Merseburg (1009-18). Hans bestemor Mathilde var
søster av Brunos far. Bruno ble i ung alder prest og kannik (995) ved
domkapitlet i katedralen St. Moritz i Magdeburg.
Kong Otto III (983-1002;
keiser fra 996) gjorde ham til sin hoffkapellan på anbefaling av Thietmar av
Walbeck. I den egenskapen var han som 22-åring med til Roma da den sekstenårige
keiseren ble kronet i 996 av sin fetter Bruno av Kärnten, som han hadde fått
valgt til pave som Gregor V (996-99). I Roma skjedde Brunos «indre omvendelse»
etter at han traff den hellige Adalbert av Praha (956-997)
like før dennes martyrdød i 997 da han forkynte for de prøyssiske stammene. I
998 ble Bruno, i likhet med Adalbert før ham, benediktinermunk (Ordo
Sancti Benedicti – OSB) i klosteret Ss Bonifacio ed Alessio på
Aventin-høyden, hvor også Ottos keiserpalass ble bygd. Siden Bruno var spesielt
opptatt av omvendelsen av slaverne, tok han klosternavnet Bonifatius etter
Tysklands apostel.
Bruno tilbrakte en tid i
klosteret på Aventin i Roma, hvor Johannes Canaparius var abbed. Det har lenge
vært antatt at han i 999 skrev det første Vita sancti Adalberti episcopi
Pragensis, bare to år etter Adalberts død. Senere trådte Bruno i et kloster i
Pereum, som lå på en øy i sumpene nær Ravenna, som Otto hadde grunnlagt, og der
gjennomgikk han en strengt asketisk opplæring under veiledning av den
hellige Romuald (ca
951-1027), grunnleggeren av benediktinerordenens sidegren kamaldulenserne (Congregatio
Monachorum Eremitarum Camaldulensium – OSBCam). I 1001 var Bruno klar til
sin «ytre omvendelse», og han følte kallet til å fortsette Adalberts
misjonsarbeid blant prøysserne.
Keiser Otto III håpet å
kunne åpne et kloster mellom elvene Elben og Oder, et sted i det hedenske
landet som senere ble Brandenburg eller Vestre Pommern, for å hjelpe til med
omvendelsen av den lokale befolkningen til kristendommen. I 1003 betrodde pave
Sylvester II (999-1003) den 33-årige Bruno ansvaret for misjonen i de hedenske områder
øst for Magdeburg. Dette skjedde med tillatelse fra den kristne hertug Boleslas
I den tapre (pl: Bolesław Chrobry), den første kongen av Polen (1000-25). Den
hellige kong Henrik II (1002-24;
keiser fra 1014), som hadde overtatt etter at Otto III døde allerede i 1002,
støttet Brunos misjonsplaner, og to italienske benediktinermunker, Benedikt og
Johannes, var i 1001 sendt til Polen for å lære slavisk etter invitasjon fra
kong Boleslas. Men de to ble myrdet sammen med tre andre brødre i november 1005
nær Gniezno (ty: Gnesen) før Bruno kunne slutte seg til dem. Disse var «De fem polske brødre», som
Bruno senere skrev en biografi om (de har minnedag 12. november).
Med pave Sylvester IIs
godkjennelse av ekspedisjonen dro Bruno vinteren 1002/03 avgårde i en vinter så
kald at støvlene hans noen ganger frøs fast i stigbøylene (krønikeskriveren
sier at han red med bare hender og føtter, og at føttene flere ganger frøs fast
til stigbøylene og måtte tines opp med varmt vann). I Merseburg ble han i
februar 1004 vigslet av erkebiskop Tagino av Magdeburg (Taymont) (1004-12) til
«biskop for hedningene» (ad gentium) eller misjonsbiskop, eller
trolig misjonserkebiskop, siden paven hadde gitt ham palliet. Det synes som om
han var utsett til å bli metropolitt for det østlige Polen. Erkebiskop Tagino
ikledde ham palliet, som Bruno hadde med seg fra Roma.
På grunn av politiske
vanskeligheter dro han ikke straks til Preussen, men først til Ungarn, hvor han
møtte den hellige kong Stefan
I (997-1038) og Adalberts disippel, den hellige erkebiskop Astrik. I Ungarn dro han til
de stedene hvor Adalbert av Praha hadde vært. Bruno prøvde å få hertug Ahtum av
Banat, som var under patriarkatet i Konstantinopels jurisdiksjon, til å stille
seg under biskopen av Romas jurisdiksjon, men dette førte til en stor kontrovers
og påfølgende organisert opposisjon fra lokale munker. Bruno valgte å trekke
seg stille tilbake fra regionen etter først å ha fullført sin bok, den berømte
biografien om Adalbert (Vita Sancti Adalberti), en verdifull litterær
milde av høy verdi som fortalte historien om den relativt nylige omvendelsen av
ungarerne.
Deretter gjorde han i
1003 et mislykket misjonsfremstøt i «Svarte Ungarn», Szekes-land i Transilvania
(ung: Erdély; ty: Siebenbürgen), overfor szeklerne, et tyrkisk-madjarsk
blandingsfolk. På dette tidspunkt hersket det krig mellom kong Boleslas og
keiser Henrik II. Veiene til Polen var med andre ord sperret for Bruno, så
derfor dro han i 1005 på en ny misjonsreise til Ungarn.
I 1007 fortsatte han til
Russland, hvor han forkynte under beskyttelse av den hellige fyrst Vladimir av Kiev (ca
956-1015), som selv var kristen i motsetning til størstedelen av sitt folk. Han
fikk Vladimirs tillatelse til å misjonere blant petsjenegene, et halvnomadisk
tyrkisk folk som levde i Sør-Russland nær Svartehavet mellom elvene Donau og
Don og var beryktet for sin villskap. Bruno tilbrakte fem måneder der og døpte
rundt tretti voksne. Han hjalp også til med å få i stand en fredsavtale mellom
dem og herskeren i Kiev. Petsjenegene sto da på høyden av sin makt og behersket
et område som strakte seg fra Kirgisia til Ungarn. De skulle bli slått
avgjørende av Bysants i slaget ved Levunion-fjellene i 1091 og forsvant
deretter i betydningsløshet.
Før Bruno dro til Polen,
konsekrerte han en biskop for petsjenegene. I 1008 underviste og reformerte
Bruno i polske klostre. Mens han var i Polen, skal han ha konsekrert den første
biskopen av Sverige (dette er usikkert) og sendte to munker til Sverige for å
døpe den hellige kong Olof
Skötkonung (ca 980-ca 1022), som hadde polsk mor. Kongen lot seg vinne
for dåpen sammen med en stor del av sitt folk.
Polen var havnet i en ny
krig med keiseren, så Bruno skrev et inntrengende brev til Henrik. Han beklaget
seg i bitre vendinger over krigen, som hindret troens utbredelse: «Boleslas har
erklært seg villig til å støtte meg i mine bestrebelser på å omvende prøysserne
og har bestemt seg for ikke å være gjerrig med penger til formålet. Men nå kan
han på grunn av krigen ikke hjelpe meg med å utbre evangeliet». Deretter
fordømte han på det skarpeste keiserens forbund med de hedenske liutizerne
(vestslavere): «Ligner det noe å forfølge en kristen og å pleie vennskap med et
hedensk folk?»
Ved hjelp av kong
Boleslas I kunne Bruno til slutt høsten eller i slutten av 1008 dra til det
østlige Masovia (Mazowsze), som grenset opp til Preussen – prøyssernes land.
Prøysserne var en baltisk hedensk stamme, og deres navn er en variant av russere.
Han møtte voldsom motstand, og til tross for alle advarsler og uten noen
beskyttelse dro han avgårde sammen med atten ledsagere. Mot slutten av 1008 kom
de til det østprøyssiske landskapet Sudauen ved Narew. De lyktes i å omvende
Netimer, «litauernes konge», og Bruno hadde gleden av å døpe kongen og med ham
1300 innbyggere. Men kongens bror Zebeden ville ikke ha noe av dette og forbød
Bruno å forkynne blant sitt folk. Men Bruno aktet ikke å la seg stanse.
Misjonærene reiste østover, sannsynligvis mot Jotvingia eller Sudauen, en
prøyssisk region som siden 983 hadde vært underlagt Kiev. Dette var i
grenseområdet mellom Preussen, Russland (Kiev) og hertugdømmet Litauen.
Øst for dagens Gdansk
(Danzig) ble gruppen overfalt av den nydøpte kongens rasende hedenske bror, og
de ble drept på de mest grusomme måter. Det skjedde i år 1009, sannsynligvis
den 9. mars, men noen bøker opererer med 14. februar eller 14. mars. Den
35-årige Bruno ble halshogd, etter at hedningene først hadde hogd av ham hender
og føtter med økser. Samme dag ble hans atten ledsagere hengt
Kong Boleslas betalte
løsepenger for å få utlevert Brunos lik, og han tok det med tilbake til Polen.
Byen Braniewo, hvor martyriet skal ha skjedd, er oppkalt etter ham (det tyske
navnet er Braunsberg). Det skulle gå enda noen århundrer før prøysserne lot seg
kristne under trykket fra Den tyske ordens ridderhærer. Snart etter deres død
ble Bruno og hans ledsagere æret som martyrer, og Bruno ble snart etter
helligkåret.
På midten av 1100-tallet
ble det skrevet en Liber gestorum Brunonis, men den har gått tapt, og
en Vita et Passio fra rundt år 1400 er av liten verdi. Brunos kult
slo aldri rot i Polen eller Russland, men den holdt seg i Querfurt helt til
reformasjonen. En biografi om Bruno ble skrevet av biskop Thietmar av Merseburg
(976-1019). Denne har bollandistene utgitt i Acta Sanctorum med
tilføyelser fra biografien om Romuald.
Brunos minnedag i
Tyskland er 9. mars. Ettersom han er kjent både under sitt dåpsnavn og sitt
klosternavn, har mange vitenskapsmenn regnet dem som to forskjellige personer,
inkludert den ærverdige kardinal Cesare Baronius (1538-1607),
lærd oratorianer og kirkehistoriker, som reviderte Martyrologium Romanum på
slutten av 1500-tallet. Derfor hadde Bruno i den førkonsiliære utgaven av
Martyrologium Romanum to minnedager; 19. juni som Bonifatius av Querfurt (samme
dag som Romuald):
Eodem die sancti
Bonifatii, Episcopi et Martyris; qui fuit beati Romualdi discipulus. Hic, a
Gregorio Quinto, Romano Pontifice, ad praedicandum Evangelium in Russiam
missus, ibi, cum per ignem transisset illaesus, Regemque ac populum
baptizasset, a furente Regis fratre necatus est, atque sic optatam martyrii
coronam accepit.
På samme dag, den hellige
Bonifatius, biskop og martyr, som var en disippel av den salige Romuald. Han
var sendt av pave Gregor V [996-99] for å forkynne evangeliet i Russland, og
etter å ha gått gjennom ilden uskadd, hadde han døpt kongen, og hans folk ble
drept av kongens rasende bror, og dermed fikk han den martyrkronen han hadde
ønsket.
15. oktober som Bruno av
Querfurt:
In Borussia sancti Brunonis,
Episcopi Ruthenorum et Martyris; qui, Evangelium in ea regione praedicans, ab
impiis tentus est, ac, manibus pedibusque praecisis, capite truncatus.
I Preussen, den hellige
Bruno, biskop for rutenerne og martyr; som forkynte evangeliet i denne regionen,
han ble arrestert, og etter at hendene og føttene hadde blitt kuttet av, ble
han halshogd.
Men hans historie er
tilstrekkelig markant til å klargjøre at dette er en misforståelse, så i den
nyeste utgaven av Martyrologium Romanum (2004) er hans minnedag lagt til 9.
mars:
In Morávia orientáli,
sancti Brunónis, epíscopi Querfurténsis et mártyris, qui, dum in Itália Othónem
imperatórem Tértium comitabátur, ancti Romuáldi auctoritáte permótus, ad
monásticam disciplínam se trádidit et, nómine Bonifátio accépto, in Germániam
regréssus atque a Ioánne papa Décimo epíscopus creátus, in expeditiónibus
apostólicis cum sóciis duodevigínti ab idolólatris trucidátus est.
I det østlige Moravia,
den hellige Bruno, biskop av Querfurt og martyr, som mens han fulgte keiser
Otto III til Italia, satte seg under den hellige Romualds autoritet og omfavnet
klosterlivet og tok navnet Bonifatius; han returnerte til Tyskland og ble utnevnt
til biskop av pave Johannes X, under et apostolisk oppdrag ble han drept av
avgudsdyrkere sammen med atten andre ledsagere.
Bruno er en av de mest
fremtredende misjonspersonlighetene i historien. Tidligere ble det i Querfurt
på den tredje dagen etter påske solgt leirfigurer som viste Bruno på et esel
med reiseveske. I kunsten fremstilles han nettopp som rytter på et esel med en
veske. Men ofte avbildes også hans martyrium, ved at to menn hogger av ham
hender og føtter med økser.
Brunos martyrium var et
stort tap for Kirken og Det tyske riket, men det fungerte også som et såkorn
som skulle bære rik frukt. I Bruno av Querfurt så man en fortsettelse av verket
til hans slektning, den hellige hertug og Bruno I den store av Köln (925-965).
Bruno (Bonifatius) av Querfurt regnes som prøyssernes andre apostel etter
Adalbert av Praha. I den østprøyssiske byen Lötzen (nå Giżycko i Polen) har
siden 1937 den katolske sognekirken St. Bruno minnet om biskopen og martyren. I
byen står også et minnekors på en høyde som også bærer Brunos navn.
Kilder: Attwater/John,
Attwater/Cumming, Butler (VI), Benedictines, Delaney, Bunson, Schnitzler,
Schauber/Schindler, Melchers, Gorys, Dammer/Adam, Holzapfel, MR2004, KIR, CE,
CatholicSaints.Info, Infocatho, Bautz, Heiligenlexikon, santiebeati.it,
de.wikipedia.org, en.wikipedia.org, nominis.cef.fr, Butler 1866, zeno.org,
heiligen-3s.nl, 1911encyclopedia.org, katolikus.hu, szent.blog.hu, istorija.lt,
lkmq.de, harz-saale.de, genealogie-mittelalter.de, Allgemeine Deutsche
Biographie bind 3 (Leipzig 1876), Neue Deutsche Biographie bind 2 (Berlin 1955)
- Kompilasjon og oversettelse: p. Per Einar Odden
Opprettet: 16. juli 2005
– Oppdatert: 31. mars 2016
SOURCE : http://www.katolsk.no/biografier/historisk/querfurt
San Brunone Bonifacio di Querfurt
The
martyrdom of St. Bruno of Querfurt
Męczeństwo św. Brunona z Kwerfurtu
Bruno (vormnaam Bonifatius) van
Querfurt osb.carm., Kolno, Pruisen; bisschop & martelaar; † 1009.
Feest 14 februari
& 9 maart & 19 juni & 15 oktober.
Hij werd in 976 geboren
te Querfurt en stamde uit een geslacht dat sinds de 10e eeuw de burcht van
Querfurt bewoonde; de burcht wordt ook genoemd Curnfurdeburg of
Quernvordiburch: naar de naam te oordelen een burcht gebouwd bij een voorde (=
doorwaadbare plaats op zandgrond) door een riviertje dat Curn of Quern werd
genoemd. De kronikeur Thietmar van Merseburg († 1018) schrijft: ‘Onder
mijn leeftijdgenoten en schoolkameraden [aan de domschool te Magdeburg] had
je een zekere Brun. Hij kwam uit een familie van aanzien, maar door Gods genade
en uitverkiezing stak hij boven de andere kinderen en familieleden van heer
Brun uit. Zijn eerbiedwaardige moeder Ida hield veel van hem en deed hem op
school bij de filosoof Geddo. Zijn vader heette Brun: voor mij een vriend door
familiebanden, en voor iedereen een medemens door zijn betrouwbaarheid.’
Over Bruno’s tijd op de
domschool schrijft Thietmar: ‘Hij bad altijd: ’s morgen voor hij het
internaat verliet om naar school te gaan, of om van zijn vrije tijd te
genieten, en hij bad, als wij speelden. Hij zorgde ervoor altijd ergens mee
bezig te zijn. Zo groeide hij stilletjes tot volwassenheid.’ We hebben het
over een jongen van ongeveer twaalf tot twintig jaar.
In 995 werd hij kanunnik aan de
St-Mauritiusdom van Magdeburg. Kort daarop werd hij door keizer Otto III (†
1002) naar het hof gehaald. ‘Wie de rijzige gestalte van de jonge
geestelijke zag en zijn buitengewone geestesgaven kende, kon voorzien dat hij
tot de groten der aarde zou gaan behoren. Maar omdat hij bezield werd door
andere idealen, zou zijn toekomst een andere wending nemen dan men had mogen
verwachten.’
In het jaar dat Adalbert
van Praag de marteldood stierf, 997 (feest 23 april), deed Bruno zijn intrede
aan het hof van de keizer. ‘Het leek haast alsof Otto hem tot opvolger van
zijn gedode vriend had uitverkoren. Zo zeer zocht hij troost bij zijn jonge
hofkapelaan. Tegelijk bracht de keizer God lof dat Hij aan de tijd waarin hij
leefde, een martelaar gegeven
had en Adalbert door zo’n roemrijke dood tot zich had geroepen.’ Toen
Otto in het najaar van datzelfde jaar aan zijn Italiëreis begon, was Bruno
erbij. ‘De gevechten om Rome vervulden hem dusdanig met afkeer dat hij
zich van de politiek afkeerde en zich terugtrok in het klooster op de Aventijn,
hetzelfde klooster overigens, waar destijds ook Adalbert had gezeten.’ Bruno
was er gedwongen getuige van geweest hoe tegenpaus Johannes van Piacenza († 998),
toegetakeld aan oren, ogen en neus tot hilariteit van het volk op een ezel door
de straten van Rome was rondgereden. Hij had moeten aanzien hoe legerleider
Crescentius op het dak van de Engelenburcht onthoofd werd en hoe zijn lijk aan
zijn voeten aan een galg werd opgehangen. Allebei ooit machtige mannen. De
vergankelijkheid van deze wereld had niet beter in beeld gebracht kunnen
worden.
Het jaar daarop ontmoette
hij de beroemde monnik en kluizenaar Romualdus († 1027; feest 19 juni). Toen
deze in 1001 te Ravenna een nieuwe monniksgemeenschap oprichtte, sloot Bruno
zich daarbij aan, en noemde zich Bonifatius. Als Petrus Damiani († 1072; feest
21 februari) in 1037 hun leven beschrijft, zegt hij: ‘De omgeving daar was
zompig, moerassig en ongezond. Elk verrichtte een handwerk: de een maakte
lepels, de ander knoopte netten of vlocht manden. Zo zorgden ze voor hun
schamel levensonderhoud. Meestal gingen ze blootsvoets. Maar degene die hen
allen overtrof in heilige levenswandel was Bonifatius’, onze Bruno dus.
Maar Bruno zou er niet
lang blijven. Hij werd bezield door het ideaal om zijn gedode vriend Adalbert
na te volgen en er als missionaris op uit te trekken. Met het oog daarop begon
hij zich de Slavische talen eigen te maken. Intussen stierf op 23 januari 1002
keizer Otto in Paterno, een bergburcht. Prompt braken er opstandjes uit. Met
moeite kon men hem over de Alpen naar Aken overbrengen. Bruno schrijft zelf
over hem: ‘In een tijd dat men hem gering achtte, is hij in een kleine
burcht gestorven. Nadat hij veel goeds gedaan had, begaf hij zich op
dwaalwegen. Alles draaide bij hem om Rome. Met geld en eerbetoon had hij het
weer op de kaart gezet. In zijn kinderlijke verlangen hoopte hij er te kunnen
blijven en de stad in zijn oude glorie te kunnen herstellen. Daarin bestond
zijn zonde. Zijn vaderland Duitsland, dat het hart kan doen gloeien: hij wilde
er niet meer naar terug. Aan zijn zijde sneuvelden zijn kapelaan, de bisschop
en de graaf, een enorm aantal onderdanen in zijn dienst, vele ridders: de besten
van zijn volk… Die hele heerschappij: ze dient eigenlijk tot niets! En die
vermaledijde rijkdom, en dat leger dat hij zich in groten getale om zich heen
verzameld had, al evenmin. Speer en zwaard konden hem niet voor de dood
behoeden.’
Nu ging Bruno naar de
paus om van hem zijn zending te ontvangen. Hij maakte er een boetetocht van,
ging blootsvoets, at het hoogstnoodzakelijke en zong de hele weg psalmen.
Silvester ii († 1003) wijdde hem tot aartsbisschop; hij was op dat moment
achtentwintig jaar oud.
Hij trok als missionaris
naar Hongarije en Rusland. Vier jaar later gaf hij gevolg aan zijn hartenwens:
de bekering van de Pruisen. Daar had zijn vriend Adalbert van Praag in 997
immers zijn leven voor gegeven. Hij wist koning Nethimer van Pruisen tot Christus
te brengen. Hij smaakte het genoegen de vorst te kunnen dopen, en met hem
dertienhonderd onderdanen. Maar diens broer wilde er niets van weten en verbood
Bruno te preken onder zijn mensen. Daar wenste Bruno zich echter niets van aan
te trekken. Prompt werd hij gevangen genomen, tezamen met achttien gezellen. Zo
werden zij reeds na enkele weken missiearbeid in Pruisen onthoofd. Men is niet
zeker van de precieze dag: volgens sommigen was het 14 februari; anderen menen
9 maart.
Verering & Cultuur
Hoezeer hij ook in ere werd (en wordt?) gehouden blijkt uit het feit dat er
1910 voor hem in de plaats Lötzen een gedenkteken werd opgericht met het
opschrift: ‘Voor de moedige Duitse missionaris die als eerste voorvechter
voor Christus en zijn Koninkrijk in Masuren met achttien gezellen de marteldood
stierf: de edele Bruno van Querfurt. Tot eervolle gedachtenis. De evangelische
gemeente van Lötzen. 1910.’
Hij is patroon van Pruisen.
[Bri.1953; Cos.1951; Hih.1987p:61:03.09); Kie.1988p:40; S& S.1992;
Süt.1941; Dries van den Akker s.j./2010.04.03]
© A. van den Akker
s.j. / A.W. Gerritsen
SOURCE : https://heiligen-3s.nl/heiligen/03/09/03-09-1009-bruno.php
Cantin André. « Saint Pierre Damien. La vie du B. Romuald. Bruno de
Querfurt. La vie des cinq frères. », Cahiers de civilisation
médiévale, 1964, Volume 7, Numéro 7-27, pp. 343-344 : http://www.persee.fr/web/revues/home/prescript/article/ccmed_0007-9731_1964_num_7_27_1316_t1_0343_0000_3
