Bernhard von Kamenz

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Bernhard von Kamenz (* around 1230; † October 12, 1296 in Meißen ) was Bishop of Meißen from 1293 until his death .

Origin and past life

The great rule of Kamenz in western Upper Lusatia fell to his three sons Witego, Bernhard and Bernhard after the death of Bernhard II of Vesta , who named himself von Kamenz after his new estate . Together with their mother Mabilia, they founded the Cistercian convent of St. Marienstern in 1248 and furnished it with rich estates. Of the three brothers, the elder Bernhard had run the monastery foundation in a very special way and donated all of his inherited property, movable and immovable , to the monastery. He remained its prudent advisor and protector until his death, so that just a few years after it was founded, he was rightly referred to as the actual founder of Marienstern.

Bernhard's monastery foundation is also the subject of an old legend: After that, Bernhard III. in a life-threatening situation in the moor, saved by the Virgin Mary through the sign of a star that showed him the way. In gratitude, he had the Marienstern monastery built at this point.

For Marienstern, Bernhard III. acquired a great spiritual treasure of relics from Kamenz. Most precious gift was a splinter of the cross of Christ , which he in Italy with an associated in the 11th century in Byzantium created folding altar acquired. The skull relics of John the Baptist and St. James kept in the monastery also come from the donor's stay in Italy.

Bernhard later entered the clergy himself, studied in Italy and became dean in 1268 and provost of the Meissen cathedral monastery in 1276 . However, he rarely stayed in Meißen , but had lived as chancellor at the court of Duke Henry IV of Breslau from at least 1279 , who had given him the parish of Brieg as a benefice and a large number of villages as personal property. He stood loyally to his lord in the long battles between this duke and Bishop Thomas II and thereby also drew himself under the spell not only of the Bishop of Breslau, but of the Roman Curia itself. It is not known when the excommunication was lifted again.

After the death of Henry IV (1290), Provost Bernhard turned to the court of the young King Wenceslaus II of Bohemia . Without holding a specific court office, Provost Bernhard enjoyed the trust of the king so much that after the death of King Rudolf von Habsburg in 1292 he was sent with incredible pomp to the election of the king in Frankfurt to cast the vote for the Kingdom of Bohemia. His diplomatic skills succeeded in thwarting the generally anticipated election of Duke Albrecht of Austria , as King Wenzel had wished, and instead brought about the election of Adolf of Nassau .

Bernhard as bishop

In 1293 Bernhard von Kamenz was elected Bishop of Meissen . It was not an easy task to raise the finances of the diocese , which were almost completely ruined under the contentious predecessor , and to protect the interests of the diocese in the war that broke out soon afterwards between King Adolf of Nassau and Margrave Friedrich von Meissen (1294) .

A few years later, Bishop Bernhard died in Meißen on October 12, 1296 and, as he had wished, was buried in the Marienstern monastery. To this day, the anniversary of his death is celebrated there in a solemn manner.

literature

predecessor Office successor
Withego I of Furra Bishop of Meissen
1293–1296 		Albrecht III. from Leisnig
personal data
SURNAME Bernhard von Kamenz
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Bishop of Meissen (1293–1296)
DATE OF BIRTH around 1230
DATE OF DEATH October 12, 1296
Place of death Meissen