Berowelf

Berowelf, engraving by Johann Salver

Berowelf , also Berowolf , (* before 769; † September 29, 794 ) was bishop in Würzburg from the beginning of 769 until his death . He was consecrated as bishop in March 769.

Successor to Megingaud

Berowelf was a monk from the Andreaskloster Würzburg . His biography begins in 769, the same year Megingaud abdicated from Würzburg and retired to his Neustadt am Main monastery . It seems doubtful that Megingad, as portrayed in Vita Burkardi , had chosen his successor himself. Rather, one is of the opinion today that Berowelf was not entirely innocent in the abdication of his predecessor; he is even accused of having driven Megingaud away.

Act

Trip to Rome

Shortly after his inauguration, Berowelf traveled to Rome , where he participated in the Lateran Synod with twelve other Franconian bishops in 769 .

Proselytizing

Berowelf's activities go far beyond Würzburg. For example, he is mentioned as a missionary in the Slavic areas of the Main and Regnitzwendi and apparently also worked there as the founder of the church. Another great achievement was the foundation of the diocese of Paderborn . Two aristocratic priests were trained for this mission in the Diocese of Würzburg.

Acquisitions for the Diocese of Würzburg

There were certainly many acquisitions for the diocese under Berowelf, but only fragmentary reports are given. The acquisition of the Ansbach monastery , which was exchanged for the Martinskirche in Brendlorenzen (obviously part of the Palatinate equipment for salt), is said today to be an important building block in the delimitation of the area. Likewise, one can see the bishop's fief in Worms , which the king transferred to the Würzburger, as the first delimitation from the diocese of Worms . Even if there are few sources, one can assume that it was he who completed the relocation of the bishopric and thus inaugurated the new cathedral on the site of today's Neumünster. This new episcopal church and the Palatinate form the foundation for the further ecclesiastical and urban development of Würzburg.

literature

• Wilhelm Engel:  Berowelf. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 2, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1955, ISBN 3-428-00183-4 , p. 146 ( digitized version ).
• Peter Kolb, Ernst-Günter Krenig (Hrsg.): Lower Franconian history. Volume 1: From the Germanic conquest to the high Middle Ages. Echter, Würzburg 1989, ISBN 3-429-01263-5 .
• Heinrich Wagner : The Würzburg bishops from 741-842 . In: Würzburger Diözesangeschichtsblätter 65, 2003, ISSN  0342-3093 , pp. 17–43.
• Alfred Wendehorst : The diocese of Würzburg. The row of bishops until 1254 . ( Germania Sacra ; NF 1). De Gruyter, Berlin 1962, pp. 31–34 ( digitized version )

Web links

• Berowelf in the personal register of the Germania Sacra online

predecessor	Office	successor
Megingaud	Bishop of Würzburg 769–794	Gumbert