Brun (Cologne)

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Depiction of Archbishop Brun in St. Andreas, Cologne

Brun , often referred to as Bruno or Brun (o) von Sachsen , (* 925 ; † October 11, 965 in Reims ) was Chancellor of the East Franconian-German Empire from 940 to 953 and then Archbishop of Cologne .

Life

Brun was the third and youngest son of the East Franconian King Heinrich I , the Duke of Saxony , and his second wife Mathilda . He had five siblings: the later king and Roman-German Emperor Otto I the Great, Heinrich I (approx. 920–955), Duke of Bavaria, Gerberga , Hadwig and the oldest half-brother Thankmar .

At the age of five he was selected for the clergy and given to Bishop Balderich of Utrecht . He attended the cathedral school in Utrecht until he was appointed to the royal court in 939 by his brother Otto I. Here he was able to complete his training under the bishops of Israel and Rather von Verona . Brun was considered one of the most educated men in the empire of his time. In 940, at the age of only 15, he became Chancellor at his brother's court and reorganized the court chancellery . In 951, as arch chaplain, he also became the highest court clergyman. From around 948 to 951 he was abbot of the Lorsch Imperial Abbey .

In 953 he was elected Archbishop of Cologne at Otto's instigation . At the beginning of September 953 Otto I entrusted him with the Duchy of Lorraine , which he had confiscated from his rebellious son-in-law Konrad the Red . This made Brun, who personally went to war against Konrad, the second most powerful man in the empire behind his brother, to whom he was always loyal.

In 954 he became the guardian of his nephew Lothar of France, the son of his sister Gerberga , regent of France. Two years later he took over the guardianship of Hugo Capet , the son of his sister Hadwig . As a result, he constantly had to mediate between his two nephews, who were rivaling for the French crown. In addition, during Otto I's absence, Brun was not only regent of the Empire, together with Archbishop Wilhelm von Mainz , but also guardian of his nephew Otto II , whom he had anointed German king on May 26, 961 in Aachen .

Brun made a great contribution to promoting the monastery schools. He was also a supporter and promoter of the monastic reform of Gorze , which propagated a strong monasticism under the secular rule of the respective sovereign. As Archbishop of Cologne, he had received royal privileges from his brother, such as the right to fortify the city, hold markets, strike coins and raise taxes, which further strengthened Cologne's position as the most important city in the empire. In addition, his court was the intellectual and artistic center in Germany. Many of the leading scholars and future bishops received their training here. In addition to his erudition and his loyalty to Otto, Brun was considered to be thoroughly power-conscious, but also very pious and personally modest.

Sarcophagus in the crypt of St Pantaleon

He died on October 11, 965 in Reims . According to his own wishes, Brun was buried in the St. Pantaleon monastery in Cologne, which he had founded . He is considered a saint in the Catholic Church and a memorable witness of faith in the Evangelical Church. His Roman Catholic feast day is the day he dies, October 11; his feast day in the Evangelical Name Calendar is one day earlier, on October 10th.

As part of the redesign of the sculpture program for the Cologne town hall tower in the 1980s, Brun was honored with a figure by John-Michael Bachem on the fourth floor on the south side of the tower.

swell

  • Ruotger's biography of Archbishop Bruno of Cologne. = Ruotgeri Vita Brunonis archiepiscopi Coloniensis (= Monumenta Germaniae Historica . 1: Scriptores. 6: Scriptores rerum Germanicarum. Nova Series. Vol. 10, ISSN  0343-088X ). Edited by Irene Ott. Böhlau, Weimar 1951, digitized .

literature

Web links

Commons : Brun  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Remarks

  1. ^ Sculptures on the fourth floor. stadt-koeln.de; accessed on January 15, 2015
predecessor Office successor
Wichfrid Archbishop of Cologne
953–965 		Folcmar
Konrad the Red Duke of Lorraine
953-965 		Gottfried von Verdun ( Lower Lorraine )
Friedrich von Bar ( Upper Lorraine )
personal data
SURNAME Brun
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Bruno I .; Bruno of Saxony; Brun of Saxony
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Archbishop of Cologne, Abbot of Lorsch
DATE OF BIRTH 925
DATE OF DEATH October 11, 965
Place of death Reims