Bruno III von Berg

War als Bruno lll. von 1191 bis 1193 Erzbischof des Erzbistums Köln.

[http://www.rheinische-geschichte.lvr.de/Persoenlichkeiten/bruno-iii...]

Bruno III von Berg was a high-ranking cleric of the Cologne Church, who came from the powerful noble family of the Counts of Berg , for whom he successfully influenced politics. Towards the end of his life, he reached archbishopric, but had to resign after only a few months due to health problems.

Archbishop Bruno III from Colognecame from the influential family of the Counts of Berg, whose central rulers were on the right bank of the Rhine between Sieg and Ruhr. As the fifth son of his father Adolf II. Von Berg (reign 1115-1160, died at the latest in 1170) and an anonymous woman from Schwarzenburg, he was supposed to have a spiritual career. His eldest half-brother Adolf died in Damascus during the Second Crusade in 1148, his brothers Everhard (born circa 1130, Count von Altena 1161-1180) and Engelbert (Count von Berg 1161-1189) joined the Westphalian and Rhenish parts of the County of Berg 1160 succeeded her father Adolf II. His brother Friedrich dressed as Friedrich II from 1156 to 1158 .Cologne Erzstuhl . Bruno also had a younger brother named Adolf, who was documented between 1193 and 1197 as bailiff of the Dünnwald monastery. Further family connections existed with the lines of the Counts of Altena from the Haus Berg (Altena-Mark, Altena-Isenberg) and the Counts of Tecklenburg, in the Rhineland with the Counts of Geldern, Loon, Flanders and the Dukes of Brabant and Limburg .

Bruno's spiritual career began in 1156 at the latest. This year he was first documented as provost of the Bergisch dominated Cologne Georgsstift, where he had succeeded his older brother Friedrich. From 1168 to 1191 he officiated as Colognehe is the cathedral provost, and from 1179 he is also the cathedral curator. He was crowned with his career in 1191 when he was elected Archbishop of Cologne in a controversial election. Meanwhile old and weak, he resigned only two years later by depositing the official insignia on the altar of St. Peter. He spent his last days as a monk in the Altenberg monastery, which was close to his family. The year of his death is unknown.

Bruno III Research has so far largely reduced von Berg to his short episcopate, during which he came under great pressure at times. Already his choice was an expression of a deep division between regional nobility and clergy. On one side were the counts of Are-Hochstaden with their followers, who also knew the majority of the college of priorities behind them. The Counts of Berg competed with them along with their friends and relatives, supported by the majority of the cathedral chapter. A sharp separation of the groups is not always possible, but this observation tends to be correct. After the death of Philipp von Heinsbergthe group around the Counts of Are-Hochstaden quickly managed to have their successor, Lothar von Hochstaden (died 1194), elected Archbishop of Cologne. The Berger contested this result because an archbishop from their opponents' camp could have a negative impact on the development of their own county and the political weight of the family. The Bergische intervention was ultimately successful, because by mobilizing their powerful relatives from the Brabant, Limburg and Henneberg (Flanders) houses, they intimidated Lothar in such a way that he refused to choose. With Lothar's official waiver, nothing stood in the way of Bruno's choice of Berg. On 13.1.1192, Emperor Heinrich VI invested him. (Reign as Roman-German king 1169-1197, from 1191 as emperor) and lent him the Rhenish and Westphalian ducat. Already asElectBruno had used the archiepiscopal means to promote his family and related institutions. The Altenberg Abbey benefited directly from this, to which he confirmed an extensive monetary transaction. Hardly in office and dignity, Bruno was confronted with the politically sensitive succession in the diocese of Liège, which determined the majority of his short episcopate. A conflicting election led Albert von Löwen (around 1165-1192), the pretender from the family of the Dukes of Brabant, and Albert von Rethel (around 1150-1195), candidate for the counts of Flanders-Hainaut, to emerge as electi. Bruno decided to leave the matter to the emperor for decision in accordance with the provisions of the Worms Concordat. He reacted quite surprisingly by collecting both candidates and investing in Lothar von Hochstaden, who was still inferior in the Cologne election. The understandable protest by the Brabantians against Heinrich's decision reached Rome and was heard there. Pope Celestine III (Pontificate 1191-1198) instructed Bruno to invest Albert von Löwen and excommunicate Lothar, but he was realist enough to allow Berger to delegate these acts to the Archbishop of Reims if he feared the Emperor's revenge . The Berger used this elegant solution, but the Emperor's anger was also directed against Cologne and Bruno, because Heinrich cut off the Rhine metropolis from its economic lifeline, by having the Rhine closed. As a result, an armed regional conflict developed, which Bruno helped shape. He forged an alliance with the dukes of Brabant and Limburg, as well as other greats in the region, which was directed against the emperor and his partisans, especially the counts of Are-Hochstaden. This coalition acted quickly and successfully; All of their opponents' castles were captured, except for Are Castle itself, which Bruno had shortly afterwards put to fief. The result of this conflict was not only the termination of the Liège schism, but also a redistribution of power in the church province of Cologne. The Counts of Are-Hochstaden had been eliminated as competitors of the Berger in the medium term, the imperial powers on the Lower Rhine were clearly put in their place. Bruno had made a significant contribution to this.

At the beginning of the Liège schism, Bruno von Berg actually seemed to pass out, but he was in the immediate vicinity of the emperor, which is why his scope was very limited anyway. This - temporary - inactivity has probably led to Bruno's predominantly negative assessment, but this assessment does not do justice to him to a certain extent. As soon as he escaped Heinrich's direct access, he vigorously and successfully represented the interests of the Archbishopric and his family. His resignationin 1193 it appears to be due to rapidly declining mental and physical strength rather than a lack of suitability for the region's highest church office. The positive effects of his actions fell on the Berg family of counts, who managed to get their candidate Adolf von Altena as Bruno's successor without much resistance from other genders .

The importance of Bruno von Berg cannot be limited to his short episcopate. In previous years he had held important offices and dignities as provost of St. George, then also as provost and cathedral curator, although church dignitaries of that time should not be decoupled from their families. Since his election as provost of St. Georg in 1156, he has been a permanent representative of the Bergian family interests at the court of the Cologne archbishops. The possibilities for the miner to exert influence are particularly evident in Rainel von Dassel's numerous documentsand Philipps von Heinsberg, in which Bruno is mentioned as a witness. Especially in the uncertain times of succession in the Bergisches Grafschaft by Engelbert after 1160 and his son Adolf III. (Reign 1189-1218) around 1190 Bruno was the one who, due to his Cologne office, was able to ensure continuity in the relations between the archiepiscopal court and the counts of Berg.

Bruno's rank within the Cologne clergy is evident not only from his offices, but also during a legation in 1167. While Rainald von Dassel was in Italy, he sent a representative group of emissaries to Magdeburg in order to form an alliance against Heinrich the Lion with Wichmann von Magdeburg (episcopate 1154-1192), Albrecht the Bear (around 1100-1179), Ludwig II of Thuringia (reign 1140-1172) and others. For the entire clergy in Cologne, he sent Bruno von Berg (and not the nominal representative of the archbishop, the provost Hermann von Hengebach). In this way, the miners

The Holy Land had a strong appeal to the Counts of Berg since the time of the Second Crusade (1147-1149). Bruno's older half-brother Adolf had fallen in front of Damascus, and Bruno himself also visited the holy sites, which a shrine card from the Cologne St. Martin shrine reports. Heinz Wolter has convincingly limited the period of this pilgrimage to the years 1172-1174. Although nothing else can be found out about this episode, two findings are striking: firstly, no other cathedral dignitary of this time can be proven to be a Jerusalem pilgrim (which may be due to the tradition), on the other hand, the journey of the miner was considered so extraordinary , that they were used for dating purposes. In mountainous contexts, Bruno's pilgrimage fits seamlessly into the crucifixions of his siblings Adolf and Graf Engelbert and his nephew Count Adolf III. and Engelbert, the future archbishop of Cologne.

Bruno von Berg was a high-ranking member of the Cologne Church for almost 40 years, after all he even served as archbishop of Cologne. As such, he came under imperial pressure, but ultimately, thanks to his alliance policy, was able to prevail against the imperial powers and the regional opponents of his family. His advanced age and waning strength eventually led him to resign as an archbishop; the time of his withdrawal was probably chosen, because the Bergische faction had meanwhile been able to assert Adolf von Altena's successor among the Cologne clerics Bruno's nephew Adolf von Altena .
[https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruno_III._von_Berg] Life He was a son of Count Adolf II von Berg (* 1095, † 1170). He was a brother of Archbishop Friedrich II von Berg , a nephew of Archbishop Bruno II von Berg and an uncle of Archbishop Engelbert I von Berg .

He was provost of the Georgsstift in Cologne . He also belonged to the cathedral chapter and was 1,168 provost . In 1191 he became the third archbishop of Cologne from the house of the Counts of Berg.

“ Bruno owed his uplift to the interaction of the Bergisch noble faction and cathedral chapter party within the high Cologne clergy, which was characterized by the Cologne episcopal chronicle as intrusive. At that time he was already an old man, who was not up to his office and therefore, after two years, renounced it because of old age and physical and mental weakness by laying down the bishopric in the presence of priests and noblemen on the high altar of the cathedral. The inadequacy of the candidate and the brevity of his pontificate suggest that he was only a placeholder for his nephew Adolf von Altenawas elected, who had already followed him in 1192 as the provost and thus created a favorable starting position for the next election. " [1]

In 1193 Bruno abdicated from Cologne as archbishop and retired to Altenberg as a monk . After his death he was buried in Altenberg.

Weblinks Commons : Bruno III. of Berg - Collection of images, videos and audio files Alexander Berner: Bruno III. von Berg (before 1140 – after 1193), Archbishop of Cologne (1191–1193) . Rhineland Regional Association, Rhenish History Portal, April 29, 2015. Notes

Quote from: Wilhelm Janssen : The Archdiocese of Cologne in the late Middle Ages 1191–1515. Part One (History of the Archdiocese of Cologne, Vol. 2.1). Cologne 1995, p. 123.