Bernward of Hildesheim

Saint Bernward of Hildesheim
Statue of Bernward von Hildesheim near St. Mary's Cathedral
Born	960 Duchy of Saxony
Died	20 November 1022(1022-11-20)
Honored in	Roman Catholic Church
Major shrine	St. Mary's Cathedral, Hildesheim
Feast	20 November

Statue of Saint Bernward in St. Bernward's Church, Hildesheim.

Statue of Saint Bernward in St. Bernward's Chapel in Klein Düngen.

Saint Bern[w]ard (c. 960 – 20 November 1022) was the Bishop of Hildesheim from 993 until his death in 1022.

Bernward came from a Saxon noble family and studied at the cathedral school of Hildesheim. From 977, he served as a scribe and chronicler at the court of Otto II and Theophanu and then from 987/88 to 993, he and the future Pope Sylvester II were in charge of the young Emperor Otto III.

His time in office fell during the era of the Saxon emperors, who had their roots in the area around Hildesheim and were personally related to Bernward. During this time, Hildesheim was a center of power in the Holy Roman Empire and Bernward was determined to give his city an image fitting for one of its stature. The column he planned on the model of Trajan's Column at Rome never came to fruition, but Bernward revived classical precedent by having his name stamped on roof tiles made under his direction.

The Bernward Doors at St. Mary's Cathedral, Hildesheim

One of the most famous examples of this ambition is a monumental set of cast bronze doors known as the Bernward doors, now installed at St. Mary's Cathedral, which are sculpted with scenes of the Fall of Man (Adam and Even) and the Salvation of Man (Life of Christ),and which are related in some ways to the wooden doors of Santa Sabina in Rome. Another important trace of Bernward's intentions is the pillar kept at the Cathedral of Hildesheim, a cast bronze column with images of the deeds of Christ, drawing on imperial Roman monuments such as Trajan's Column. Bernward was instrumental in the construction of the early Romanesque Michaelskirche. St. Michael's Church was completed after Bernward's death, and he is buried in the western crypt. These projects of Bernward's are today UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

Bernward built up the cathedral district with a strong twelve-towered wall and erected further forts in the countryside to protect against attacks by the neighboring Slavic peoples. However, the inner spiritual struggles of his diocese and aiding the poor were always closest to his heart.

His life was set down in writing by his student, Thangmar, in Vita Bernwardi. For at least part of this document, the authorship is certain, but other parts were probably added in the High Middle Ages. He died on 20 November 1022, a few weeks after the consecration of the magnificent church of St. Michael, which he had built. Bernward was canonized by Pope Celestine III. His feast day is November 20.

St. Bernward's Church in Hildesheim, a neo-romanesque church built 1905-07 and St. Bernward's Chapel in Klein Düngen which dates from the 13th century, are named after him.

See also

• Chronological list of saints and blesseds in the 11th century

References

•  "St. Bernward". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. 1913. 
• Martina Giese: Die Textfassungen der Lebensbeschreibung Bischof Bernwards von Hildesheim (= Monumenta Germaniae Historica. Studien und Texte; Bd. 40) Hahnsche Buchhandlung, Hannover 2006, ISBN 978-3-7752-5700-8 (Recension)
• Bernward von Hildesheim (German)
• Hans Jakob Schuffels in Brandt/Eggebrecht (Hrsg.): Bernward von Hildesheim und das Zeitalter der Ottonen, Katalog der Ausstellung 1993 Volume 1, p.31; Illustration of the document in Volume 2, p.453 (German)
• History of Burgstemmen (German)
•  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Jackson, Samuel Macauley, ed. (1914). "^{article name needed}". New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge (third ed.). London and New York: Funk and Wagnalls. 
• Bernhard Gallistl: Bernward of Hildesheim: a Case of Self-Planned Sainthood?', in The Invention of Saintliness, ed. by A. Mulder-Bakker. London 1992. pp. 145–162. ISBN10: 0415267595 ISBN13: 9780415267595