Background
Bruno was born in Querfurt c. 970. He was from a noble family of Querfurt (now in Saxony-Anhalt). He is rumored to have been a relative of the Holy Roman Emperor Otto III.
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Bruno of Querfurt
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also known as
St. Bruno of Querfurt
Education
At the age of six, Bruno was sent to be educated at the cathedral school in Magdeburg, seat of Adalbert of Magdeburg, the teacher, and namesake of Saint Adalbert. While still a youth, he was made a canon of the Cathedral of Magdeburg.
Career
Bruno was later summoned to the imperial court, where he was appointed chaplain to Holy Roman Emperor Otto III. When, in 997, Bruno received news of the murder of Adalbert, bishop of Prague, he decided to replace the bishop. After preparing himself for his projected missions, he was appointed archbishop over the heathen by Pope Sylvester II. Bruno was consecrated by the Archbishop of Magdeburg in 1004. Unable to proceed to Poland because of war, he went instead to Hungary, where he found time to complete a life of St. Adalbert (Vita S. Alberti). Not too successful in Hungary, Bruno proceeded to Russia in 1007, making converts between the Danube and the Don. In 1008 he was finally able to go to Poland, where he heard of the murder of five monks who had preceded him there. He then wrote Vita Quinque Fratrum Poloniae as a memorial to those martyrs. On a mission that began in Prussia and moved toward the borders of Russia, Bruno was murdered on February 14, 1009.
