| Saint Bernward of Hildesheim | |
|---|---|
Statue of Bernward von Hildesheim near St. Mary's Cathedral |
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| Born | 960 Duchy of Saxony |
| Died | 20 November 1022 |
| Honored in | Roman Catholic Church |
| Major shrine | St. Mary's Cathedral, Hildesheim |
| Feast | 20 November |
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.[1]
The most famous extant stamped roof tiles, examples of this ambition, are the Bernward doors of St. Mary's Cathedral (bronze cast with scenes of the holy history after the wooden doors of Santa Sabina in Rome), the Christus Pilar (bronze cast with images of the deeds of Christ after the stone Kaisersäulen in Rome), as well as the early Romanesque Michaelskirche (finished after Bernward's death). St. Michael's Church was designed to be the image of heavenly Jerusalem by the bishop and he is buried there. The treasures Bernward created 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.