Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 2.djvu/580

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BERNO


512


BERNOLD


in Rome, and finally resigned his post rather than take the constitutional oath. The last three years of his life he spent in Rome in comparative poverty, devoting himself to the French exiles and fully justifying the epithet, "Protector of the Church of France", bestowed upon him by Pius Pope VI. The French colony in Rome erected a magnificent mausoleum in his honour, and the church of St. Louis received his remains.

Bernis's life has too long received but scant appre- ciation because of the levity of his youth, which he was the first to regret and called the delicta iuven- lutis meet. The publication of his "M^moires" in 1S7S has put a new construction on many things and given us a truer and better opinion of him. Although the first part of his life cannot be defended, still, from the time of liis ordination at Venice and Soissons, the courtier took a higher view of the sanctity of the priestly character, and was no dis- credit to it. Bemis was a writer of no mean talent. His "Pofeies" show a bright imagination and a facile pen; his "Letters" are not inferior to Voltaire's; and the poem "Religion vengee", though lacking the calm beauty of Racine's similar production, still has inspiring passages. Didot published Bernis's "(iiuvres mel6es en prose et en vers" (Paris, 1797), and Masson edited his "Memoires" (1S78).

Encyclopedie des gens du monde (Paris, 1834); Masson, Memoires et Uttres de Francois-Joachim, Cardinal de Bernis (Paris, 1S7S): Idem, Le Cardinal de Bemis depuis son jninistire (Paris, 1884): De La Rocheterie, Revue des questions his- toriques (Paris, 1879), XXVI, 214; Theixer, Histoire de Clement XIV (Paris, 1852); D'Armailhac. L'eglise nalionale de St. Louis des Franfeiis (Rome, 1894).

J. F. SOLLIER.

Bemo (Abbot of Reichenau), famous as orator, poet, philosopher, and musician, born (date un- known) at Priim near Trier; d. 7 June, 104S. He became Abbot of Reichenau in 1008. Educated in the school of St. Gall, Berno ^'isited Rome with the Emperor Henry II, and upon his return introduced many reforms in the liturgical music of his nati\'e land. Among his books are the "Tonarium", "De varia psalmorum atque cantuum modulatione", and " De consona tonorum diversitate", all of which are contained in Migne's "Patrology" and in Ger- bert's "Scriptores". Another work attributed to him. but less known, is entitled "De instrumentis musicalibus".

Living and ^\Titing at a time when the traditions of Rome and St. Gall were stUl fresh, Berno has left, in his works on music, a fruitful source of information to those who are interested in ascer- taining and restoring the rhythmical form in which the Gregorian melodies were originally sung. Berno 's testimony, with that of other early writers, supports the view of those who hold that the Gregorian melodies consist of long and short note-values, as against the theory that aU notes in the chant are of ecjual length.

Wagner. Neumenkunde (Freiburg, 1905); Bonvin. On Gregorian Rhythm (New York, 1906); Voir de St. Gall (Fri- bourg, Switzerland, 1906).

Joseph Otten.

Bemo (.\posTLE of the 0BOTRiTE5),in the latter half of the twelfth century. The Obotrites were one of the Slav tribes known under the common name of Wends, and dwelt along the Baltic in Mecklenburg. Throe bishoprics had been erected in their country as early as the tenth centurj', Oldenburg (transferred to Liibeck in the twelfth century), Ratzeburg, and Mecklenburg, but they remained vacant during the greater part of the eleventh centurj'. Duke Henry the Lion, of Saxony, ha^^ng partly subdued the Obotrites, re-established the three bishoprics, and in 11.55 selected Berno as Bishop of Mecklenburg. He was a Cistercian monk of the flourishing monas- tery of Amelungsborn on the Weser, and was conse-


crated in Rome by Pope Adrian IV. As these sees were not only episcopal residences but also political centres and strongholds of foreign power, the Obo- trites identified the Christian with the German name and detested both. No wonder that Berno at first met ^ith small success in his missionarj- labours. The Obotrite Prince Niklot, the fiercest enemy both of the Germans and of the Christian religion, had not yet submitted to German ascendency and was the great- est obstacle to the conversion of the people. Berno was even obliged in 1158 to transfer his episcopal see from Mecklenburg to Schwerin, whither German colonists had already penetrated. From Schwerin as a centre, the zealous and intrepid missionaiy bishop began liis work of preaching, destroying idols, baptizing, and building churches, and penetrated as far as Demmin in hither Pomerania. Here, in 1163, he converted the powerful Prince Pribislav, son of Niklot, who, however, fell away again the very next year, made war upon the Germans, and attacked, and nearly killed the bishop at the altar. In the end he had to acknowledge the German supremacy and remained henceforth loyal to the Christian religion.

In 1168 Berno undertook a missionary expedition to the island of Riigen and destroyed the temple and the great idol of the pagan inhabitants, whom by patience and kindness he won over to the Christian religion. In the year 1171 he consecrated the Cathe- dral of Schwerin, where in 1177, he held the first sj-nod. The greatest ser%-ice which this apostolic man rendered to those countries was the introduc- tion of his religious brethren, the Cistercian monks. The monastery of Doberan, which through the bishop's efforts was founded by Pribislav in 1171, soon became a centre from which radiated Christian civilization far and wde. The monks had been brought from liis own monastery of Amelungsborn. Two years later Dargim was founded and entrusted to Danish monks. This monastery, however, did not flourish until the Danish monks were replaced by monks from Doberan. During the schism caused by Frederick Barbarossa, Berno, like all the Cister- cians, never wavered in his loyalty to the legitimate pope, though his metropolitan, the Archbishop of Bremen, had joined the cause of the antipope. When at last Frederick made his peace with Alex- ander III, Berno was enabled to make a journey to Rome (1178) to pay his homage to the pope, who confirmed the erection of his diocese. During the Lent of the following year he took part in the General Council of the Lateran. During his absence in Rome, the Wends had risen against the Germans, the great monastery of Doberan had been destroyed and its seventy-eight inmates massacred. When peace was re-estabhshed Doberan was rebuilt and again peopled by monks from Amelungsborn in 11S6. Berno died in 1191 (1190?) ha\'ing laboured as bishop in Meck- lenburg for over thirty years.

DiEKAMP in Kirchenltl., II. s. v.; Allgemeine deutsche Biog., II, s. V,; Hergenrother-Kircsh, Kirchengesch., II, 536-538, a full bibliography, ibidem, 277, 278, 535, 536; Chevalier, bio-bibl. (Paris, 1905), s. v.

B. GULDNER.

Bernold of Constance, historian and theologian, b. in Swabia about 1054; d. at Schaffhausen, 16 Sep- tember, 1100. He entered the school of Constance under the renowned Bernard of Constance, and made rapid progress in study. He attended the Lenten Sjaiod of Rome, in 1079. at which Berengarius re- tracted his errors. Remaining in Italy till 10S4 he returned to Constance for the episcopal consecration of Gebhard, whose action in enforcing the reforjn decrees of Gregory VII he later on defended. In the same year he was ordained priest by the papal legate. Cardinal Otto of Ostia. In 1086 he went with Bishop Gebhard as counsellor to Iling Herman, to