Berowulf or Berowelf (died 26 September 800) was the

bishop of Würzburg A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of dioceses. The role ...

from 768 or 769 until his death. Since the 11th century, his name has appeared as ''Bernwelf''. It may also be spelled ''Berowolf'', ''Bernwulf'' or ''Bernulf''. Berowulf's predecessor, Megingoz, retired in 768. The first reference to Berowulf as bishop comes from April 769. Prior to his election he was a monk from the local monastery of Sankt Andreas. As bishop, he introduced the rule of

Chrodegang Chrodegang (; ;Spellings of his name in (Latin) primary sources are extremely varied: Chrodegangus, Grodegandus, Grodegangus, Grodogangus, Chrodogandus, Krodegandus, Chrodegrangus, Chrotgangus, Ruotgangus, Droctegangus, Chrodegand, and Sirigangus ...

to replace that of

Boniface Boniface, OSB (born Wynfreth; 675 –5 June 754) was an English Benedictine monk and leading figure in the Anglo-Saxon mission to the Germanic parts of Francia during the eighth century. He organised significant foundations of the church i ...

. He had a close relationship with

Charlemagne Charlemagne ( ; 2 April 748 – 28 January 814) was List of Frankish kings, King of the Franks from 768, List of kings of the Lombards, King of the Lombards from 774, and Holy Roman Emperor, Emperor of what is now known as the Carolingian ...

(reigned 768–814), who charged him with the evangelisation of the

Slavs The Slavs or Slavic people are groups of people who speak Slavic languages. Slavs are geographically distributed throughout the northern parts of Eurasia; they predominantly inhabit Central Europe, Eastern Europe, Southeastern Europe, and ...

in the upper

Main Main may refer to: Geography *Main River (disambiguation), multiple rivers with the same name *Ma'in, an ancient kingdom in modern-day Yemen * Main, Iran, a village in Fars Province *Spanish Main, the Caribbean coasts of mainland Spanish territ ...

region. In 779 he was commissioned to establish a new missionary diocese, the

bishopric of Paderborn The Prince-Bishopric of Paderborn () was an ecclesiastical principality (Hochstift) of the Holy Roman Empire from 1281 to 1802. History The Diocese of Paderborn was founded in 799 by Pope Leo III. In the early years it was subordinated to t ...

, in the east. The first two bishops of that see, Hathumar and

Badurad Badurad, lists the following attested forms of his name from Latin documents: Baduradus, Badaradus, Baturatus, Baderadus, Baturicus, Bathuradus and Patratus. (died 17 September 862) was the bishop of Paderborn from 815 until his death. Badurad was ...

, were sent to

Würzburg Cathedral Würzburg Cathedral () is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Würzburg in Bavaria, Germany, dedicated to Saint Kilian. It is the seat of the Bishop of Würzburg and has served as the burial place for the Prince-Bishops of Würzburg for hundreds of ye ...

to be educated at the school Berowulf had established. He also grew the

scriptorium A scriptorium () was a writing room in medieval European monasteries for the copying and illuminating of manuscripts by scribes. The term has perhaps been over-used—only some monasteries had special rooms set aside for scribes. Often they ...

, and the first catalogue of books in the cathedral library dates from his episcopate. The main part of the list was written in an

Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons, in some contexts simply called Saxons or the English, were a Cultural identity, cultural group who spoke Old English and inhabited much of what is now England and south-eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. They traced t ...

hand around 800. A later addition, in a German hand, notes five books which had been lent to Holzkirchen and

Fulda Abbey The Abbey of Fulda (; ), from 1221 the Princely Abbey of Fulda () and from 1752 the Prince-Bishopric of Fulda (), was a Benedictine abbey and ecclesiastical principality centered on Fulda, in the present-day German state of Hesse. The monastery ...

. In all, it contains thirty-five books. It was compiled after 787—since the manuscript fly-leaf contains a copy in the same hand of Charlemagne's letter ''

De litteris colendis The is a well-known letter addressed by Emperor Charlemagne to Abbot Baugulf of Fulda, probably written sometime in the late 780s to 800s (decade), although the exact date is still debatable. The letter is a very important witness to the Caroling ...

'' of that year—but probably before 800. In October 788, Berowulf brought the relics of

Saint Kilian Kilian, also spelled Cillian or Killian (or alternatively ; , original Gaelic form Ceallach), was an Ireland, Irish missionary bishop and the Apostle of Franconia (now the northern part of Bavaria), where he began his labours in the latter half ...

to the cathedral which now bears the saint's name. In 787, he tried unsuccessfully to assert episcopal control over Fulda. His successor in Würzburg was the obscure Liuttrit (800–803).

Notes

Sources

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Berowulf 8th-century births 800 deaths Roman Catholic bishops of Würzburg Year of birth unknown