Bernard of Constance

BERNARD OF CONSTANCE: German teacher and author of the eleventh century; d. at Corvey 1088. He was a Saxon by birth, and about the middle of the century presided with notable success 67over the school at Constance, which he left to teach at Hildesheim. During his residence here he was asked by his teacher Adalbert and his pupil Bernold to write on the questions raised by the Roman synod of 1078, and answered in a lengthy treatise against the opponents of Gregory VII. His standpoint comes out even more clearly in his Liber canonum contra Henricum IV, which on its first publication (M. Sdralek, Die Streitschriften, Altmanns von Passau und Wezilos von Mainz, Paderborn, 1890) was erroneously ascribed to Bishop Altmann of Passau. It was written after the Synod of Quedlinburg at Easter, 1085, when the Gregorian party was in great difficulties, and is an uncompromising declaration of fidelity to the papal cause. Bernard was, in short, as his pupil Bernold describes him, not only "a most learned man" but also "most fervent in the cause of St. Peter."

Carl Mirbt.

Bibliography: The two works mentioned above have been edited by F. Thaner in MGH, Lib. de lite, ii (1892), 29–47, and i (1891), 472–516 respectively. Consult C. Mirbt, Die Publizistik im Zeitalter Gregora VII, Leipsic, 1894; F. Thaner, Zu zwei Streitschriften des 11. Jahrhunderts, in Neues Archiv für älteredeutsche Geschichte, xvi (1889), 529–540; Hauck, KD, vol. iii.