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Adalbert of Prague
Bohemian missionary and saint (c.956–997) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Adalbert of Prague (Latin: Sanctus Adalbertus, Czech: svatý Vojtěch, Slovak: svätý Vojtech, Polish: święty Wojciech, Hungarian: Szent Adalbert (Béla); c. 956 – 23 April 997), known in the Czech Republic, Poland and Slovakia by his birth name Vojtěch (Latin: Voitecus), was a Czech missionary and Christian saint.[3] He was the Bishop of Prague and a missionary to the Hungarians, Poles, and Prussians, who was martyred in his efforts to convert the Baltic Prussians to Christianity. He is said to be the composer of the oldest Czech hymn Hospodine, pomiluj ny and Bogurodzica, the oldest known Polish anthem but his authorship of them has not been confirmed.[4]
Adalbert was later declared the patron saint of the Czech Republic, Poland, and the Duchy of Prussia. He is also the patron saint of the Archdiocese of Esztergom in Hungary.[5]
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Life
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Early years
Born as Vojtěch in 952[6] or c. 956[7] in gord Libice, he belonged to the Slavnik clan, one of the two most powerful families in Bohemia.[6] Events from his life were later recorded by a Bohemian priest Cosmas of Prague (1045–1125). Vojtěch's father was Slavník (d. 978–981), a duke ruling a province centred at Libice.[8] His mother was Střezislava (d. 985–987),[8] and according to David Kalhous belonged to the Přemyslid dynasty.[9]
He had five brothers: Soběslav, Spytimír, Dobroslav, Pořej, and Čáslav.[10] Cosmas also refers to Radim (later Gaudentius) as a brother;[11] who is believed to have been a half-brother by his father's liaison with another woman. After he survived a grave illness in childhood, his parents decided to dedicate him to the service of God. Adalbert was well educated, having studied for approximately ten years (970–80) in Magdeburg under Adalbert of Magdeburg.[12] The young Vojtěch took his tutor's name "Adalbert" at his Confirmation.
Episcopacy
In 981 Adalbert of Magdeburg died, and his young protege Adalbert returned to Bohemia. Later Bishop Dietmar of Prague ordained him a Catholic priest. In 982, Bishop Dietmar died, and Adalbert, despite being under canonical age, was chosen to succeed him as Bishop of Prague.[13] Amiable and somewhat worldly, he was not expected to trouble the secular powers by making excessive claims for the Church.[14] Although Adalbert was from a wealthy family, he avoided comfort and luxury, and was noted for his charity and austerity. After six years of preaching and prayer, he had made little headway in evangelising the Bohemians, who maintained deeply embedded pagan beliefs.
Adalbert opposed the participation of Christians in the slave trade and complained of polygamy and idolatry, which were common among the people. Once he started to propose reforms he was met with opposition from both the secular powers and the clergy. His family refused to support Duke Boleslaus in an unsuccessful war against Poland. Adalbert was no longer welcome and eventually forced into exile.[12] In 988 he went to Rome. He intended to go to Jerusalem, but instead he went to the monastery of Monte Cassino, and from there to the Benedictine monastery of Saint Boniface and Alexis on Aventine Hill, where he lived for two years.[15]
In 992, the archbishop of Mainz, Willigis, who was the superior of the Prague diocese, demanded that Adalbert return to his episcopal see — which he did. Together with a group of Italian Benedictine monks which brought with him, he founded in 14 January 993 a monastery in Břevnov (then situated westward from Prague, now part of the city), the second oldest monastery on Czech territory.[citation needed] However, after another unsuccessful attempt at Christianization, he returned to the Aventine in 995.[15] Shortly after Adalbert’s departure from Bohemia, Duke Boleslaus II the Pious murdered Adalbert’s five brothers and destroyed their family seat in Lidice.[15] After this, Adalbert could not safely stay in Bohemia and escaped from Prague. Strachkvas was eventually appointed to be his successor. However, Strachkvas suddenly died during the liturgy at which he was to accede to his episcopal office in Prague. The cause of his death is still ambiguous. The Pope directed Adalbert to resume his see, but believing that he would not be allowed back, Adalbert requested a brief as an itinerant missionary.[13]
After spending a year on the Aventine, Adalbert set out on a pilgrimage through France and Germany in June 996.[15] Between September and November, he stayed at the court of Emperor Otto III.[15] During this time, he was released from his duties as bishop of Prague and was free to devote himself to the Christianization of pagan lands as a missionary bishop. From the imperial court, he traveled to a place referred to in the sources as Mestris, which Gerard Labuda identifies as Pécsvárad (Mons Ferreus) in Hungary.[15] He probably baptized there Géza of Hungary and his son Stephen in Esztergom[citation needed]. From there, in March 997, he went to the court of the Polish duke Bolesław Chrobry in Gniezno.[15]
Mission in Prussia
Bolesław initially planned to send Adalbert on a mission to the Veleti, but this direction was deemed too dangerous.[15] The Bishop and his companions, entered Prussian territory and traveled along the coast of the Baltic Sea to Gdańsk. At the borders of the Polish realm, at the mouth of the Vistula River, his half-brother Radim (Gaudentius), Benedict-Bogusza (who was probably a Pole), and at least one interpreter, ventured out into Prussia alone, as Bolesław had only sent his soldiers to escort them to the border.[16] Around April 8–9, Adalbert arrived in Gdańsk.[15] There, he performed a baptismal ceremony on Sunday, April 11. He arrived in Prussia on April 17, most likely in the region of Pomesania.[15]
Upon arriving in Prussia, Adalbert dismissed his escort and remained only with his brother Gaudentius and the priest Benedict on a small island surrounded by a river called "Ilfing" near its mouth into the sea. The 9th-century account by Wulfstan uses the name "Ilfing" to refer to the channel connecting the Vistula Lagoon with the lake on which the Prussian settlement of Truso was located.[17] Gerard Labuda identifies this location with Lake Drużno, which flows into the Vistula Lagoon near present-day Elbląg.[18] There, they encountered the Prussians, who did not welcome them warmly. They were taken to a market village, most likely Truso, located on the opposite bank. They spent the day there, and after a tribal assembly was held, they were deemed dangerous and ordered to leave, which they did on April 18.[19]
Martyrdom
The missionaries spent the following five days in a safe location, most likely on the Pomeranian side. From there, on April 22, they crossed the river once again and set out toward another settlement called "Cholinun".[20] Along the way, they passed through a forest and rested in a clearing, where they took a meal.[21] According to Gerard Labuda, the settlement was the village of Pachoły (recorded in old sources as Bacculen, Bacolln, Bkollen, Pachollen), located on the Dzierzgoń River, which flows into Lake Drużno.[22] Upon arriving at the settlement, Adalbert struck the gate, but since he was standing in a ditch, likely a dry moat, the guard told them to climb up to the hill. When the missionaries did so, one of the guards recognized them as the men previously expelled from the market settlement for bringing bad luck.[23] According to the Passio from Tegernsee, the guard let out a "wild and strange cry," summoning the townspeople to the gate, where an interrogation of the newcomers began.[23]
The inhabitants reacted with hostility, and their anger only grew due to Adalbert’s demeanor, he "stood motionless, continuing to preach."[23][24] The crowd began to stone him, and Adalbert collapsed to the ground. After that, the Prussians left them alone, and the missionaries withdrew from the site.[23] The earliest hagiographies differ in the details of Adalbert’s martyrdom. However, they agree that his death occurred after the group had left the settlement, that the wounds were inflicted solely on Adalbert and not on his companions, and that after his death, the bishop’s head was cut off and impaled on a stake.[25][16]
The Vita attributed to Canaparius names the instigator of the killing as Sicco, a priest and leader of the group, who was the first to strike with a spear.[16] Bruno of Querfurt’s account adds that this Prussian leader had a brother who had been “killed by the Polans,” suggesting a motive rooted in vengeance.[23] According to the Passio from Tegernsee, the bishop died while praying, struck down by the first blow of an axe, which severed his head.[23]
The reasons for Adalbert’s death remain unclear to this day. None of the three oldest hagiographies provide them, as none of Adalbert’s companions knew the motives behind the actions of the Prussians. The most probable interpretation is that Adalbert ignored the decision of the tribal assembly and returned to Prussian territory.[26] Another potential interpretation is the imperious manner with which he preached,[24] but potentially because he preached utilizing a book.[16] The Prussians had an oral society where communication was face to face. To the locals Adalbert reading from a book may have come off as a manifestation of an evil action.[16] According to other interpretations, on their way to "Cholinun", the missionaries may have unknowingly passed through a sacred grove of the Prussians, thereby violating a taboo. This is suggested by the ritual nature of the murder and the leading role played by the pagan priest. Such an interpretation is supported by a later account from Adam of Bremen, who, in describing Adalbert’s mission and martyrdom, notes that the Prussians did not allow Christians to enter their sacred forests.[26]
This encounter may also have taken place in Tenkitten and Fischhausen (now Primorsk, Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia).[24] It is recorded that his body was bought back for its weight in gold by Boleslaus of Poland.[24]
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Veneration and relics
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Immediately after the death of Adalbert, his close friends and promoters of his cult, Emperor Otto III, Bishop Notker of Liège, and Duke Bolesław the Brave, began building churches and chapels dedicated to him. Notker did this in the capital of his bishopric, founding a church near the older Church of St. John the Evangelist. Bolesław the Brave founded the Church of St. Adalbert on the Warta River, opposite the cathedral located on the island.[27]
The most active was the emperor. In the year 1001, Otto III established a church dedicated to St. Adalbert north of Ravenna, at the hermitage of St. Romuald in Pereum, today near the town of Sant'Alberto.[28] A monastery developed around it, intended for Christian missionary work in Slavic lands. He also founded a large church in Aachen in Adalbert’s honor, as well as others in Reichenau and Rome, along with chapels in Benedictine abbeys, including Monte Cassino in Affile.[27] All of these early sites connected with the cult of St. Adalbert shared a link to water, being located on islands or near bodies of water.[29]
According to some sources, the saint’s body was initially placed in Trzemeszno after being ransomed, and later transferred to Gniezno.[29] The basilica in Gniezno was given the title of St. Adalbert's Church. The saint's brother, Radzim Gaudenty, was ordained bishop in 999 and soon received the title of “Archbishop of St. Adalbert” with assignment to the church in Gniezno. This was a prelude to the elevation of Gniezno to the rank of archbishopric and the creation of a sovereign Polish ecclesiastical province, which took place in the year 1000.[30]
It is likely that some relics were sent to Rome during the period of canonization. Although they probably left Poland only in the year 1000 with Otto III, who was returning to Aachen after the Congress of Gniezno and may have been accompanied by Duke Bolesław.[28] In the church of St. Adalbert consecrated there, the emperor placed part of the relics. He then traveled to Rome and deposited an arm relic of St. Adalbert in the church he founded in his name on Tiber Island.[29] A finger of the saint was placed by the emperor in Pereum.[29]
Most of the relics that remained in Poland were placed in Gniezno. According to later legend the second arm of the saint was transferred to Trzemeszno, but this is unlikely since the monastery there was founded only in 12the century. Other smaller fragments may have been relocated to churches that were being established in Poland at that time.[29]
Between 1001 and 1010 some relics were transffered to Esztergom and possibly to Bamberg.[31]
A few years after his martyrdom, Adalbert was canonized. His life was written in Vita Sancti Adalberti Pragensis by various authors, the earliest being traced to imperial Aachen and the Bishop of Liège, Notger von Lüttich, although it was previously assumed that the Roman monk John Canaparius wrote the first Vita in 999. Another famous biographer of Adalbert was Bruno of Querfurt who wrote a hagiography of him in 1001–4.
According to Bohemian accounts, in 1039 the Bohemian Duke Bretislav I looted the bones of Adalbert from Gniezno in a raid and translated them to Prague. According to Polish accounts, however, he stole the wrong relics, namely those of Gaudentius, while the Poles concealed Adalbert's relics which remain in Gniezno. In 1127 his severed head, which was not in the original purchase according to Roczniki Polskie, was discovered and translated to Gniezno. In 1928, one of the arms of Adalbert, which Bolesław I had given to Holy Roman Emperor Otto III in 1000, was added to the bones preserved in Gniezno. Therefore, today Adalbert has two elaborate shrines in the Prague Cathedral[32] and Royal Cathedral of Gniezno, each of which claims to possess his relics, but which of these bones are his authentic relics is unknown. For example, pursuant to both claims two skulls are attributed to Adalbert. The one in Gniezno was stolen in 1923.
The massive bronze doors of Gniezno Cathedral, dating from around 1175, are decorated with eighteen reliefs of scenes from Adalbert's life. They are the only Romanesque ecclesiastical doors in Europe depicting a cycle illustrating the life of a saint, and therefore are a precious relic documenting Adalbert's martyrdom. We can read that door literally and theologically.
The one thousandth anniversary of Adalbert's martyrdom was on 23 April 1997. It was commemorated in Poland, the Czech Republic, Germany, Russia, and other nations. Representatives of Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and Evangelical churches traveled on a pilgrimage to Adalbert's tomb located in Gniezno. Pope John Paul II visited the cathedral and celebrated a liturgy there in which heads of seven European nations and approximately one million faithful participated.
A ten-meter cross was erected near the village of Beregovoe (formerly Tenkitten), Kaliningrad Oblast, where Adalbert is thought to have been martyred by the Prussians.
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Feast day
- 25 January – commemoration of translation of relics to Church of Saint Roch,[33]
- 22 April – commemoration in Diocese of Innsbruck,[34]
- 22 April – commemoration in Catholic Church in England and Wales,[35][36]
- 23 April – commemoration of death anniversary,[37][38]
- 14 May – commemoration of consecration of church in Aachen[33]
- 25 August – commemoration of translation of relics from Gniezno to Prague (1039)[39]
- 26 August – commemoration of translation of relics to Wrocław[33]
- 20 October – commemoration of translation of relics to Gniezno (1090)[40]
- 22 October – commemoration of translation of relics to Gniezno[41]
- 6 November – commemoration of translation of relics to Esztergom,[42]
He is also commemorated on 23 April by Evangelical Church in Germany[43] and Eastern Orthodox Church.[44]
In popular culture and society
The Dagmar and Václav Havel VIZE 97 Foundation Prize, given annually to a distinguished thinker "whose work exceeds the traditional framework of scientific knowledge, contributes to the understanding of science as an integral part of general culture and is concerned with unconventional ways of asking fundamental questions about cognition, being and human existence" includes a massive replica of Adalbert's crozier by Czech artist Jiří Plieštík.
St. Vojtech Fellowship was established in 1870 by Slovak Catholic priest Andrej Radlinský. It had facilitated Slovak Catholic thinkers and authors, continuing to publish religious original works and translations to this day. It is the official publishing body of Episcopal Conference of Slovakia.
Churches and parishes named for Adalbert
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See also
References
Sources
External links
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