Amistades paganas y persecución de los cristianos: la epí­stola de Bruno de Querfurt al emperador Enrique II

Abstract

The following letter was written during the year 1008 by Brun of Querfurt –a bishop and missionary. It was addressed to the Saxon king Henry II (1002-1024), who was appointed emperor in 1014. The relations among the political actors involved in the events, which are described in the letter, were constantly changing. The Polish Piast dynasty had cooperated with the Empire since the middle of the 10th century. In 983 the Liutizi (a confederation of Slavic peoples) had risen up against the ecclesiastical and imperial structures in the Elbe region; in that context, paganism seems to have flourished. However, at the beginning of the new millennium, the Piast BolesÅ‚aw the Brave became the most intimidating threat for the Empire, particularly because of his expansionist aims. In 1003 King Henry II came to an agreement with the Liutizi against him: this was a pact between a Christian king and a pagan confederation against another Christian ruler. Brun of Querfurt, who had devoted himself to mission and whose activities were supported by BolesÅ‚aw, wrote this letter to Henry II in order to highlight the contradictions involved of the aforementioned alliance