BERNONE, bishop of SCHWERIN. - A Cistercian of the monastery of Amelungsborn on the Weser. We know almost nothing of him before his election as bishop of Mecklemburg (1155) by the Saxon prince Henry the Lion. Having once more subjected the Obotrites (one of the Slavic tribes known by the name of Wends), the latter wished to restore the pre-existing bishoprics, entrusting that of Mecklemburg to B., who received consecration in Rome from Adrian IV. At first, the attempt to convert the Obotrites was unfruitful and dangerous, since they confused Christians with the conquering Saxons, so that B. had to transfer the episcopal see to Schwerin, where Saxon settlers were already established. From there, with the support of Prince Pribislao, a pagan but married to a Christian woman, Woislava, he was able to spread his zeal throughout the city and over a wide surrounding area. He baptized the prince (1163), consecrated the Cathedral (9 Sept. 1171), where he held the first Synod (1177); he advanced into the Circipanian region, in Pomerania, and as far as the island of Rügen,
converting its inhabitants. He was in Rome twice, in 1178 and 1187, where he obtained confirmation of his bishopric, and in 1179 he took part in the Third Lateran Council. He died at Schwerin on 27 Jan. 1190 or 1191.