CONRAD OF CONSTANCE, ST.

Bishop; d. Constance, Switzerland, Nov. 26, 975. He was of the aristocratic Guelf family, son of the founder of weingarten abbey. In 934 Conrad became bishop of Constance through the backing of ulric of augsburg. Though not a political figure, Conrad spent considerable time with Emperor otto i: at Ingelheim in 948, at the royal assembly of Augsburg in 952, and on the Italian expedition in 961 to 962. In 973 he served on a commission appointed by otto ii to investigate the Abbey of sankt gallen, an incident that exemplified his interest in the contemporary cluniac reform. Tradition associates his name with churches in einsiedeln, Rheingau, and St. Trudpert and with the chapel of St. Maurice in Constance. His biography, composed 150 years after his death, speaks also of his pilgrimages to Jerusalem, his relic collection, and his miracles. He was canonized in 1123. All relics, except his head, were thrown into Lake Constance in 1526, during the Reformation.

Feast: Nov. 26.

Bibliography: Gestalt und Verehrung des heiligen Konrad, ed. j. sauer (Karlsruhe, Germany 1975). Der Heilige Konrad, Bischof von Konstanz, ed. h. maurer, w. mÜller and h. ott (Freiburg 1975). e. keller, Der heilige Konrad von Konstanz (Karlsruhe 1975). Monumenta Germaniae Historica: Scriptores 4:430–460; 21:454–477. a. butler, The Lives of the Saints, ed. h. thurston and d. attwater (New York 1956) 4:425–426. o. feger, Geschichte des Bodenseeraumes (Lindau 1956–) v. 1.

[r. h. schmandt]