This treaty did not prevent war soon again breaking out between Sigebert and Chilperic. So long as her husband lived, Brunhilda played a secondary part, but having been made captive by Chilperic after her husband's assassination (575), she succeeded in escaping from her prison at Rouen, after a series of extraordinary adventures, by means of a marriage with Merovech, the son of her conqueror. From this time on, she took the lead; in Austrasia she engaged in a desperate struggle against the nobles, who wished to govern in the name of her son Childebert II.; but she was worsted in the conflict and for some time had to seek refuge in Burgundy. After the death of Childebert II. (597) she aspired to govern Austrasia and Burgundy in the name of her grandsons Theudebert and Theuderich II. She was expelled from Austrasia, and then stirred up Theuderich II. against his brother, whom he defeated at Toul and Tolbiac, and put to death. Theuderich II. died shortly after this victory, and Brunhilda caused one of her great-grandchildren to be proclaimed king. The nobles of Austrasia and Burgundy, however, now summoned Clotaire II., son of Fredegond, and king of Neustria, to help them against the queen. Brunhilda was given up to him, and died a terrible death, being dragged at the heels of a wild horse (613).
Brunhilda seems to have had political ideas, and to have wished to attain to the royal power. She was a protectress of the Church, and Pope Gregory I. (590-604) addressed a series of letters to her, in which he showered praises upon her. She took it upon herself, however, to supervise the bishoprics and monasteries, and came into conflict with Columban (Columbanus), abbot of Luxeuil. As Brunhilda was a great queen, tradition ascribes to her the construction of many old castles, and a number of old Roman roads are also known by the name of Chaussées de Brunehaut.
Authorities.—Gregory of Tours, Historia Francorum, bks. iv.-x.; the so-called Chronicle of Fredegarius; Aug. Thierry, Récits des temps mérovingiens (2 vols., Paris, 8th ed., 1864); G. Kurth, "La Reine Brunehaut," in the Revue des questions historiques, vol. xxvi. (1891).
(C. Pf.)
BRUNI, LEONARDO (1369-1444), Italian scholar, author of the History of Florence, was born at Arezzo, and is generally known as Leonardo Aretino. He was secretary to the papal chancery under Innocent VII. and John XXII. From 1427 to his death in 1444 he was chancellor to the republic of Florence. He was buried at the expense of the state in Sta Croce, where his laurelled statue is still to be seen. He was the first to free the history of Florence from its fabulous elements, but his book, though not unintelligent, only repays very laborious study. The only Latin edition is Historiarum Florentinarum libri xii ... exempto in lucem edit. stud, et op. Sixti Brunonis (Argentor. 1610, fol.). A translation into Tuscan was published by Donato Acciajuoli in 1476 at Venice, was republished at Florence in 1492, and again, with Sansovino's continuation, at Venice in 1561.
BRÜNN (Czech Brno), the capital of the Austrian margraviate and crownland of Moravia, 89 m. N. of Vienna by rail. Pop. (1900) 108,944, of whom 70% are Germans and 30% are Czechs. Brünn is situated for the most part between two hills at the confluence of the Schwarzawa and the Zwittawa, and consists of
the old town and extensive suburbs. On one of the hills, known as the Spielberg (945 ft.), stands a castle which has long been used as a prison, famous for its connexion with Silvio Pellico, who was confined within its walls from 1822 to 1830. The fortifications of the old town have now been entirely removed, giving place to handsome gardens and well-built streets, which put it in communication with its adjoining suburbs. The old town, although comparatively small, with narrow and crooked but well-paved streets, contains the most important buildings in the city. The Rathaus, which dates from 1511, has a fine Gothic portal, and contains several interesting antiquities. The ecclesiastical buildings comprise the cathedral of St Peter, situated on the lower hill; the fine Gothic church of St Jacob, built in the 15th century, with its iron tower added in 1845, and a remarkable collection of early prints; the church of the Augustinian friars, dating from the 14th century; and that of the Minorites, with its frescoes, its holy stair and its Loretto-house. Amongst the new buildings are the hall of the provincial diet, opened in 1881; a handsome new synagogue; the national museum of Moravia and Silesia and several high educational establishments, including a technical academy and a theological seminary, which are the remnants of the former university of Brünn. It is the seat of a Roman Catholic bishop and of a Protestant consistory. Brünn, which is sometimes styled "the Austrian Manchester," is one of the most industrial towns of Austria and the chief seat of the cloth industry in the whole empire. Other important branches of industry are: the manufacture of various woollen, cotton and silk goods, leather, the machinery required in the textile factories, brewing, distilling and milling, and the production of sugar, oil, gloves and hardware. It is also an important railway junction and carries on a very active trade.
Brünn probably dates from the 9th century. In the 11th century it was bestowed by Duke Wratislas II. on his son Otto. A place of great strength, it held out successfully against sieges—in 1428 by the Hussites, in 1467 by King George of Bohemia, in 1645 by the Swedish general Torstenson, and in 1742 by the Prussians. In 1805 it was the headquarters of Napoleon before the battle of Austerlitz.
See Trautenberger, Die Chronik der Landeshauptstadt Brünn (Brünn, 1893-1897, 5 vols.).
BRUNNER, HENRY (1840- ), German historian, was born at Wels in Upper Austria on the 22nd of June 1840. After studying at the universities of Vienna, Göttingen and Berlin, he became professor at the university of Lemberg in 1866, and in quick succession held similar positions at Prague, Strassburg and Berlin. From 1872 Brunner devoted himself especially to studying the early laws and institutions of the Franks and kindred peoples of western Europe, and on these subjects his researches have been of supreme value. He also became a leading authority on modern German law. He became a member of the Berlin Academy of Sciences in 1884, and in 1886, after the death of G. Waitz, undertook the supervision of the Leges section of the Monumenta Germaniae historica. His chief works are: Die Entstehung der Schwurgerichte (Berlin, 1872); Zeugen und Inquisitionsbeweis der karolingischen Zeit (Vienna, 1866); Das anglonormännische Erbfolgesystem, nebst einem Excurs über die älteren normännischen Coutumes (Leipzig, 1869); Zur Rechtsgeschichte der römischen und germanischen Urkunde (Berlin, 1880); Deutsche Rechtsgeschichte (Leipzig, 1887-1892); Mithio und Sperantes (Berlin, 1885); Die Landschenkungen der Merowinger und Agilolfinger (Berlin, 1885); Das Gerichtszeugnis und die fränkische Königsurkunde (Berlin, 1873); Forschungen zur Geschichte des deutschen und französischen Rechts (Stuttgart, 1894); Grundzüge der deutschen Rechtsgeschichte (Leipzig, 1901).