He was the eldest son of the Saxon count
Liudolf (died 866) and his wife,
Oda. His father held large estates in
Eastphalia along the
Leine river, where in 852 he founded the
Brunshausen monastery. Bruno succeeded his father and is mentioned as a count in 877. While Liudolf is described as , i.e. leader in East Saxony (Eastphalia), it is possible that Bruno, according to the by the medieval chronicler
Widukind of Corvey, already was , duke () of all Saxony. The rise of his family in
East Francia is documented by the fact that Bruno's sister
Liutgard in 874 married the
Carolingian prince
Louis the Younger, second son of King
Louis the German, whereafter he is called , 'duke and the queen's brother' in the . Nothing is known of Bruno's marriage and children. He supported his brother-in-law, Louis the Younger, in the fights with his uncle, Emperor
Charles the Bald. As Saxon commander-in-chief during the
Viking invasions, he died, along with several other noblemen, in a battle against "Norsemen" warriors (probably a
Danish contingent of the
Great Heathen Army, defeated by King
Alfred the Great) on
Candlemas Day, 2 February 880. The mid-winter battle was a crushing defeat; Duke Bruno, the bishops of
Minden and
Hildesheim, as well as twelve Saxon counts and several other noblemen, were killed. According to the chronicler Bishop
Thietmar of Merseburg, Bruno died in a flooded river, which probably took place during the battle or a retreat. He was succeeded by his younger brother
Otto the Illustrious, whose son
Henry the Fowler became
King of East Francia in 919. ==Veneration==