Otto III, Holy Roman Emperor
Encyclopedia
Otto III a King of Germany, was the fourth ruler of the Saxon or Ottonian
dynasty of the Holy Roman Empire
. He was elected King in 983 on the death of his father Otto II
and was crowned Holy Roman Emperor
in 996.
, in what is now North Rhine-Westphalia
.
He was acclaimed King of the Romans
in Verona
in June 983, at the age of three, and crowned in Aachen
on 25 December the same year by Willigis
, Archbishop of Mainz and John, Archbishop of Ravenna. His father had died on 7 December in Rome, but the news did not reach Germany until after the coronation. The arrival of a minor on the throne saw both Germany and Italy thrown into confusion.
In early 984 Henry the Quarrelsome, who had been deposed as Duke of Bavaria by Otto II, seized Otto and claimed the regency as a member of the reigning house. Henry was supported by Egbert (Archbishop of Trier), Gisilher, Archbishop of Magdeburg and Bishop Dietrich I of Metz
, while Otto was supported by Willigis
, Archbishop of Mainz and the Dukes of Saxony, Bavaria and Swabia. Soon however, Henry was claiming the crown for himself, obtaining the allegiance of Mieszko I of Poland
and Boleslaus II, Duke of Bohemia. However, the threat of war saw Henry, forced by Willigis and Conrad I, Duke of Swabia
, to relinquish Otto on June 29, 984, and agreeing to respect the rule of his mother, the Byzantine
princess Theophanu
, as regent. She abandoned her husband's imperialistic policy and devoted herself entirely to furthering an alliance between Church and Empire. She was unable, however, to prevent France from speedily freeing itself from German influence.
In this, France was aided by Henry the Quarrelsome, who continued to conspire against the young Otto, and towards the end of 984, he began negotiating with King Lothair of France
, and in exchange for agreeing to make Henry king, Henry agreed to relinquish Lotharingia
. The two agreed to join their armies on February 1, 985, in order to take the city of Breisach
, but at the last minute, Henry’s resolve weakened. He submitted to Otto in June 985, and in return the duchy of Bavaria was restored to him. Nevertheless, Lothair continued to press on into German lands and succeeded in overrunning the Verdun
by March 985.
The regent endeavoured to watch over the national questions of the Eastern Empire. One of the greatest achievements of the empress was her success in maintaining feudal supremacy over Bohemia
, as Duke Boleslaus II of Bohemia was forced to accept the authority of Otto and his mother. After Theophanu's death in 991, Otto's grandmother, Adelaide of Italy
, then served as regent together with Willigis until Otto III reached his majority in 994.
In external matters, the situation was equally difficult for the new king. Already in 983, the Lutici
had initiated a successful revolt in the Billung
and Northern March
es. The unsuccessful attempts to reconquer these marches became a central objective of Otto's early rule, and he participated in these campaigns in person since the age of six (see Lutici
). During his 986 expedition against them, he received the homage of Duke Mieszko I of Poland, during which Otto received many gifts, including a camel. Although the Lutici were subdued for a time in 987, they continued to occupy the young king’s mind, and when he reached is majority he again took to the field against them in the fall of 995, together with the Polish Duke Bolesław I Chrobry. Then in 997, he had to deal with a new Lutici incursion against Arneburg
on the Elbe
, which they managed to retake for a short while.
Other foreign powers were also busy during this time. In 991, the Hungarians were repulsed after a failed invasion, as Vikings from Scandinavia plundered the countryside. Slavonic raiders captured Brandenburg
, under the command of the Saxon Kizo, forcing Otto to take to the field in 992 to deal with them as well as the Scandinavian raiders. If this weren’t bad enough, 993 saw disease, famine and pestilence affect the land, causing great misery, while 994 and 995 saw fruitless campaigns against the northern Slavs and the Vikings. The only bright spots were the reconquest of Brandenburg in 993 and the defeat of the Obotrites
in 995. After this the northern situation settled down enough for Otto to turn his attention to the place he was most interested – Italy.
with himself at the head of a theocratic state. In 996, he came to the aid of Pope John XV
at the pope's request to put down the rebellion of the Roman nobleman Crescentius II. Reaching Pavia
at Easter
, he was declared King of the Lombards, but failed to reach Rome before the Pope died. Crescentius in the meantime had tried to be conciliatory by allowing John XV to return, and now agreed to accept the Imperial nominee as pope. Otto’s selection was his cousin and the court chaplain, Bruno of Carinthia, as Pope Gregory V
, the first German pope. Nevertheless, Crescentius shut himself in the Tomb of Hadrian
, fearful for his future.
The new pontiff crowned Otto emperor on 21 May 996, in Rome. Here his main advisors were two of the main characters of this age, his tutor Gerbert of Aurillac and the bishop Adalbert of Prague
. Together with these two visionary men, influenced by the Roman ruins and perhaps by his Byzantine mother, Otto devised a dream of restoration of a universal Empire formed by the union of the Papacy, Byzantium and Rome. He also introduced some Byzantine court customs.
The Emperor showed his intentions very quickly as he refused to renew the confirmation of the papal see’s privileges by his grandfather Otto I
, as well as refusing to acknowledge the Donation of Constantine
which he declared a forgery. This resulted in tensions with the Roman nobility and Curia
. He also convened a council in Rome which condemned Crescentius and sentenced him to exile, but as a result of the pope’s petition, the sentence was revoked. He did however, manage to obtain support from the other non-Roman, Italian nobles, such as the Tuscan count, Hugh.
However, as soon as Otto had left Rome one year later, the city magnate Crescentius II deposed Gregory and installed John XVI as pope. Leaving his aunt, Matilda of Quedlinburg
, as regent in Germany, Otto returned to Italy
and retook the city in February 998, storming the Tomb of Hadrian. Crescentius was executed in the Tomb of Hadrian
, the antipope mutilated and blinded, and Gregory reinstated.
Otto made Rome the administrative center of his Empire and revived elaborate Roman customs and Byzantine
court ceremonies. He built an imperial palace on the Palatine Hill
, and planned to restore the Roman Senate
. He established a regular administrative system of government for the capital, naming a patrician, a prefect, and a body of judges, who were commanded to recognize only Roman law. He took the titles "the servant of Jesus
Christ," "the servant of the apostles", "consul of the Roman senate and people" and "emperor of the world". When Gregory V mysteriously died in 999, Otto arranged for Gerbert to be elected pope as Sylvester II. The use of this papal name was not casual: it recalled the first pope of this name, who had allegedly created the "Christian Empire" together with Constantine the Great. Otto therefore was to be seen as the ideal successor to Constantine in the task of reunifying the Roman Empire.
Between 998 and 1000 Otto, being a fervent Christian, made several pilgrimages, although his enemies declared that he made those pilgrimages in order to do penance for having captured Crescentius after promising his safety. He travelled to the Gargano
Peninsula in Southern Italy and to Gaeta
, where he met Saint Nilus the Younger
, then a highly venerated religious figure. Later he left Italy, taking the pro-Byzantine Duke of Naples, John IV
, captive with him, for the tomb of Adalbert of Prague (who in the meantime had been martyred by the pagan Prussians) at Gniezno
, and during the meeting with Bolesław I the Brave in the Congress of Gniezno
he founded the archbishopric of Poland
. In Eastern Europe Otto and his entourage strengthened relationships with the Polish Duchy
and with Stephen of Hungary, who had requested and been granted a crown by Sylvester. Otto was advised by Saint Romuald, the fervent reforming hermit idealized by Saint Peter Damian in the "Vita beati Romualdi". Romuald urged Otto to become a monk.
Another model to which Otto strongly aspired was Charlemagne
. In the year 1000 he visited Charlemagne's tomb in Aachen
, removing relics from it. He had also carried back parts of the body of Adalbert, which he placed in a splendid new church he had built in the Isola Tiberina in Rome, now San Bartolomeo all'Isola
. Otto also added the skin of Saint Bartholomew to the relics housed there.
A minor rebellion by the town of Tibur (Tivoli) in 1001 ended up as his undoing. He retook the town, but spared the inhabitants, which angered the people of Rome, as Tibur was a rival they wanted destroyed. This led to a rebellion by the Roman people, headed by Gregory, Count of Tusculum
; Otto was besieged in his palace and then driven from the city. He withdrew to Ravenna
to do penance in the monastery of Sant'Apollinare in Classe. After having summoned his army, Otto headed southwards to reconquer Rome, but died in the castle of Paterno, near Civita Castellana
, on 24 January 1002. A Byzantine princess (probably Zoe
, second daughter of Emperor Constantine VIII
) had just disembarked in Puglia, on her way to marry him.
Cathedral together with that of Charlemagne
.
Otto's cousin Henry, son of Henry the Quarrelsome, succeeded him as king (and later as emperor) as Henry II
.
, afterwards bishop of Hildesheim, and by Gerbert of Aurillac, archbishop of Reims
. He spoke three languages and was so learned that contemporaries called him "the wonder of the world." Enamoured as he was of Greek and Roman culture, he ended up being contemptuous of his German subjects.
wrote a Chronicon, or Chronicle, in eight books, which deals with the period between 908 and 1018. For the earlier part he used Widukind
's Res gestae Saxonicae
, the Annales Quedlinburgenses and other sources; the latter part is the result of personal knowledge. The chronicle is nevertheless an excellent authority for the history of Saxony
during the reigns of the emperors Otto III and Henry II
. No kind of information is excluded, but the fullest details refer to the bishopric of Merseburg, and to the wars against the Wends
and the Poles
.
Ottonian
The Ottonian dynasty was a dynasty of Germanic Kings , named after its first emperor but also known as the Saxon dynasty after the family's origin. The family itself is also sometimes known as the Liudolfings, after its earliest known member Liudolf and one of its primary leading-names...
dynasty of the Holy Roman Empire
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a realm that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe.It was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Its character changed during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, when the power of the emperor gradually weakened in favour of the princes...
. He was elected King in 983 on the death of his father Otto II
Otto II, Holy Roman Emperor
Otto II , called the Red, was the third ruler of the Saxon or Ottonian dynasty, the son of Otto the Great and Adelaide of Italy.-Early years and co-ruler with Otto I:...
and was crowned Holy Roman Emperor
Holy Roman Emperor
The Holy Roman Emperor is a term used by historians to denote a medieval ruler who, as German King, had also received the title of "Emperor of the Romans" from the Pope...
in 996.
Early reign
Otto was born in Kessel, near GochGoch
Goch is a town in the district of Kleve, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is situated close to the border with the Netherlands, approx. 12 km south of Kleve, and 27 km southeast of Nijmegen.-Cultural ties:...
, in what is now North Rhine-Westphalia
North Rhine-Westphalia
North Rhine-Westphalia is the most populous state of Germany, with four of the country's ten largest cities. The state was formed in 1946 as a merger of the northern Rhineland and Westphalia, both formerly part of Prussia. Its capital is Düsseldorf. The state is currently run by a coalition of the...
.
He was acclaimed King of the Romans
King of the Romans
King of the Romans was the title used by the ruler of the Holy Roman Empire following his election to the office by the princes of the Kingdom of Germany...
in Verona
Verona
Verona ; German Bern, Dietrichsbern or Welschbern) is a city in the Veneto, northern Italy, with approx. 265,000 inhabitants and one of the seven chef-lieus of the region. It is the second largest city municipality in the region and the third of North-Eastern Italy. The metropolitan area of Verona...
in June 983, at the age of three, and crowned in Aachen
Aachen
Aachen has historically been a spa town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Aachen was a favoured residence of Charlemagne, and the place of coronation of the Kings of Germany. Geographically, Aachen is the westernmost town of Germany, located along its borders with Belgium and the Netherlands, ...
on 25 December the same year by Willigis
Willigis
Saint Willigis was Archbishop of Mainz from 975 until his death as well as a statesman of the Holy Roman Empire.-Life:...
, Archbishop of Mainz and John, Archbishop of Ravenna. His father had died on 7 December in Rome, but the news did not reach Germany until after the coronation. The arrival of a minor on the throne saw both Germany and Italy thrown into confusion.
In early 984 Henry the Quarrelsome, who had been deposed as Duke of Bavaria by Otto II, seized Otto and claimed the regency as a member of the reigning house. Henry was supported by Egbert (Archbishop of Trier), Gisilher, Archbishop of Magdeburg and Bishop Dietrich I of Metz
Dietrich I of Metz
Dietrich of Metz was Bishop of Metz from 964 until his death. He was the son of Hedwig of Nordgau and Siegfried of Luxembourg.He succeeded Adalbero I as bishop of Metz...
, while Otto was supported by Willigis
Willigis
Saint Willigis was Archbishop of Mainz from 975 until his death as well as a statesman of the Holy Roman Empire.-Life:...
, Archbishop of Mainz and the Dukes of Saxony, Bavaria and Swabia. Soon however, Henry was claiming the crown for himself, obtaining the allegiance of Mieszko I of Poland
Mieszko I of Poland
Mieszko I , was a Duke of the Polans from about 960 until his death. A member of the Piast dynasty, he was son of Siemomysł; grandchild of Lestek; father of Bolesław I the Brave, the first crowned King of Poland; likely father of Świętosława , a Nordic Queen; and grandfather of her son, Cnut the...
and Boleslaus II, Duke of Bohemia. However, the threat of war saw Henry, forced by Willigis and Conrad I, Duke of Swabia
Conrad I, Duke of Swabia
Conrad I was Duke of Swabia from 983 until 997. His appointment as duke marked the return of Conradine rule over Swabia for the first time since 948....
, to relinquish Otto on June 29, 984, and agreeing to respect the rule of his mother, the Byzantine
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
princess Theophanu
Theophanu
Theophanu , also spelled Theophania, Theophana or Theophano, was born in Constantinople, and was the wife of Otto II, Holy Roman Emperor.-Family:...
, as regent. She abandoned her husband's imperialistic policy and devoted herself entirely to furthering an alliance between Church and Empire. She was unable, however, to prevent France from speedily freeing itself from German influence.
In this, France was aided by Henry the Quarrelsome, who continued to conspire against the young Otto, and towards the end of 984, he began negotiating with King Lothair of France
Lothair of France
Lothair , sometimes called Lothair IV, was the Carolingian king of West Francia , son of Louis IV and Gerberga of Saxony.-Regency:...
, and in exchange for agreeing to make Henry king, Henry agreed to relinquish Lotharingia
Lotharingia
Lotharingia was a region in northwest Europe, comprising the Low Countries, the western Rhineland, the lands today on the border between France and Germany, and what is now western Switzerland. It was born of the tripartite division in 855, of the kingdom of Middle Francia, itself formed of the...
. The two agreed to join their armies on February 1, 985, in order to take the city of Breisach
Breisach
Breisach is a town with approximately 16,500 inhabitants, situated along the Rhine in the Rhine Valley, in the district Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald, Baden-Württemberg, Germany, about halfway between Freiburg and Colmar — 20 kilometres away from each — and about 60 kilometres north of Basel near the...
, but at the last minute, Henry’s resolve weakened. He submitted to Otto in June 985, and in return the duchy of Bavaria was restored to him. Nevertheless, Lothair continued to press on into German lands and succeeded in overrunning the Verdun
Verdun
Verdun is a city in the Meuse department in Lorraine in north-eastern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department.Verdun is the biggest city in Meuse, although the capital of the department is the slightly smaller city of Bar-le-Duc.- History :...
by March 985.
The regent endeavoured to watch over the national questions of the Eastern Empire. One of the greatest achievements of the empress was her success in maintaining feudal supremacy over Bohemia
Bohemia
Bohemia is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western two-thirds of the traditional Czech Lands. It is located in the contemporary Czech Republic with its capital in Prague...
, as Duke Boleslaus II of Bohemia was forced to accept the authority of Otto and his mother. After Theophanu's death in 991, Otto's grandmother, Adelaide of Italy
Adelaide of Italy
Saint Adelaide of Italy , also called Adelaide of Burgundy, was the second wife of Otto the Great, Holy Roman Emperor...
, then served as regent together with Willigis until Otto III reached his majority in 994.
In external matters, the situation was equally difficult for the new king. Already in 983, the Lutici
Lutici
The Lutici were a federation of West Slavic Polabian tribes, who between the 10th and 12th centuries lived in what is now northeastern Germany. Four tribes made up the core of the federation: the Redarians , Circipanians , Kessinians and Tollensians...
had initiated a successful revolt in the Billung
Billung March
The Billung March or March of the Billungs was a frontier region of the far northeastern Duchy of Saxony in the 10th century...
and Northern March
Northern March
The Northern March or North March was created out of the division of the vast Marca Geronis in 965. It initially comprised the northern third of the Marca and was part of the territorial organisation of areas conquered from the Wends...
es. The unsuccessful attempts to reconquer these marches became a central objective of Otto's early rule, and he participated in these campaigns in person since the age of six (see Lutici
Lutici
The Lutici were a federation of West Slavic Polabian tribes, who between the 10th and 12th centuries lived in what is now northeastern Germany. Four tribes made up the core of the federation: the Redarians , Circipanians , Kessinians and Tollensians...
). During his 986 expedition against them, he received the homage of Duke Mieszko I of Poland, during which Otto received many gifts, including a camel. Although the Lutici were subdued for a time in 987, they continued to occupy the young king’s mind, and when he reached is majority he again took to the field against them in the fall of 995, together with the Polish Duke Bolesław I Chrobry. Then in 997, he had to deal with a new Lutici incursion against Arneburg
Arneburg
Arneburg is a town in the district of Stendal, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is situated on the left bank of the Elbe, approx. 12 km northeast of Stendal. It is part of the Verbandsgemeinde Arneburg-Goldbeck.-History:...
on the Elbe
Elbe
The Elbe is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Krkonoše Mountains of the northwestern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia , then Germany and flowing into the North Sea at Cuxhaven, 110 km northwest of Hamburg...
, which they managed to retake for a short while.
Other foreign powers were also busy during this time. In 991, the Hungarians were repulsed after a failed invasion, as Vikings from Scandinavia plundered the countryside. Slavonic raiders captured Brandenburg
Brandenburg
Brandenburg is one of the sixteen federal-states of Germany. It lies in the east of the country and is one of the new federal states that were re-created in 1990 upon the reunification of the former West Germany and East Germany. The capital is Potsdam...
, under the command of the Saxon Kizo, forcing Otto to take to the field in 992 to deal with them as well as the Scandinavian raiders. If this weren’t bad enough, 993 saw disease, famine and pestilence affect the land, causing great misery, while 994 and 995 saw fruitless campaigns against the northern Slavs and the Vikings. The only bright spots were the reconquest of Brandenburg in 993 and the defeat of the Obotrites
Obotrites
The Obotrites , also commonly known as the Obodrites, Abotrites, or Abodrites, were a confederation of medieval West Slavic tribes within the territory of modern Mecklenburg and Holstein in northern Germany . For decades they were allies of Charlemagne in his wars against Germanic Saxons and Slavic...
in 995. After this the northern situation settled down enough for Otto to turn his attention to the place he was most interested – Italy.
Arrival in Italy
Otto attempted to revive the glory and power of ancient RomeRome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
with himself at the head of a theocratic state. In 996, he came to the aid of Pope John XV
Pope John XV
Pope John XV , Pope from 985 to 996, succeeding Boniface VII . He was said to have been Pope after another Pope John that reigned four months after Pope John XIV and was named "Papa Ioannes XIV Bis" or "Pope John XIVb"...
at the pope's request to put down the rebellion of the Roman nobleman Crescentius II. Reaching Pavia
Pavia
Pavia , the ancient Ticinum, is a town and comune of south-western Lombardy, northern Italy, 35 km south of Milan on the lower Ticino river near its confluence with the Po. It is the capital of the province of Pavia. It has a population of c. 71,000...
at Easter
Easter
Easter is the central feast in the Christian liturgical year. According to the Canonical gospels, Jesus rose from the dead on the third day after his crucifixion. His resurrection is celebrated on Easter Day or Easter Sunday...
, he was declared King of the Lombards, but failed to reach Rome before the Pope died. Crescentius in the meantime had tried to be conciliatory by allowing John XV to return, and now agreed to accept the Imperial nominee as pope. Otto’s selection was his cousin and the court chaplain, Bruno of Carinthia, as Pope Gregory V
Pope Gregory V
Pope Gregory V, né Bruno of Carinthia , Pope from May 3, 996 to February 18, 999, son of the Salian Otto I, Duke of Carinthia, who was a grandson of the Emperor Otto I the Great . Gregory V succeeded Pope John XV , when only twenty-four years of age...
, the first German pope. Nevertheless, Crescentius shut himself in the Tomb of Hadrian
Castel Sant'Angelo
The Mausoleum of Hadrian, usually known as the Castel Sant'Angelo, is a towering cylindrical building in Parco Adriano, Rome, Italy. It was initially commissioned by the Roman Emperor Hadrian as a mausoleum for himself and his family...
, fearful for his future.
The new pontiff crowned Otto emperor on 21 May 996, in Rome. Here his main advisors were two of the main characters of this age, his tutor Gerbert of Aurillac and the bishop Adalbert of Prague
Adalbert of Prague
This article is about St Adalbert of Prague. For other uses, see Adalbert .Saint Adalbert, Czech: ; , , Czech Roman Catholic saint, a Bishop of Prague and a missionary, was martyred in his efforts to convert the Baltic Prussians. He evangelized Poles and Hungarians. St...
. Together with these two visionary men, influenced by the Roman ruins and perhaps by his Byzantine mother, Otto devised a dream of restoration of a universal Empire formed by the union of the Papacy, Byzantium and Rome. He also introduced some Byzantine court customs.
The Emperor showed his intentions very quickly as he refused to renew the confirmation of the papal see’s privileges by his grandfather Otto I
Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor
Otto I the Great , son of Henry I the Fowler and Matilda of Ringelheim, was Duke of Saxony, King of Germany, King of Italy, and "the first of the Germans to be called the emperor of Italy" according to Arnulf of Milan...
, as well as refusing to acknowledge the Donation of Constantine
Donation of Constantine
The Donation of Constantine is a forged Roman imperial decree by which the emperor Constantine I supposedly transferred authority over Rome and the western part of the Roman Empire to the pope. During the Middle Ages, the document was often cited in support of the Roman Church's claims to...
which he declared a forgery. This resulted in tensions with the Roman nobility and Curia
Curia
A curia in early Roman times was a subdivision of the people, i.e. more or less a tribe, and with a metonymy it came to mean also the meeting place where the tribe discussed its affairs...
. He also convened a council in Rome which condemned Crescentius and sentenced him to exile, but as a result of the pope’s petition, the sentence was revoked. He did however, manage to obtain support from the other non-Roman, Italian nobles, such as the Tuscan count, Hugh.
However, as soon as Otto had left Rome one year later, the city magnate Crescentius II deposed Gregory and installed John XVI as pope. Leaving his aunt, Matilda of Quedlinburg
Quedlinburg
Quedlinburg is a town located north of the Harz mountains, in the district of Harz in the west of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. In 1994 the medieval court and the old town was set on the UNESCO world heritage list....
, as regent in Germany, Otto returned to Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
and retook the city in February 998, storming the Tomb of Hadrian. Crescentius was executed in the Tomb of Hadrian
Castel Sant'Angelo
The Mausoleum of Hadrian, usually known as the Castel Sant'Angelo, is a towering cylindrical building in Parco Adriano, Rome, Italy. It was initially commissioned by the Roman Emperor Hadrian as a mausoleum for himself and his family...
, the antipope mutilated and blinded, and Gregory reinstated.
Otto made Rome the administrative center of his Empire and revived elaborate Roman customs and Byzantine
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
court ceremonies. He built an imperial palace on the Palatine Hill
Palatine Hill
The Palatine Hill is the centermost of the Seven Hills of Rome and is one of the most ancient parts of the city...
, and planned to restore the Roman Senate
Roman Senate
The Senate of the Roman Republic was a political institution in the ancient Roman Republic, however, it was not an elected body, but one whose members were appointed by the consuls, and later by the censors. After a magistrate served his term in office, it usually was followed with automatic...
. He established a regular administrative system of government for the capital, naming a patrician, a prefect, and a body of judges, who were commanded to recognize only Roman law. He took the titles "the servant of Jesus
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
Christ," "the servant of the apostles", "consul of the Roman senate and people" and "emperor of the world". When Gregory V mysteriously died in 999, Otto arranged for Gerbert to be elected pope as Sylvester II. The use of this papal name was not casual: it recalled the first pope of this name, who had allegedly created the "Christian Empire" together with Constantine the Great. Otto therefore was to be seen as the ideal successor to Constantine in the task of reunifying the Roman Empire.
Between 998 and 1000 Otto, being a fervent Christian, made several pilgrimages, although his enemies declared that he made those pilgrimages in order to do penance for having captured Crescentius after promising his safety. He travelled to the Gargano
Gargano
Gargano is a historical and geographical Italian sub-region situated in Apulia, consisting of a wide isolated mountain massif made of highland and several peaks and forming the backbone of the Gargano Promontory projecting into the Adriatic Sea. The high point is Monte Calvo at . Most of the upland...
Peninsula in Southern Italy and to Gaeta
Gaeta
Gaeta is a city and comune in the province of Latina, in Lazio, central Italy. Set on a promontory stretching towards the Gulf of Gaeta, it is 120 km from Rome and 80 km from Naples....
, where he met Saint Nilus the Younger
Saint Nilus the Younger
Saint Nilus the Younger was an Italian saint.-Biography:Born to a Greek family of Rossano, in the Byzantine Theme of Calabria, for a time he was married and had a daughter...
, then a highly venerated religious figure. Later he left Italy, taking the pro-Byzantine Duke of Naples, John IV
John IV of Naples
John IV was the mostly absentee duke of Naples from 997 to after 1002. He was the son and successor of Sergius III. John IV originally recognised the suzerainty of the Byzantine Emperor....
, captive with him, for the tomb of Adalbert of Prague (who in the meantime had been martyred by the pagan Prussians) at Gniezno
Gniezno
Gniezno is a city in central-western Poland, some 50 km east of Poznań, inhabited by about 70,000 people. One of the Piasts' chief cities, it was mentioned by 10th century A.D. sources as the capital of Piast Poland however the first capital of Piast realm was most likely Giecz built around...
, and during the meeting with Bolesław I the Brave in the Congress of Gniezno
Congress of Gniezno
The Congress of Gniezno was an amical meeting between the Polish duke Bolesław I Chrobry and Emperor Otto III, which took place at Gniezno on March 11, 1000...
he founded the archbishopric of Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
. In Eastern Europe Otto and his entourage strengthened relationships with the Polish Duchy
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
and with Stephen of Hungary, who had requested and been granted a crown by Sylvester. Otto was advised by Saint Romuald, the fervent reforming hermit idealized by Saint Peter Damian in the "Vita beati Romualdi". Romuald urged Otto to become a monk.
Another model to which Otto strongly aspired was Charlemagne
Charlemagne
Charlemagne was King of the Franks from 768 and Emperor of the Romans from 800 to his death in 814. He expanded the Frankish kingdom into an empire that incorporated much of Western and Central Europe. During his reign, he conquered Italy and was crowned by Pope Leo III on 25 December 800...
. In the year 1000 he visited Charlemagne's tomb in Aachen
Aachen
Aachen has historically been a spa town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Aachen was a favoured residence of Charlemagne, and the place of coronation of the Kings of Germany. Geographically, Aachen is the westernmost town of Germany, located along its borders with Belgium and the Netherlands, ...
, removing relics from it. He had also carried back parts of the body of Adalbert, which he placed in a splendid new church he had built in the Isola Tiberina in Rome, now San Bartolomeo all'Isola
San Bartolomeo all'Isola
The Basilica of St. Bartholomew on the Island is a titular minor basilica, located in Rome, Italy. It was founded at the end of the 10th century by Otto III, Holy Roman Emperor. It contains the relics of St...
. Otto also added the skin of Saint Bartholomew to the relics housed there.
A minor rebellion by the town of Tibur (Tivoli) in 1001 ended up as his undoing. He retook the town, but spared the inhabitants, which angered the people of Rome, as Tibur was a rival they wanted destroyed. This led to a rebellion by the Roman people, headed by Gregory, Count of Tusculum
Tusculum
Tusculum is a ruined Roman city in the Alban Hills, in the Latium region of Italy.-Location:Tusculum is one of the largest Roman cities in Alban Hills. The ruins of Tusculum are located on Tuscolo hill—more specifically on the northern edge of the outer crater ring of the Alban volcano...
; Otto was besieged in his palace and then driven from the city. He withdrew to Ravenna
Ravenna
Ravenna is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy and the second largest comune in Italy by land area, although, at , it is little more than half the size of the largest comune, Rome...
to do penance in the monastery of Sant'Apollinare in Classe. After having summoned his army, Otto headed southwards to reconquer Rome, but died in the castle of Paterno, near Civita Castellana
Civita Castellana
Civita Castellana is a town and comune in the province of Viterbo, 65 km north of Rome.Mount Soracte lies about 10 km to the south-east.-History:...
, on 24 January 1002. A Byzantine princess (probably Zoe
Zoe (empress)
Zoe reigned as Byzantine Empress alongside her sister Theodora from April 19 to June 11, 1042...
, second daughter of Emperor Constantine VIII
Constantine VIII
Constantine VIII was reigning Byzantine emperor from December 15, 1025 until his death. He was the son of the Emperor Romanos II and Theophano, and the younger brother of the eminent Basil II, who died childless and thus left the rule of the Byzantine Empire in his hands.-Family:As...
) had just disembarked in Puglia, on her way to marry him.
Causes of death
Otto's death has been attributed to various causes; medieval sources speak of malaria, which he had caught in the unhealthy marshes that surrounded Ravenna. The Romans suggested instead that Stefania, the widow of Crescentius, had made him fall in love with her and then poisoned him. Otto's body was carried back to Germany by his loyal soldiers, as all the while his route was lined with Italians who hurled abuses at his remains. He was buried in AachenAachen
Aachen has historically been a spa town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Aachen was a favoured residence of Charlemagne, and the place of coronation of the Kings of Germany. Geographically, Aachen is the westernmost town of Germany, located along its borders with Belgium and the Netherlands, ...
Cathedral together with that of Charlemagne
Charlemagne
Charlemagne was King of the Franks from 768 and Emperor of the Romans from 800 to his death in 814. He expanded the Frankish kingdom into an empire that incorporated much of Western and Central Europe. During his reign, he conquered Italy and was crowned by Pope Leo III on 25 December 800...
.
Otto's cousin Henry, son of Henry the Quarrelsome, succeeded him as king (and later as emperor) as Henry II
Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor
Henry II , also referred to as Saint Henry, Obl.S.B., was the fifth and last Holy Roman Emperor of the Ottonian dynasty, from his coronation in Rome in 1014 until his death a decade later. He was crowned King of the Germans in 1002 and King of Italy in 1004...
.
Character
Otto's mental gifts were considerable, and were carefully cultivated by BernwardBernward of Hildesheim
Saint Bern[w]ard was the Bishop of Hildesheim from 993 until his death in 1022.Bernward came from a Saxon noble family and studied at the cathedral school of Hildesheim...
, afterwards bishop of Hildesheim, and by Gerbert of Aurillac, archbishop of Reims
Archbishop of Reims
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Reims is an archdiocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in France. Erected as a diocese around 250 by St. Sixtus, the diocese was elevated to an archdiocese around 750...
. He spoke three languages and was so learned that contemporaries called him "the wonder of the world." Enamoured as he was of Greek and Roman culture, he ended up being contemptuous of his German subjects.
Accounts of his reign
Between 1012 and 1018 Thietmar of MerseburgThietmar of Merseburg
Thietmar of Merseburg was a German chronicler who was also bishop of Merseburg.-Life:...
wrote a Chronicon, or Chronicle, in eight books, which deals with the period between 908 and 1018. For the earlier part he used Widukind
Widukind of Corvey
Widukind of Corvey was a Saxon historical chronicler, named after the Saxon duke and national hero Widukind who had battled Charlemagne. Widukind the chronicler was born in 925 and died after 973 at the Benedictine abbey of Corvey in East Westphalia...
's Res gestae Saxonicae
Res gestae saxonicae sive annalium libri tres
The three-volume Res gestae saxonicae sive annalium libri tres is a chronicle of 10th century Germany written by Widukind of Corvey...
, the Annales Quedlinburgenses and other sources; the latter part is the result of personal knowledge. The chronicle is nevertheless an excellent authority for the history of Saxony
Saxony
The Free State of Saxony is a landlocked state of Germany, contingent with Brandenburg, Saxony Anhalt, Thuringia, Bavaria, the Czech Republic and Poland. It is the tenth-largest German state in area, with of Germany's sixteen states....
during the reigns of the emperors Otto III and Henry II
Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor
Henry II , also referred to as Saint Henry, Obl.S.B., was the fifth and last Holy Roman Emperor of the Ottonian dynasty, from his coronation in Rome in 1014 until his death a decade later. He was crowned King of the Germans in 1002 and King of Italy in 1004...
. No kind of information is excluded, but the fullest details refer to the bishopric of Merseburg, and to the wars against the Wends
Wends
Wends is a historic name for West Slavs living near Germanic settlement areas. It does not refer to a homogeneous people, but to various peoples, tribes or groups depending on where and when it is used...
and the Poles
Poles
thumb|right|180px|The state flag of [[Poland]] as used by Polish government and diplomatic authoritiesThe Polish people, or Poles , are a nation indigenous to Poland. They are united by the Polish language, which belongs to the historical Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages of Central Europe...
.
Ancestry
Sources
- Reuter, Timothy, The New Cambridge Medieval History, Vol. III: c. 900-c. 1024, Cambridge University Press, 2000
- Duckett, Eleanor (1968). Death and Life in the Tenth Century. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.
- Bryce, James, The Holy Roman Empire. 1913
- Comyn, Robert. History of the Western Empire, from its Restoration by Charlemagne to the Accession of Charles V, Vol. I. 1851
- Althoff, Gerd, Otto III, Penn State Press, 2002 ISBN 0-271-02232-9