Ideals and action in the reign of Otto III
1999; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 25; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1016/s0304-4181(98)00016-5
ISSN1873-1279
Autores Tópico(s)Medieval Literature and History
ResumoThis article examines one of the most controversial aspects of Otto III's reign, his plan to create a revived Roman Empire with the city of Rome as its centre. More than sixty years ago the largely literary, visual, and symbolic evidence for this Renovatio imperii Romanorum was assembled and examined by P.E.Schramm. His pioneering study then became the basis for virtually all subsequent work on the subject. Recent literature has brought the literature, character and perhaps the existence of Otto's Renovatio strongly into question though without proposing any convincing alternative or, so it is argued here, surmounting the basic assumptions upon which Schramm's interpretation was founded. Specifically, it is argued that Schramm's assumptions regarding the preeminence of the monarch and of the German part of Empire continue to influence more recent literature and that, as in Schramm's various studies, there is still a tendency to neglect the issues of stage and audience. The present study reexamines the subject of Renovatio in light of these objections, and suggests new ways to view both the evidence and the as yet current methodology.
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