Otto III is portrayed in a Gospel book
(FIG. 16-29) that takes his name. The illumi-
nator represented the emperor enthroned,
holding the scepter and cross-inscribed orb
that represent his universal authority, con-
forming to a Christian imperial iconographic
tradition that went back to Constantine (FIG.
10-81,right). At his sides are the clergy and the
barons (the Christian Church and the state),
both aligned in his support. On the facing
page (not illustrated), also derived from an-
cient Roman sources, female personifications
of Slavinia, Germany, Gaul, and Rome—the
provinces of the Ottonian Empire—bring
tribute to the young emperor.
The ideal of a Christian Roman Empire
gave partial unity to western Europe from the
9th through early 11th centuries. To this ex-
tent, ancient Rome lived on to the millen-
nium, culminating in the frustrated ambition
of Otto III. But with the death of Henry II in
1024, a new age began, and Rome ceased to
be the deciding influence. Romanesque Eu-
rope instead found unity in a common reli-
gious heritage (see Chapter 17).16-29Otto III enthroned, folio 24 recto of
the Gospel Book of Otto III,from Reichenau,
Germany, 997–1000. Tempera on vellum,
1 1 93 – 8 . Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Munich.
Emperor Otto III, descended from both German
and Byzantine imperial lines, appears in this
Gospel book enthroned and holding the scepter
and cross-inscribed orb that signify his universal
authority.428 Chapter 16 EARLY MEDIEVAL EUROPET
he bishop of Mainz crowned Otto I king of the Saxons at Aachen
in 936, but it was not until 962 that Pope John XII conferred the
title of emperor of Rome upon him in Saint Peter’s basilica. Otto,
known as the Great, had ambitions to restore the glory of Charle-
magne’s Christian Roman Empire and to enlarge the territory under
his rule. In 951 he defeated a Roman noble who had taken prisoner
Adelaide, the widow of the Lombard king Lothar. Otto then married
Adelaide, assumed the title of king of the Lombards, and extended his
power south of the Alps. Looking eastward, in 972 he arranged the
marriage of his son, Otto II, to Theophanu (ca. 955–991), the niece of
the Byzantine emperor Nikephoros II Phokas. Otto was 17, Theo-
phanu 16. They wed in Saint Peter’s, with Pope John XIII presiding.
When Otto the Great died the next year, Otto II succeeded him. The
second Otto died in Italy in 983 and was buried in the atrium of SaintPeter’s. His son, Otto III, only three years old at the time, nominally
became king, but it was his mother, Theophanu, co-regent with Ade-
laide until 985 and sole regent thereafter, who wielded power in the
Ottonian Empire until her own death in 991. Adelaide then served as
regent until Otto III was old enough to rule on his own. He became
emperor of Rome in 996.
Theophanu brought not only the prestige of Byzantium to Ger-
many but also Byzantine culture and art. The Ottonian court emu-
lated much of the splendor and pomp of Constantinople and im-
ported Byzantine luxury goods in great quantities. One surviving
ivory panel, probably carved in the West but of Byzantine style and
labeled in Greek, depicts Christ simultaneously blessing Otto II and
Theophanu. The impact of Byzantine art in Ottonian Germany can
also be seen in manuscript illumination (FIG. 16-28).Theophanu, a Byzantine Princess
in Ottonian GermanyART AND SOCIETY1 in.
16-28AChrist
blessing Otto II
and Theophanu,
972–973.16-29AJesus
washing Peter’s
feet, Gospel
Book of Otto III,
997–1000.