542 Ottonian art
Shaw, History of the Ottoman Empire and Modern Turkey, 2
vols. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,
1976–1977); Elizabeth Zachariadou, “The Ottoman
World,” in The New Cambridge Medieval History,Vol. 7, c.
1415–c. 1500, ed. Christopher Allmand (Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press, 1998), 812–30.
Ottonian art This was a distinctive style of art, espe-
cially manuscript ILLUMINATION, and architecture carried
out under the reigns of the emperors OTTOI THE GREAT,
Otto II (r. 973–983), and OTTOIIIin the 10th century
and into the first half of the 11th century. Carolingian
artistic forms and practices were revived along with an
expansion of monastic foundations. It was a court art tied
to the patronage of rulers and high officials, especially
bishops. It was not as concentrated in one center or
around one person as had been the case in the Carolin-
gian era. There was a great increase in the production of
deluxe manuscripts with sophisticated and beautiful illu-
mination and in GOLDand IVORYwork for book covers.
There were numerous women patrons, especially the
Byzantine empress and wife of Otto II, THEOPHANO.
In architecture, important and influential buildings
linked to this style were erected at Hildesheim, Gernrode,
and Reichenau. Ottonian architects were innovative in
their design of transepts and CRYPTS. Besides monastic
architecture, there were important civil buildings and
palaces for the emperors, even though they were often on
the move from place to place. Manuscript painting was
much influenced by the Byzantine style and primarily
involved books of GOSPELSand liturgical books for cere-
monial use. These images consisted primarily of narrative
cycles of scenes from the life of Christ.
Further reading:C. R. Dodwell, The Pictorial Arts of
the West, 800–1200(New Haven, Conn.: Yale University
Press, 1993); Peter Lasko, Ars Sacra, 800–1200,2d ed.
(New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1994); Henry
Mayr-Harting, Ottonian Book Illumination: An Historical
Study 2d ed., 2 vol. (1991; reprint, London, Harvey
Miller, 1999).Otto of Freising (ca. 1112/15–1158) bishop of Freising,
margrave of Austria, Cistercian monk, crusader, historian
The son of margrave Leopold III (1096–1136) of AUS-
TRIA, Otto of Freising was a witness to and participant in
many important events of the early 12th century. He was
born into the high aristocracy of the empire, as the half
brother of Conrad III (r. 1138–52), the king of GERMANY,
and the uncle of FREDERICKI BARBAROSSA. Otto took the
CISTERCIANhabit at the Cistercian monastery of Mori-
mond in Champagne in 1132 or 1133, at the end of his
studies at PARIS. As bishop of Freising from 1138, he
introduced reformed MONASTICISM to his diocese and
went on the Second CRUSADEin 1148.