German historians long assumed that the German Kingdom was created with Henry the Fowler's coronation in 919. The reigns of both Henry the Fowler, and his son Otto the Great, were studied and researched mainly through Widukind of Corvey's chronicle Res Gestae Saxonicae. There was one source on Ottonian times that was curiously absent from most of the serious research: Liudprand of Cremona's Antapodosis. The study of this chronicle leads to a reappraisal of the tenth century in Western Europe showing how mythology of the dynasty was constructed. By looking at the later reception (through later Middle Ages and then on 19th and 20th century historiography) the author showcases the longevity of Ottonian myths and the ideological expressions of the tenth century storytellers.
- Cover
- Table of Contents
- Acknowledgements
- Note on Citations
- Introduction
- 1 Aims and State of the Art
- 2 What is Myth/Mythology?
- 3 Liudprand’s Biography
- 4 Origins of Antapodosis
- 5 Language of Antapodosis
- 6 Other Contemporary Sources: Widukind’s Res gestae saxonicae; Continuation of the Chronicle of Regino of Prüm; Hrotsvit’s Gesta Ottonis
- 7 Interpreter of Liudprand: Frutolf of Michelsberg
- 8 Understanding Liudprand’s Works: Textbooks
- Part I - The Making of a King
- 1. Henry I at Fritzlar 919
- The Beginning of a New Dynasty
- 1. King’s Designation
- 2. Rex Renitens
- 2. Otto I at Aachen 936
- A Successor – Continuator
- 1. Death of a King
- 2. Rise of the New King
- 3. Anointment of the King as a political revolution
- Part II - King and his Kingdom
- 3. How Henry I Subjugated the Kingdom without Bloodshed
- 4. Otto I and the Rebellion of 937-939
- 1. Reasons for Rebellion
- 2. Similarities and Main Differences in the Descriptions of the Rebellion Found in Sources
- 3. Concept of Porphyrogenitus
- 4. Further Discussion of Reasons for Rebellion
- 5. Beginning of the Civil War in 937
- 6. Battle of Birten
- 7. After the First Battle
- 8. Lorsch Affair
- 9. Battle of Andernach
- 10. Aftermath
- Part III - War Against Heathens as a Road to Empire
- 5. How Hungarians were Defeated by the Ottonians
- 1. Henry’s Victory in the Battle of Riade
- 2. Battle of Lechfeld, The End of Hungarian Attacks
- 3. The Hungarians as Enemies of Civilization
- 6. The Holy Lance
- Conclusions
- List of Abbreviations
- Bibliography
- Index
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