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{{Short description|10th-century cultural and literary movement}}
{{Expand French|Renaissance ottonienne|date=March 2009}}
{{Expand French|Renaissance ottonienne|date=March 2009}}
[[File:Kreuzmitdengroßen Senkschmelzen.jpg|thumb|240px|Enamel [[processional cross]] (''Senkschmelzen-Kreuz''), former [[Essen Abbey]], about 1000]]
[[Image:St michaelis.jpg|thumb|right|250px|[[St. Michael's Church, Hildesheim|Church of St Michael]], [[Hildesheim]].]]The '''Ottonian Renaissance''' was a limited [[renaissance]] that accompanied the reigns of the first three [[Holy Roman Emperors|emperors]] of the [[Saxon Dynasty]], all named Otto: [[Otto I]] (936&ndash;973), [[Otto II]] (973&ndash;983), and [[Otto III]] (983&ndash;1002), and which in large part depended upon their patronage. The Ottonian Renaissance began after Otto's marriage to [[Adelaide of Italy|Adelaide]] (951) united the kingdoms of Italy and Germany and thus brought the West closer to [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantium]] and furthered the cause of Christian (political) unity with his imperial coronation in 963. The period is sometimes extended to cover the reign of [[Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor|Henry II]] as well, and, rarely, the [[Salian Dynasty|Salian dynasts]]. The term is generally confined to Imperial court culture conducted in Latin in [[Germany]]<ref>Kenneth Sidwell, ''Reading Medieval Latin'' (Cambridge University Press, 1995) takes the end of Otto III's reign as the close of the Ottonian Renaissance.</ref>.
The '''Ottonian Renaissance''' was a renaissance of [[Byzantine art|Byzantine]] and [[Late Antiquity|Late Antique]] art in [[Central Europe|Central]] and [[Southern Europe]] that accompanied the reigns of the first three [[Holy Roman Emperor]]s of the [[Ottonian Dynasty|Ottonian]] (or [[Duchy of Saxony|Saxon]]) dynasty: [[Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor|Otto I]] (936&ndash;973), [[Otto II, Holy Roman Emperor|Otto II]] (973&ndash;983), and [[Otto III, Holy Roman Emperor|Otto III]] (983&ndash;1002), and which in large part depended upon their patronage. The leading figures in this movement were [[Pope Sylvester II]] and [[Abbo of Fleury]].<ref>Pierre Riché et Jacques Verger, Des nains sur des épaules de géants. Maîtres et élèves au Moyen Âge, Paris, Tallandier, 2006, Chapter IV, "The Third Carolingian Renaissance", p. 59 sqq</ref> Renewed contact between the Ottonian court and Byzantine Constantinople spurred the hybridisation of Eastern-Byzantine and Western-Latin cultures, particularly in arts, architecture and metalwork, while the Ottonians revitalised the cathedral school network which promoted learning based on the seven liberal arts.<ref name="aquila">{{cite book |last1=Dominic A. Aquila |title=The Church and the Age of Enlightenment (1648–1848) Faith, Science, and the Challenge of Secularism |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tJB8EAAAQBAJ&pg=PA86 |date=2022 |publisher=Ave Maria Press |isbn=9781646800322 |page=86}}</ref> Ottonian intellectual activity was largely a continuation of Carolingian works, but circulated mainly in the cathedral schools and the courts of bishops (such as Liège, Cologne and Magdeburg), rather than the royal court.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Timothy Reuter |title=Germany in the Early Middle Ages C. 800-1056 |date=2014 |publisher=Taylor and Francis |isbn=9781317872399 |pages=246–247}}</ref>


==Historiography==
⚫
The Ottonian Renaissance is recognized especially in the [[arts]] and [[architecture]], invigorated by renewed contact with [[Constantinople]], in some revived cathedral schools, such as that of [[Bruno of Cologne]], in the production of [[illuminated manuscript]]s from a handful of elite [[scriptorium|scriptoria]], such as [[Quedlinburg]], founded by Otto in 936, and in [[political]] ideology, The Imperial court became the center of religious and spiritual life, led by the example of women of the royal family: [[Matilda of Ringelheim]] the literate mother of Otto I, or his sister [[Gerberga of Saxony]], or his consort [[Adelaide of Italy|Adelaide]], or [[Theophanu|Empress Theophanu]].
{{See also|Medieval renaissances}}
The concept of a renaissance was first applied to the Ottonian period by the German historian [[Hans Naumann]] - more precisely, his work published in 1927 grouped the Carolingian and Ottonian periods together under the title ''Karolingische und ottonische Renaissance'' (''The Carolingian and Ottonian Renaissance'').<ref>Frankfurt-am-Main, 1927</ref> This was only two years after Erna Patzelt's coining of the term 'Carolingian Renaissance' (''Die Karolingische Renaissance: Beiträge zur Geschichte der Kultur des frühen Mittelalters'', Vienna, 1924), and the same year as [[Charles H. Haskins]] published ''The Renaissance of the Twelfth Century'' (Cambridge Mass., 1927)


One of three [[medieval renaissances]], the Ottonian Renaissance began after King Otto's marriage to [[Adelaide of Italy]] (951) united the [[Kingdom of Italy (medieval)|Italian]] and [[Kingdom of Germany|German]] kingdoms, and thus brought the West closer to [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantium]]. He furthered the cause of Christian (political) unity with his Imperial coronation in 962 by the [[Pope]] at [[Old St. Peter's Basilica|St. Peter's Basilica]] in [[Rome]].
⚫
After Otto I's imperial coronation in [[963]], there emerged a renewed faith in the idea of Empire in Otto's immediate circle and a reformed church, creating a period of heightened cultural and artistic fervor. [[Ottonian art]] was a court art, created to confirm a direct Holy and Imperial lineage as a source of legitimized power linked from Constantine and Justinian. In this atmosphere the masterpieces that were created fused the traditions which the new art was based on: paintings from [[Late Antiquity]], the [[Carolingian Renaissance|Carolingian]] period, and [[Byzantine empire|Byzantium]]. In this way, the term is used as an analogue to the [[Carolingian Renaissance]] which accompanied [[Charlemagne]]'s coronation in [[800]].


The period is sometimes extended to cover the reign of Emperor [[Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor|Henry II]] (1014-1024) as well, and, rarely, his [[Salian Dynasty|Salian]] successors. The term is generally confined to Imperial court culture conducted in Latin in Germany.<ref>Kenneth Sidwell, ''Reading Medieval Latin'' (Cambridge University Press, 1995) takes the end of Otto III's reign as the close of the Ottonian Renaissance.</ref> - it is sometimes also known as the '''Renaissance of the 10th Century''',<ref>{{in lang|fr}} P. Riché, Les Carolingiens, p. 390</ref> or '''10th Century Renaissance''', so as to include developments outside Germania, or as the '''Year 1000 Renewal''',<ref>P. Riché et J. Verger, ''Des nains sur des épaules de géants. Maîtres et élèves au Moyen Âge'', Paris, Tallandier, 2006, p. 68</ref> due to coming right at the end of the 10th century. It was shorter than the preceding [[Carolingian Renaissance]] and to a large extent a continuation of it - this has led historians such as [[Pierre Riché]] to prefer evoking it as a 'third Carolingian renaissance', covering the 10th century and running over into the 11th century, with the 'first Carolingian renaissance' occurring during [[Charlemagne]]'s own reign and the 'second Carolingian renaissance' happening under his successors.<ref>P. Riché et J. Verger, chapitre IV, « La Troisième Renaissance caroligienne », p. 59 sqq., chapter IV, « La Troisième Renaissance caroligienne », p.59 ''sqq.''</ref>
⚫
A small group of Ottonian monasteries received direct sponsorship from the Emperor and bishops and produced some magnificent medieval illuminated manuscripts, the premier art form of the time. [[Corvey]] produced some of the first manuscripts, followed by the scriptorium at [[Hildesheim]] after 1000. The most famous Ottonian scriptorium was at the island monastery of [[Reichenau]] on Lake Constance: hardly any other works have formed the image of Ottonian art as much as the miniatures which originated there. One of the greatest Reichenau works was the ''[[Codex Egberti]]'', containing narrative miniatures of the life of Christ, the earliest such cycle, in a fusion of styles including Carolingian traditions as well as traces of insular and Byzantine influences. Other well known manuscripts included the [[Reichenau Evangeliary]], the [[Liuther Codex]], the [[Pericopes of Henry II]], the [[Bamberg Apocalypse]] and the [[Hitda Codex]].

==Libraries==
Libraries were created and enriched during the Ottonian Renaissance through the intense activity of the monastic [[scriptoria]] and were the subject of further developments in the 10th century, as evidenced by the catalogs that have survived. The catalog of [[Bobbio Abbey]] lists almost 600 works,<ref>François Picavet, Gerbert, un pape philosophe, d'après l'histoire et d'après la légende, Paris, 1897 https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k92278s p. 85-86</ref> that of [[Fleury Abbey]] nearly the same count.<ref name=books>Pierre Riché et Jacques Verger, Des nains sur des épaules de géants. Maîtres et élèves au Moyen Âge, Paris, Tallandier, 2006 p.61-62</ref> Gerbert (the future Pope Sylvester II) played an important role in the acquisition and inventory of the library of Bobbio, and spent his wealth to fund his collection.<ref>François Picavet, Gerbert, un pape philosophe, d'après l'histoire et d'après la légende, Paris, 1897 https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k92278s p. 119</ref> [[Adso of Montier-en-Der]]'s book chest included a large number of books such as those of Porphyry, Aristotle, Terence, Cicero, and Virgil.<ref name=books/>

==Logic==
The ''[[Logica vetus]]'' (consisting of translations of Aristotle by Boethius and Porphyry and the ''Topica'' of Cicero) remained the basis of dialectic education; Gerbert, the future Pope [[Sylvester II]] was familiar with these books<ref>Richer, "Historiarum Libri Quartet", in Patrologia Latina, vol. 138, col. 17-170, III, 47 (col. 102-103) : ''Necnon et quatuor de topicis differentiis libros, de sillogismis cathegoricis duos, diffinitionumque librum unum, divisionum aeque unum, utiliter legit et expressit.''</ref> and was noted for his mastery of dialectics during the dispute of Ravenna against Otric in 980,<ref name=richer1>Richer, "Historiarum Libri Quartet", in Patrologia Latina, vol. 138, col. 17-170, III, 55-65</ref> and in his treatise ''De rationalis et ratione uti'' (Of the rational and the use of reason), composed in 997 and dedicated to [[Otto III, Holy Roman Emperor]].<ref name=gerbrat>Disquisitio De Scriptis Gerberti, Postmodum Sylvestri II, col. 159-168</ref> [[Abbo of Fleury]] wrote commentaries on these works through two treatises.<ref name=abbondma>Michel Lemoine, article « Abbon de Fleury » of Claude Gauvard, Alain de Libera, Michel Zink, Dictionnaire du Moyen Âge, Paris, p. 1, Ces traités ont été publiés récemment : éd. A. van de Vyver, ''Abbonis Floriacensis opera inedita'', I, Bruges, 1966; éd. Franz Schupp, ''De syllogismis hypotheticis'', Leyde/New York/Cologne, 1997.</ref>

An anthology of dialectical works dating from [[Fulbert of Chartres]] and probably from his library, contains the ''[[Isagoge]]'' of Porphyry, the ''Categories'' of Aristotle, the distinction between rhetoric and dialectic of Fulbert himself, the ''Topica'' of Cicero, the ''[[De Interpretatione]]'' of Aristotle, Boethius three comments and ''de Ratione'' written by Gerbert in 997.<ref name=rv67>Pierre Riché et Jacques Verger, Des nains sur des épaules de géants. Maîtres et élèves au Moyen Âge, Paris, Tallandier, 2006 p. 67</ref><ref>Michel Louis-Henri Parias (dir.), Histoire générale de l'enseignement et de l'éducation en France, vol. I : Des origines à la Renaissance, Paris, Nouvelle Librairie de France, 1981 p. 242-243</ref> The development of dialectics was furthered by [[Majolus of Cluny]].<ref name=rv67/>

==Sciences==
[[File:Byrthferth enchiridion.jpg|thumb|Ottonian era diagram, Diagram of Byrthferth: the mysteries of the universe]]
The growing interest in the disciplines of the [[quadrivium]] (arithmetic, geometry, music and astronomy) was translated to the teachings of the leading scholars of their time, such as [[Abbo of Fleury]] who wrote many treatises on the calculation of the [[computus]], astronomical subjects such as the trajectories of the sun, moon and planets,<ref name=aimoin1>Patrologia Latina, vol. 139, (Vita Abbonis), III, col. 390 : ''Denique quosdam dialecticorum nodos syllogismorum enucleatissime enodavit, compotique varias et delectabiles, saecularium in morem tabularum, texuit calculationes. De solis quoque ac lunae seu planetarum cursu, a se editas disputationes scripto posterorum mandavit notitiae.''</ref> and a star catalogue.<ref>Patrologia Latina, Abbo of Fleury, vol. 139, col. 569-572</ref>

The future Pope [[Sylvester II]], introduced the use of [[armillary sphere|wooden terrestrial spheres]] for the astronomical study of the movement of the earth, planets and constellations,<ref>Richer, "Historiarum Libri Quartet", in Patrologia Latina, vol. 138, col. 17-170, III, 47 (col. 102-103), III, 49-50 (col. 103) : ''49.'' Qui labor et in mathematicis impensus sit. ''Inde etiam musicam, multo ante Galliis ignotam, notissimam effecit. Cujus genera in monocordo disponens, eorum consonantias sive simphonias in tonis ac semitoniis, ditonis quoque ac diesibus distinguens, tonosque in sonis rationabiliter distribuens, in plenissimam notitiam redegit. / 50.'' Sperae solidae compositio. ''Ratio vero astronomiae quanto sudore collecta sit, dicere inutile non est, ut est tanti viri sagacitas advertatur, et artis efficacia lector commodissime capiatur. Quae cum pene intellectibilis sit, tamen non sine admiratione quibusdam instrumentis ad cognitionem adduxit. Inprimis enim mundi speram ex solido ac rotundo ligno argumentatus, minoris similitudine, majorem expressit. Quam cum duobus polis in orizonte obliquaret, signa septemtrionalia polo erectiori dedit, australia vero dejectiori adhibuit. Cujus positionem eo circulo rexit, qui a Graecis orizon, a Latinis limitans sive determinans appellatur, eo quod in eo signa quae videntur ab his quae non videntur distinguat ac limitet. Qua in orizonte sic collocata, ut et ortum et occasum signorum utiliter ac probabiliter demonstraret, rerum naturas dispositis insinuavit, instituitque in signorum comprehensione. Nam tempore nocturno ardentibus stellis operam dabat; agebatque ut eas in mundi regionibus diversis obliquatas, tam in ortu quam in occasu notarent''</ref> the use of the [[monochord]] for musical study,<ref>Richer, "Historiarum Libri Quartet", in Patrologia Latina, vol. 138, col. 17-170, III, 47 (col. 102-103), III, 52-53 (col. 104-105)</ref> and construction of the abacus for arithmetic studies.<ref>Richer, "Historiarum Libri Quartet", in Patrologia Latina, vol. 138, col. 17-170, III, 54 (col. 105) : ''54.'' Confectio abaci. ''In geometria vero non minor in docendo labor expensus est. Cujus introductioni, abacum id est tabulam dimensionibus aptam opere scutarii effecit. Cujus longitudini, in 27 partibus diductae, novem numero notas omnem numerum significantes disposuit. Ad quarum etiam similitudinem, mille corneos effecit caracteres, qui per 27 abaci partes mutuati, cujusque numeri multiplicationem sive divisionem designarent; tanto compendio numerorum multitudinem dividentes vel multiplicantes, ut prae nimia numerositate potius intelligi quam verbis valerent ostendi. Quorum scientiam qui ad plenum scire desiderat, legat ejus librum quem scribit ad C. grammaticus; ibi enim haec satis habundanterque tractata inveniet.''</ref> [[Fulbert of Chartres]] introduced the use of [[Arabic numerals]].<ref>Pierre Riché et Jacques Verger, Des nains sur des épaules de géants. Maîtres et élèves au Moyen Âge, Paris, Tallandier, 2006 p. 68</ref>

[[Hermann of Reichenau]], of the school of Reichenau, was famed for his treatises on the astrolabe, [[abacus|calculus]] and music.<ref>Pierre Riché et Jacques Verger, Des nains sur des épaules de géants. Maîtres et élèves au Moyen Âge, Paris, Tallandier, 2006 p. 70</ref>

==Arts==
⚫
The Ottonian Renaissance is recognized especially in the [[arts]] and [[architecture]], invigorated by renewed contact with [[Constantinople]], in some revived cathedral schools, such as that of Archbishop [[Bruno of Cologne]], in the production of [[illuminated manuscript]]s from a handful of elite [[scriptorium|scriptoria]], such as [[Quedlinburg Abbey]], founded by Otto in 936, and in [[political]] ideology. The Imperial court became the center of religious and spiritual life, led by the example of women of the royal family: [[Matilda of Ringelheim|Matilda]] the literate mother of Otto I, his sister [[Gerberga of Saxony]], or his consort [[Adelaide of Italy|Adelaide]]. The Byzantine influence further increased with the marriage of Otto II with Princess [[Theophanu]], who upon her husband's death in 983 ruled as [[Empress dowager]] for her minor son Otto III until 991.

⚫
After Otto I's Imperial coronation, there emerged a renewed faith in the idea of Empire in Otto's immediate circle and a reformed church, creating a period of heightened cultural and artistic fervor. [[Ottonian art]] was a court art, created to confirm a direct Holy and Imperial lineage as a source of legitimized power linked from Constantine and Justinian. In this atmosphere the masterpieces that were created fused the traditions which the new art was based on: paintings from [[Late Antiquity]], the [[Carolingian Renaissance|Carolingian]] period, and [[Byzantine empire|Byzantium]]. In this way, the term is used as an analogue to the [[Carolingian Renaissance]] which accompanied [[Charlemagne]]'s coronation in 800.
[[File:Meister des Registrum Gregorii 001.jpg|thumb|Emperor Otto II, ''[[Registrum Gregorii]]'', [[Trier]], {{circa|985}}, 27 × 20 cm, [[Musée Condé]], Chantilly]]
⚫
A small group of Ottonian monasteries received direct sponsorship from the Emperor and bishops and produced some magnificent medieval illuminated manuscripts, the premier art form of the time. [[Corvey]] produced some of the first manuscripts, followed by the scriptorium at [[Hildesheim]] after 1000. The most famous Ottonian scriptorium was at the island monastery of [[Reichenau Island|Reichenau]] on Lake Constance: hardly any other works have formed the image of Ottonian art as much as the miniatures which originated there. One of the greatest Reichenau works was the ''[[Codex Egberti]]'', containing narrative miniatures of the life of Christ, the earliest such cycle, in a fusion of styles including Carolingian traditions as well as traces of insular and Byzantine influences. Other well known manuscripts included the [[Reichenau Evangeliary]], the [[Liuther Codex]], the [[Pericopes of Henry II]], the [[Bamberg Apocalypse]] and the [[Hitda Codex]].


[[Hroswitha of Gandersheim]] characterises the changes which took place during the time. She was a [[nun]] who composed [[Verse (poetry)|verse]] and [[drama]], based on the [[classics|classical]] works of [[Terence]]. The architecture of the period was also innovative and represents a [[Pre-Romanesque art|predecessor]] to the later [[Romanesque architecture|Romanesque]].
[[Hroswitha of Gandersheim]] characterises the changes which took place during the time. She was a [[nun]] who composed [[Verse (poetry)|verse]] and [[drama]], based on the [[classics|classical]] works of [[Terence]]. The architecture of the period was also innovative and represents a [[Pre-Romanesque art|predecessor]] to the later [[Romanesque architecture|Romanesque]].


Politically, theories of Christian unity and empire thrived, as well as revived classical notions of imperial grandeur in the West. Otto II had a [[Greek people|Greek]] wife, Theophanu, and Byzantine iconography entered the West. The [[globus cruciger]] became a symbol of kingly power and the Holy Roman Emperors were represented as crowned by Christ in the Byzantine fashion. It was in trying to revive the "glory that was Rome" that Otto III made the [[Rome|Eternal City]] his capital and increased in Greco-Roman fashion the ceremony of the court.
Politically, theories of Christian unity and empire thrived, as well as revived classical notions of Imperial grandeur in the West. By Otto II's [[Greek people|Greek]] wife Theophanu, Byzantine iconography entered the West. The [[globus cruciger]] became a symbol of kingly power and the Holy Roman Emperors were represented as crowned by Christ in the Byzantine fashion. It was in trying to revive the "glory that was Rome" that Otto III made the [[Rome|Eternal City]] his capital and increased in Greco-Roman fashion the ceremony of the court.

Schools also revived under the influence of the Dukes of Naples and Capua where the illustrious Bishop St [[Alfanus I]], an imitator of ancient writers, was closely involved in music, astronomy and medicine.<ref>Pierre Riché et Jacques Verger, Des nains sur des épaules de géants. Maîtres et élèves au Moyen Âge, Paris, Tallandier, 2006 p. 71</ref>


==Leading figures of the Ottonian Renaissance==
==Leading figures of the Ottonian Renaissance==
Line 19: Line 48:
*[[Gerbert of Aurillac]], pope as Sylvester II
*[[Gerbert of Aurillac]], pope as Sylvester II
*[[Theophanu]]
*[[Theophanu]]
*[[Guido of Arezzo]]
*[[Liutprand of Cremona]], author of ''Historia Ottonis'' ("The Deeds of Otto")
*[[Liutprand of Cremona]], author of ''Historia Ottonis'' ("The Deeds of Otto")
*[[Bruno I, Archbishop of Cologne]]
*[[Bruno I, Archbishop of Cologne]]
*[[Widukind of Corvey]], author of ''[[Res gestae Saxonicae sive annalium libri tres|Res gestae Saxonicae]]'' ("The Deeds of the Saxons")
*[[Widukind of Corvey]], author of ''[[Res gestae Saxonicae sive annalium libri tres|Res gestae Saxonicae]]'' ("The Deeds of the Saxons")
*[[Adelaide, Abbess of Vilich]]
*[[Adelaide, Abbess of Vilich]]
*[[Egbert, Archbishop of Trier]] __NOTOC__
*[[Egbert, Archbishop of Trier]] __NOTOC__


==See also==
==See also==
⚫
* [[Ottonian dynasty]]
* [[Ottonian art]] ([[Pre-Romanesque art]])
* [[Ottonian art]] ([[Pre-Romanesque art]])
* [[Ottonian architecture]]
* [[Ottonian architecture]]
⚫
* [[Renaissance of the year 1000]]


==Notes==
==Notes==
Line 35: Line 63:


==References==
==References==
*[http://users.sbuniv.edu/~hgallatin/ht34632e12.html#ren Harlie Kay Gallatin, "Western Europe in the High Middle Ages: An Overview From c. 900 to c. 1300":] "Ottonian Renaissance"
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20120220054100/http://users.sbuniv.edu/~hgallatin/ht34632e12.html#ren Harlie Kay Gallatin, "Western Europe in the High Middle Ages: An Overview From c. 900 to c. 1300":] "Ottonian Renaissance"
*Hermann Aubin, ''Otto der Grosse und die Erneuerung des abendländischen Kaisertums im Jahre 962'' (1962)

{{Renaissance navbox}}
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[[Category:Early Middle Ages]]
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[[Category:Ottonian period]]

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[[Category:Ottonian art]]
{{Link FA|fr}}

[[als:Ottonische Renaissance]]
[[de:Ottonische Renaissance]]
[[es:Renacimiento Otoniano]]
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[[fr:Renaissance ottonienne]]
[[hr:Otonska renesansa]]
[[nl:Ottoonse renaissance]]
[[ru:Оттоновское Возрождение]]
[[sr:Отонска уметност]]

Latest revision as of 13:01, 31 October 2024

Enamel processional cross (Senkschmelzen-Kreuz), former Essen Abbey, about 1000

The Ottonian Renaissance was a renaissance of Byzantine and Late Antique art in Central and Southern Europe that accompanied the reigns of the first three Holy Roman Emperors of the Ottonian (or Saxon) dynasty: Otto I (936–973), Otto II (973–983), and Otto III (983–1002), and which in large part depended upon their patronage. The leading figures in this movement were Pope Sylvester II and Abbo of Fleury.[1] Renewed contact between the Ottonian court and Byzantine Constantinople spurred the hybridisation of Eastern-Byzantine and Western-Latin cultures, particularly in arts, architecture and metalwork, while the Ottonians revitalised the cathedral school network which promoted learning based on the seven liberal arts.[2] Ottonian intellectual activity was largely a continuation of Carolingian works, but circulated mainly in the cathedral schools and the courts of bishops (such as Liège, Cologne and Magdeburg), rather than the royal court.[3]

Historiography

[edit]
See also: Medieval renaissances

The concept of a renaissance was first applied to the Ottonian period by the German historian Hans Naumann - more precisely, his work published in 1927 grouped the Carolingian and Ottonian periods together under the title Karolingische und ottonische Renaissance (The Carolingian and Ottonian Renaissance).[4] This was only two years after Erna Patzelt's coining of the term 'Carolingian Renaissance' (Die Karolingische Renaissance: Beiträge zur Geschichte der Kultur des frühen Mittelalters, Vienna, 1924), and the same year as Charles H. Haskins published The Renaissance of the Twelfth Century (Cambridge Mass., 1927)

One of three medieval renaissances, the Ottonian Renaissance began after King Otto's marriage to Adelaide of Italy (951) united the Italian and German kingdoms, and thus brought the West closer to Byzantium. He furthered the cause of Christian (political) unity with his Imperial coronation in 962 by the Pope at St. Peter's Basilica in Rome.

The period is sometimes extended to cover the reign of Emperor Henry II (1014-1024) as well, and, rarely, his Salian successors. The term is generally confined to Imperial court culture conducted in Latin in Germany.[5] - it is sometimes also known as the Renaissance of the 10th Century,[6] or 10th Century Renaissance, so as to include developments outside Germania, or as the Year 1000 Renewal,[7] due to coming right at the end of the 10th century. It was shorter than the preceding Carolingian Renaissance and to a large extent a continuation of it - this has led historians such as Pierre Riché to prefer evoking it as a 'third Carolingian renaissance', covering the 10th century and running over into the 11th century, with the 'first Carolingian renaissance' occurring during Charlemagne's own reign and the 'second Carolingian renaissance' happening under his successors.[8]

Libraries

[edit]

Libraries were created and enriched during the Ottonian Renaissance through the intense activity of the monastic scriptoria and were the subject of further developments in the 10th century, as evidenced by the catalogs that have survived. The catalog of Bobbio Abbey lists almost 600 works,[9] that of Fleury Abbey nearly the same count.[10] Gerbert (the future Pope Sylvester II) played an important role in the acquisition and inventory of the library of Bobbio, and spent his wealth to fund his collection.[11] Adso of Montier-en-Der's book chest included a large number of books such as those of Porphyry, Aristotle, Terence, Cicero, and Virgil.[10]

Logic

[edit]

The Logica vetus (consisting of translations of Aristotle by Boethius and Porphyry and the Topica of Cicero) remained the basis of dialectic education; Gerbert, the future Pope Sylvester II was familiar with these books[12] and was noted for his mastery of dialectics during the dispute of Ravenna against Otric in 980,[13] and in his treatise De rationalis et ratione uti (Of the rational and the use of reason), composed in 997 and dedicated to Otto III, Holy Roman Emperor.[14] Abbo of Fleury wrote commentaries on these works through two treatises.[15]

An anthology of dialectical works dating from Fulbert of Chartres and probably from his library, contains the Isagoge of Porphyry, the Categories of Aristotle, the distinction between rhetoric and dialectic of Fulbert himself, the Topica of Cicero, the De Interpretatione of Aristotle, Boethius three comments and de Ratione written by Gerbert in 997.[16][17] The development of dialectics was furthered by Majolus of Cluny.[16]

Sciences

[edit]
Ottonian era diagram, Diagram of Byrthferth: the mysteries of the universe

The growing interest in the disciplines of the quadrivium (arithmetic, geometry, music and astronomy) was translated to the teachings of the leading scholars of their time, such as Abbo of Fleury who wrote many treatises on the calculation of the computus, astronomical subjects such as the trajectories of the sun, moon and planets,[18] and a star catalogue.[19]

The future Pope Sylvester II, introduced the use of wooden terrestrial spheres for the astronomical study of the movement of the earth, planets and constellations,[20] the use of the monochord for musical study,[21] and construction of the abacus for arithmetic studies.[22] Fulbert of Chartres introduced the use of Arabic numerals.[23]

Hermann of Reichenau, of the school of Reichenau, was famed for his treatises on the astrolabe, calculus and music.[24]

Arts

[edit]

The Ottonian Renaissance is recognized especially in the arts and architecture, invigorated by renewed contact with Constantinople, in some revived cathedral schools, such as that of Archbishop Bruno of Cologne, in the production of illuminated manuscripts from a handful of elite scriptoria, such as Quedlinburg Abbey, founded by Otto in 936, and in political ideology. The Imperial court became the center of religious and spiritual life, led by the example of women of the royal family: Matilda the literate mother of Otto I, his sister Gerberga of Saxony, or his consort Adelaide. The Byzantine influence further increased with the marriage of Otto II with Princess Theophanu, who upon her husband's death in 983 ruled as Empress dowager for her minor son Otto III until 991.

After Otto I's Imperial coronation, there emerged a renewed faith in the idea of Empire in Otto's immediate circle and a reformed church, creating a period of heightened cultural and artistic fervor. Ottonian art was a court art, created to confirm a direct Holy and Imperial lineage as a source of legitimized power linked from Constantine and Justinian. In this atmosphere the masterpieces that were created fused the traditions which the new art was based on: paintings from Late Antiquity, the Carolingian period, and Byzantium. In this way, the term is used as an analogue to the Carolingian Renaissance which accompanied Charlemagne's coronation in 800.

Emperor Otto II, Registrum Gregorii, Trier, c. 985, 27 × 20 cm, Musée Condé, Chantilly

A small group of Ottonian monasteries received direct sponsorship from the Emperor and bishops and produced some magnificent medieval illuminated manuscripts, the premier art form of the time. Corvey produced some of the first manuscripts, followed by the scriptorium at Hildesheim after 1000. The most famous Ottonian scriptorium was at the island monastery of Reichenau on Lake Constance: hardly any other works have formed the image of Ottonian art as much as the miniatures which originated there. One of the greatest Reichenau works was the Codex Egberti, containing narrative miniatures of the life of Christ, the earliest such cycle, in a fusion of styles including Carolingian traditions as well as traces of insular and Byzantine influences. Other well known manuscripts included the Reichenau Evangeliary, the Liuther Codex, the Pericopes of Henry II, the Bamberg Apocalypse and the Hitda Codex.

Hroswitha of Gandersheim characterises the changes which took place during the time. She was a nun who composed verse and drama, based on the classical works of Terence. The architecture of the period was also innovative and represents a predecessor to the later Romanesque.

Politically, theories of Christian unity and empire thrived, as well as revived classical notions of Imperial grandeur in the West. By Otto II's Greek wife Theophanu, Byzantine iconography entered the West. The globus cruciger became a symbol of kingly power and the Holy Roman Emperors were represented as crowned by Christ in the Byzantine fashion. It was in trying to revive the "glory that was Rome" that Otto III made the Eternal City his capital and increased in Greco-Roman fashion the ceremony of the court.

Schools also revived under the influence of the Dukes of Naples and Capua where the illustrious Bishop St Alfanus I, an imitator of ancient writers, was closely involved in music, astronomy and medicine.[25]

Leading figures of the Ottonian Renaissance

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See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ Pierre Riché et Jacques Verger, Des nains sur des épaules de géants. Maîtres et élèves au Moyen Âge, Paris, Tallandier, 2006, Chapter IV, "The Third Carolingian Renaissance", p. 59 sqq
  2. ^ Dominic A. Aquila (2022). The Church and the Age of Enlightenment (1648–1848) Faith, Science, and the Challenge of Secularism. Ave Maria Press. p. 86. ISBN 9781646800322.
  3. ^ Timothy Reuter (2014). Germany in the Early Middle Ages C. 800-1056. Taylor and Francis. pp. 246–247. ISBN 9781317872399.
  4. ^ Frankfurt-am-Main, 1927
  5. ^ Kenneth Sidwell, Reading Medieval Latin (Cambridge University Press, 1995) takes the end of Otto III's reign as the close of the Ottonian Renaissance.
  6. ^ (in French) P. Riché, Les Carolingiens, p. 390
  7. ^ P. Riché et J. Verger, Des nains sur des épaules de géants. Maîtres et élèves au Moyen Âge, Paris, Tallandier, 2006, p. 68
  8. ^ P. Riché et J. Verger, chapitre IV, « La Troisième Renaissance caroligienne », p. 59 sqq., chapter IV, « La Troisième Renaissance caroligienne », p.59 sqq.
  9. ^ François Picavet, Gerbert, un pape philosophe, d'après l'histoire et d'après la légende, Paris, 1897 https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k92278s p. 85-86
  10. ^ a b Pierre Riché et Jacques Verger, Des nains sur des épaules de géants. Maîtres et élèves au Moyen Âge, Paris, Tallandier, 2006 p.61-62
  11. ^ François Picavet, Gerbert, un pape philosophe, d'après l'histoire et d'après la légende, Paris, 1897 https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k92278s p. 119
  12. ^ Richer, "Historiarum Libri Quartet", in Patrologia Latina, vol. 138, col. 17-170, III, 47 (col. 102-103) : Necnon et quatuor de topicis differentiis libros, de sillogismis cathegoricis duos, diffinitionumque librum unum, divisionum aeque unum, utiliter legit et expressit.
  13. ^ Richer, "Historiarum Libri Quartet", in Patrologia Latina, vol. 138, col. 17-170, III, 55-65
  14. ^ Disquisitio De Scriptis Gerberti, Postmodum Sylvestri II, col. 159-168
  15. ^ Michel Lemoine, article « Abbon de Fleury » of Claude Gauvard, Alain de Libera, Michel Zink, Dictionnaire du Moyen Âge, Paris, p. 1, Ces traités ont été publiés récemment : éd. A. van de Vyver, Abbonis Floriacensis opera inedita, I, Bruges, 1966; éd. Franz Schupp, De syllogismis hypotheticis, Leyde/New York/Cologne, 1997.
  16. ^ a b Pierre Riché et Jacques Verger, Des nains sur des épaules de géants. Maîtres et élèves au Moyen Âge, Paris, Tallandier, 2006 p. 67
  17. ^ Michel Louis-Henri Parias (dir.), Histoire générale de l'enseignement et de l'éducation en France, vol. I : Des origines à la Renaissance, Paris, Nouvelle Librairie de France, 1981 p. 242-243
  18. ^ Patrologia Latina, vol. 139, (Vita Abbonis), III, col. 390 : Denique quosdam dialecticorum nodos syllogismorum enucleatissime enodavit, compotique varias et delectabiles, saecularium in morem tabularum, texuit calculationes. De solis quoque ac lunae seu planetarum cursu, a se editas disputationes scripto posterorum mandavit notitiae.
  19. ^ Patrologia Latina, Abbo of Fleury, vol. 139, col. 569-572
  20. ^ Richer, "Historiarum Libri Quartet", in Patrologia Latina, vol. 138, col. 17-170, III, 47 (col. 102-103), III, 49-50 (col. 103) : 49. Qui labor et in mathematicis impensus sit. Inde etiam musicam, multo ante Galliis ignotam, notissimam effecit. Cujus genera in monocordo disponens, eorum consonantias sive simphonias in tonis ac semitoniis, ditonis quoque ac diesibus distinguens, tonosque in sonis rationabiliter distribuens, in plenissimam notitiam redegit. / 50. Sperae solidae compositio. Ratio vero astronomiae quanto sudore collecta sit, dicere inutile non est, ut est tanti viri sagacitas advertatur, et artis efficacia lector commodissime capiatur. Quae cum pene intellectibilis sit, tamen non sine admiratione quibusdam instrumentis ad cognitionem adduxit. Inprimis enim mundi speram ex solido ac rotundo ligno argumentatus, minoris similitudine, majorem expressit. Quam cum duobus polis in orizonte obliquaret, signa septemtrionalia polo erectiori dedit, australia vero dejectiori adhibuit. Cujus positionem eo circulo rexit, qui a Graecis orizon, a Latinis limitans sive determinans appellatur, eo quod in eo signa quae videntur ab his quae non videntur distinguat ac limitet. Qua in orizonte sic collocata, ut et ortum et occasum signorum utiliter ac probabiliter demonstraret, rerum naturas dispositis insinuavit, instituitque in signorum comprehensione. Nam tempore nocturno ardentibus stellis operam dabat; agebatque ut eas in mundi regionibus diversis obliquatas, tam in ortu quam in occasu notarent
  21. ^ Richer, "Historiarum Libri Quartet", in Patrologia Latina, vol. 138, col. 17-170, III, 47 (col. 102-103), III, 52-53 (col. 104-105)
  22. ^ Richer, "Historiarum Libri Quartet", in Patrologia Latina, vol. 138, col. 17-170, III, 54 (col. 105) : 54. Confectio abaci. In geometria vero non minor in docendo labor expensus est. Cujus introductioni, abacum id est tabulam dimensionibus aptam opere scutarii effecit. Cujus longitudini, in 27 partibus diductae, novem numero notas omnem numerum significantes disposuit. Ad quarum etiam similitudinem, mille corneos effecit caracteres, qui per 27 abaci partes mutuati, cujusque numeri multiplicationem sive divisionem designarent; tanto compendio numerorum multitudinem dividentes vel multiplicantes, ut prae nimia numerositate potius intelligi quam verbis valerent ostendi. Quorum scientiam qui ad plenum scire desiderat, legat ejus librum quem scribit ad C. grammaticus; ibi enim haec satis habundanterque tractata inveniet.
  23. ^ Pierre Riché et Jacques Verger, Des nains sur des épaules de géants. Maîtres et élèves au Moyen Âge, Paris, Tallandier, 2006 p. 68
  24. ^ Pierre Riché et Jacques Verger, Des nains sur des épaules de géants. Maîtres et élèves au Moyen Âge, Paris, Tallandier, 2006 p. 70
  25. ^ Pierre Riché et Jacques Verger, Des nains sur des épaules de géants. Maîtres et élèves au Moyen Âge, Paris, Tallandier, 2006 p. 71

References

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