| Abstract | Paper -a:
The empire needs an emperor. Its not surprising therefore that we have many sources where rulers are idealized. A spectacular and largely overlooked example of such writing is Liudprand of Cremona's Historia Ottonis. Less known than his Legatio and Antapodosis, it was regarded by historians mostly as an attack on pope John XII. I will show that it is not limited only to this, as at the same time it is a grand glorification of Otto I. In his work, Liudprand describes not only a great ruler, but also, as I will show, creates an image of a saint emperor.
Paper -b:
This paper examines how the concept of empire was conveyed visually by the strategic deployment, on the part of Emperor Otto I (r. 936-973), of porphyry spolia obtained from Late Antique, Italian structures. These building materials were repurposed in several churches located in the culturally liminal region along the eastern edge of the Ottonian empire as part of Otto's campaign to subjugate, assimilate, and convert to Christianity the pagans that lived in the area. Porphyry had a lengthy historical association with imperial authority, and I demonstrate how, embedded within spaces of sacred ritual, these spolia worked to reify Ottonian rulership.
Paper -c:
The personality and the policy of Otto III were very different from those of his predecessors especially for the spirit of universality and religiosity that led him to cultivate the myth of the Renovatio Imperii. In fact, he moved the capital of the Empire in Rome, 'quam pre ceteris diligebat semperque excolebat' (Thiet. Chron. MGH, p. 187). To outline the figure and actions of him a significant contribution can be offered by the reading of Book IV of the Chronicon of Thietmar of Merserburg that is capable of going beyond the apologetic intents that topically mark works of this kind.
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