Narrative Strategies of Ritual Representation In
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Iliana Kandzha ROYAL PENANCE: NARRATIVE STRATEGIES OF RITUAL REPRESENTATION IN OTTONIAN HISTORIOGRAPHY MA Thesis in Medieval Studies Central European University CEU eTD Collection Budapest May 2016 ROYAL PENANCE: NARRATIVE STRATEGIES OF RITUAL REPRESENTATION IN OTTONIAN HISTORIOGRAPHY by Iliana Kandzha (Russia) Thesis submitted to the Department of Medieval Studies, Central European University, Budapest, in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the Master of Arts degree in Medieval Studies. Accepted in conformance with the standards of the CEU. ____________________________________________ Chair, Examination Committee ____________________________________________ Thesis Supervisor ____________________________________________ Examiner ____________________________________________ Examiner CEU eTD Collection Budapest May 20016 ROYAL PENANCE: NARRATIVE STRATEGIES OF RITUAL REPRESENTATION IN OTTONIAN HISTORIOGRAPHY by Iliana Kandzha (Russia) Thesis submitted to the Department of Medieval Studies, Central European University, Budapest, in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the Master of Arts degree in Medieval Studies. Accepted in conformance with the standards of the CEU. ____________________________________________ External Reader CEU eTD Collection Budapest May 2016 ROYAL PENANCE: NARRATIVE STRATEGIES OF RITUAL REPRESENTATION IN OTTONIAN HISTORIOGRAPHY by Iliana Kandzha (Russia) Thesis submitted to the Department of Medieval Studies, Central European University, Budapest, in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the Master of Arts degree in Medieval Studies. Accepted in conformance with the standards of the CEU. ____________________________________________ External Supervisor CEU eTD Collection Budapest May 2016 I, the undersigned, Iliana Kandzha, candidate for the MA degree in Medieval Studies, declare herewith that the present thesis is exclusively my own work, based on my research and only such external information as properly credited in notes and bibliography. I declare that no unidentified and illegitimate use was made of the work of others, and no part of the thesis infringes on any person’s or institution’s copyright. I also declare that no part of the thesis has been submitted in this form to any other institution of higher education for an academic degree. Budapest, 19 May 2016 __________________________ Signature CEU eTD Collection Abstract This research belongs to a sphere of studies in political rituals and images of power; though here only one type of ritual practice is analyzed, namely royal penance as represented in historiographical sources of the Ottonian age (919-1024). Acts of repentance performed by Ottonian kings and emperors have always been approached as historical events and “moves” in a political game of the kingdom between powerful magnates. This perspective, however, often neglects other dimensions of royal penance, namely political agenda, commemorative needs and literary traditions, which instigated Ottonian authors to reflect upon the repentance of kings in their writings, much more often than writers from Carolingian or Salian ages. In this thesis royal penance is perceived, first of all, as a narrative inside historical discourse, which was created as memorization of a historical event, when penance was believed to be performed. In this light royal penance appeared to be used by Ottonian authors as a stable narrative pattern, which showed up in certain specific literary circumstances such as battlefield, establishment of a diocese or family conflicts. Although each author had his or her own reasons for evoking, creating or erasing memories of royal penance in their writings, several common functions of a “narrated” royal penance can be defined: creating a useful past for needs of a specific community, retrospectively legitimating political acts, establishing relationship between royal power and local ecclesiastical authorities or providing implicit Kaiserkritik. In this thesis I also touch upon matters of literary prototypes of royal penance CEU eTD Collection and possible ways of categorization of this ritual, namely between imposed penance and self- humiliation of a king. i Acknowledgements This thesis is not exclusively of my own merit: it is a mutual work of many people who have put their effort, knowledge, love and care into this project. First of all, I would like to thank my supervisors, Daniel and Gerhard, for their help, guidance and support throughout all this year. Many thanks to all professors of our Department, whose courses inspired me to learn new subjects and to look at my own topic from new perspectives. Special words of gratitude are for Zsuzsa and Tom, who made my writings and thoughts clearer. However, all these would not be possible without Prof. Bojcov from the Higher School of Economics, to whom I owe my interest into Medieval Studies, my knowledge and academic successes. It would be impossible to mention everybody who made this year at CEU to turn out into unforgettable experience and the best time of my life. I am infinitely thankful to my parents, grandma, Nariman, best friends and other members of my big great family for staying close and supporting me regardless of two thousand kilometers between us. This year I have met amazing people, made new friends and acquaintances, and acquired two Dorm brothers, Dan and Marino, whom with all my love I promised to mention here. CEU eTD Collection ii Table of contents Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 1 How to define a ritual? ........................................................................................................... 2 Previous research ................................................................................................................... 4 Ottonian historiography ......................................................................................................... 7 Research questions ............................................................................................................... 10 How to study a ritual? .......................................................................................................... 11 Chapter I – Kings, Relics and Pilgrimages .............................................................................. 15 Thietmar on true and false penance ..................................................................................... 17 Royal penance as an apple of discord .................................................................................. 25 Penance between royal humility and conflict settlement ..................................................... 30 Chapter II – Penance on the Battlefield ................................................................................... 32 Royal penance at Lechfeld ................................................................................................... 33 Wonderworkers on the field................................................................................................. 40 Biblical kings and Ottonian wars ......................................................................................... 46 Chapter III – The David-model of royal penance in friendship and enmity ............................ 48 How to make friends with the emperor ................................................................................ 49 Otto III and Italian Saints ..................................................................................................... 51 Canossa staged in Halberstadt ............................................................................................. 57 Royal wish against the Synod in Frankfurt .......................................................................... 58 Prestige of royal penance ..................................................................................................... 62 Chapter IV – Overcoming family conflicts ............................................................................. 64 Saint Mathilda and her prodigal sons................................................................................... 65 Family problems on Adelheid’s way to sanctity.................................................................. 72 Royal penance as family cure .............................................................................................. 74 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................... 76 Bibliography ............................................................................................................................ 81 CEU eTD Collection iii List of Abbreviations MGH SS Monumenta Germaniae Historics, Scriptores (in folio) MGH SS rer. Germ. MGH, Scriptores rerum Germanicarum in usum scholarum separatim editi MGH SS rer. Germ. n.s. MGH, Scriptores rerum Germanicarum nova series DH II Die Urkunden Heinrich II. und Arduin, ed. Theodor von Sickel, MGH Diplomata regum et imperatorum vol. 3. Hanover: Hahn, 1900-1903. DO I Die Urkunden Konrad I., Heinrich I. und Otto I., ed. Theodor von Sickel, MGH Diplomata regum et imperatorum vol. 1. Hanover: Hahn, 1879-1884. Liutprand, Ant. Liutprand of Cremona. “Antapodosis.“ In Die Werke Liudprands von Cremona, ed. Joseph Becker, MGH SS rer. Germ. 41, 1-158. Hanover: Hahn, 1915. Odilo, Epitaph Odilo of Cluny. “Epitaphium Adelheide.” In Die Lebensbeschreibung der Kaiserin Adelheid