Frühmittelalterliche Studien
Zusammenfassungen der Beiträge in englischer Sprache (abstracts)
Wolfram Drews, Imperiale Herrschaft an der Peripherie? Hegemonialstreben und politische Konkurrenz zwischen christlichen und islamischen Herrschern im früh- und hochmittelalterlichen 'Westen', S. 1—39
In 1135 king Alfonso VII of León and Castile was crowned emperor in the city of León. The first Spanish imperial coronation turned out to be also the last; nonetheless, it was interpreted by earlier scholarship as marking the crystallization of a distinctly Spanish variety of imperial rule, allegedly indicating a decisive step towards the institutionalization of a Spanish empire in juridical, even constitutional terms. However, imperial titles had been used before that date; Alfonso's grandfather had even claimed a kind of overlordship over Christians living beyond the borders of his kingdom under Muslim rule. When put into the wider context of Christian and Islamic political rule in the Mediterranean world, it becomes apparent that various imperial titles were used by both Christian and Muslim rulers competing among each other. It is striking that the use of imperial titles ceased in the 13th century both in the Christian and in the Islamic world of the western Mediterranean. By that time, the large empires in the eastern Mediterranean world had either disappeared or they were reduced to the state of more or less petty kingdoms. Therefore it was no longer profitable for Muslim and Christian rulers in the west to style themselves in imperial terms. For this reason, Castilian kings never revived the imperial claims of their predecessors, not even in times of large-scale conquests in the later middle ages or in the early modern period. Before the 13th century, Christian and Muslim imperial systems in the western Mediterranean were intertwined; this entanglement was based on intensive economic and cultural interaction.
Juan José Larrea, L'autre visage du manse. Actes de la pratique et structures agraires dans la vallée du Rhin moyen au VIIIe siècle, S. 41—98
The aim of this paper is to readdress the issue of the mansus when considered in a dimension which is totally or partially extraneous to the 'great classical estate'. A historiographical tradition several centuries long has made it prisoner both of theories which have explained it through a conjectural past and of methods which considered the information contained in charters as ambiguous or unreliable. However, the study of the internal logic of a chronologically and territorially compact dossier of charters — produced in the Lorsch scriptorium up to 804 and relating to the district of Oberrhein and Ladenburg — shows the coherence and precision of its perception of the agrarian regime. This becomes particularly apparent through the identification of specific features of each of the main Lorsch scribes. These charters thus prove to be significant tools for the study of Carolingian rural economy. Thanks to these texts, and with reference to this region and this period, it is possible to clarify many of the ambiguities concerning the mansus itself, such as the real or theoretical nature of its fragmentation or the notion of hoba, as well as the servile people who lived on it. In a live and extremely malleable rural environment, the mansus, that is the lived-on land unit, is both legally and economically the cornerstone on which agrarian exploitations pivot: it is around the mansus that such exploitations extend and contract (depending on the lifecycles of households and soils and the decisions taken by the players in the rural environment); and it is through the mansus that those same exploitations integrate in the territory.
Jacek Banaszkiewicz, Bischof Alberich von Marsica und seine Reliquiengeschenke für Dietrich von Metz und Otto I. 'Translatio s. Alexandri' und 'Inventio sanctorum', S. 99—156
In February 964 Emperor Otto I arrived during his pacification campaign in the territory of Abruzzo, where he issued a document for the Bishop of Marsica, Alberic, in which he granted the bishop the monastery of Sant'Angelo in Barrea (Barregio ) on the river Sangro. This run-down yet well-endowed monastery became the subject of a long-lasting conflict between Alberic, a member of a locally influential family of the Berardenghis, and the most significant monastic communities in central Italy which did not end until 981 with the victory of the monks of Monte Cassino.
What did Alberic do to deserve this 'tasty morsel' and why could he enjoy the Emperor's support, although he even lost for a while, as it seems, his office of bishop of Marsica? The two sources that are discussed in this paper, namely the 'Translatio s. Alexandri' (c. mid-12th century) and the 'Inventio sanctorum' (shortly after 970 ) shed light on these issues. Alberic merited the Emperor's, and next also his influential palatine's, Bishop Dietrich of Metz's, reward, with his gifts in the form of relics. The Bishop even organized a 'hunt' for relics when Otto I and the Emperor's retinue arrived in Marsica in connection with military expeditions against the Greeks.
Sarah Thieme, 'So möge alles Volk wissen'. Funktionen öffentlicher Beratung im 10. und 11. Jahrhundert, S. 157—189
The essay analyses functions of political public counselling in the 10th and 11th century on the basis of selected historiographical examples. The colloquium publicum is a special and seldom preserved form of counselling, because generally public communication was a performed announcement through symbolic actions. Public counselling had specific important functions for „konsensuale Herrschaft“ (Bernd Schneidmüller), especially in emergency situations, like the threat to the king's rule. In 954, for instance, there was a public counselling of the important rulers of the kingdom of Otto I in Langenzenn. They discussed in public the king's son's Liudolf and his followers' uprising against the king. In the light of the Magyar invasions and serious internal conflicts at the same time, king Otto I could use public counselling to legitimate his rule. He sought refuge in going public to force an issue to his favour.
Hartmut Beyer, Das Herrscherideal des rigor iustitiae und die Kirchenreform im Italien des 11. Jahrhunderts, S. 191—219
Recent historical research on rulership in the 12th-century Empire (especially by Gerd Althoff and Theo Broekmann) has described a tendency towards relentless punishment of revolting magnates and a general shift of values from clementia towards iustitia visible in the historiographers' accounts which refer to this new behaviour by the term rigor iustitiae. Remarkably early and consequently this change took place in Norman Sicily. The essay presents two letters by the hermit and reformer Peter Damian to the margrave of Tuscany Godfrey of Lorraine (No. 67 and 68, between 1059 and 1063), unconsidered up to now in this context. They contain the first evidence for the term rigor iustitiae applied to worldly jurisdiction and furthermore put up a harsh and unambiguous plead for the use of violence against transgressors of the law. Peter alleges a huge amount of examples and sentences taken from the bible, history both antique and recent, and canon law. Due to the importance of sender and recipient it seems probable that these letters did in fact influence the conception of rulership in the Empire and Italy. The essay further shows that the term rigor iustitiae was used almost exclusively for ecclesiastical matters up to the 12th century. Its presence is due to ancient penitential discipline and the ideal of the priest relentlessly punishing sins as depicted in Gregory the Great's 'Regula pastoralis'. In the 9th-century Pseudo-Isidorian decretals, the Apostle Peter himself advises his successor to exert the rigor iustitiae towards his fellow Christians, a citation rediscovered by Gregory VII and his follower Anselm of Lucca ('Collectio canonum'). On the whole, it seems that a transfer of the virtue of rigor iustitiae from an ecclesiastical to a worldly context took place in the 11th century, initiated by leading exponents of Church Reform.
Hagen Keller, Identitäten und Individualität in den Krisenerfahrungen des europäischen Hochmittelalters (11./12. Jahrhundert ), S. 221—240
From the 10th to the 12th centuries a new set of collective identities was established in Europe: the medieval nationes, the Western church with the pope at its head, religious orders, monastic associations; communities centred on cities, villages, valleys and parishes; fraternities, merchant guilds, craft guilds and communes. All these organisations were aware of their identity as communitas, created their own symbols in seals, coats of arms, flags, and adopted a patron saint. At the same time through a process of institutionalisation which took place at all levels of European society these 'We'- organisations acquired a permanent structure. Legal criteria defined the membership of the 'I', and clearly separated the 'We' from the 'Others'. This institutionalisation legitimised a representative who could speak in the name of all members, i. e. the 'We'-group as universitas, and who was also authorised to put pressure on the members. In a differentiated society an individual always belongs to several organisations, broader or narrower in scope, each of which are assigned specific functions at an overall level, and for the individual's personal existence.
In Western Europe during the 11th and 12th centuries a phase of fundamental long-acting changes in social structures took place, changes to which the above enumerated developments were central. These changes were accompanied by intense conflicts. The so-called investiture controversy called into question the validity of the precepts and values observed up until that time. In the religious and spiritual turmoil of the central Middle Ages, controversies were analysed with extraordinary intensity; positions and counter-positions were propagated in a flood of polemic papers. The appeal to personal opinion, and plea for an inner and outer decision were ubiquitous. Who is right? On whose side does the 'truth' lie with regard to the fundamental questions? The demands of faith and conscience have to be followed in order to protect one's own personal identity. To whom does the individual assign the 'I', and in whom can he/she recognise the 'We'-group?
The newly formed collectives, i. e. the parties in contest with each other, endeavoured by every means possible to compel the individual to decide for their group: do you belong to us or to our adversaries? Under such pressure to make a decision individuals who had belonged to the relevant 'We', could suddenly switch to the 'Others'. Three examples from within the German region of the Holy Roman Empire illustrate how bishops in the midst of the investiture controversy grappled with and sought to protect their own identities and integrity. Benno of Osnabrück attempted to maintain a mutually recognised position between the two fronts. With reference to differently interpreted values, Walram of Naumburg for the Imperial party, and Herrand of Halberstadt for the Papist adversary, called on their respective opponents to revise their convictions and change their positions. Ruthard of Mainz believed that in transferring his adherence from previous loyalties to the opposition 'We'-group, he could regain his personal identity, i. e. through an internal reversal of position with all its external, political consequences.
A scholarly description of the personal dilemma which people were caught up, in due to the deep divide in their communities, would necessitate reflection on the definition of individuality as perceived at that time, as has long been called for in the academic discourse. Aaron J. Gurjewitsch recalls his own experience in the Soviet Union, evoking the situation of the dissident in the present. The question of the relationship between the 'I', 'We', and, 'You' in the Middle Ages, i. e. the tension between personal and collective identity in a concrete, historical environment, confronts us with questions about our own existence: about the individual conscience of our 'I', about interactions in communities which form our multilayered 'We' and about behaviour towards 'Others', with whom we, in one and the same land as well as in the entire world, search for or agonise over the fundamentals required for a peaceful and just coexistence.
(Translation: Julie Zein )
Edeltraud Balzer, Der Cappenberger Barbarossakopf. Vorgeschichte, Geschenkanlass und Funktionen (Taf. I—III, Abb. 1—10), S. 241—299
This study tries to classify and to interpret the famous Barbarossakopf in relationship to previous events. It is not meant to look at the capud argenteum ad imperatoris formatum effigiem primarily from an art-historical point of view. First of all there is the offensa regia committed by the Counts Gottfried and Otto of Cappenberg, which led first to the fire which destroyed the cathedral of Münster in 1121 and then to the arbitration of this offence in close conjunction with the negotiations concerning the Wormser Konkordat in 1122. Secondly this paper looks at the capud itself, discussing when and with what intention this precious object was manufactured, what its specific significance and special functions were, as well as how Otto of Cappenberg came into it's possession. — In the procedures against the Cappenberger, Norbert of Xanten and Friedrich I, Duke of Swabia, made a reconciliation with the king possible. In return the counts supported Norbert by founding monasteries in Cappenberg and Ilbenstadt, adding a donation of 400 marks in silver to get the Pope's consent for the new monastic brotherhood. The counts received this money from Duke Friedrich I who had bought two of their inherited castles and promised, not unusual in contract sealings then, that one of the counts would be honoured by becoming godfather to his son who was not yet born later became Emperor Friedrich Barbarossa. In addition, the Duke promised the future godfather to hand him a Byzantine cross. The present study draws attention to the fact that this cross was a particular one and already had a history of its own before the family handed it over to the godfather. Friedrich Barbarossa's father had always worn it around his neck as a phylactery in all his violent conflicts. Because of this certain characteristics could be detected, so that, 33 years after the baptism, when Friedrich Barbarossa accomplished the mensura aetatis plenitudinis Christi and was in the first year of his reign as Emperor, this cross was important again. It is engraved on the bowl which Friedrich Barbarossa donated to his patrinus Otto of Cappenberg as a Votabowl in 1156. The engravings on the bowl recall the moment of Barbarossa's baptism in 1122 and the naked child wears nothing but the phylactery (the „Pektoralkreuz“) of its father now hanging on catenas around his neck. Both gifts, bowl and capud, with which the Emperor honoured his godfather on the occasion of the 33rd anniversary of his baptism, have a typological relationship and therefore, when compared, interprete each other reciprocally. In this context the present study discusses the cult of the cross with the relics of St. John Evangelista within the monastery of Cappenberg which Otto, later 3rd provost of Cappenberg, promoted by a special donation of his. The question is if this donation is a completion of a former donation by the Emperor for celebrating the feasts of St. John on June 5 and on December 27. Since the latter date was probably that of the Emperor's own baptism in 1122 — Friedrich Barbarossa had very likely made his donation in memory of this event. In connection with this the silver effigy presenting him as a new Constantine, might have had the special function of showing him — far away from the place but present — again wearing the salubrious cross and thus asking for further blessings when celebrating his special patron saint St. John. — Another gift to Otto of Cappenberg, also belonging to the caritas on St. John's days, the chalice of the Bishop of Troyes, helped to identify the bishop and the deacon on the Votabowl, the two persons are probably Bishop Hartwig of Regensburg and his nephew Henry, the later bishop of Troyes.
This paper also draws the following conclusions: (1.) Friedrich Barbarossa chose Easter 1156, the traditional feast of baptism in earlier times, as date and Münster as place in order to celebrate the 33rd anniversary of his baptism, since, with the Cathedral of Münster rebuilt, Otto of Cappenberg then and there was ostensibly shown as rehabilitated in the place of his offence. (2.) At the same time the Emperor himself took the opportunity to openly show that he saw himself as the only true successor of the first Christian Emperor by publicly presenting his silver effigy and the bowl accompanying it. The symbolic meaning of the Barbarossakopf outlined an imperial programme (3. ) differing from the Pope's conception of emperorship which he, the Pope, tried to enforce by a drawing in the Lateran. And besides by means of the bust (4.) the Emperor attempted to distance himself from the Byzantine Emperor. In this context Wibald of Stablo's role in developing the concept of the Votabowl and the Barbarossakopf is reconsidered. Finally, it is pointed out why the Barbarossakopf was reallocated to a golden reliquary of St. John Ev. in accordance with the conviction held around 1200, that saints are glowing figures of light.
William C. McDonald, Ave ancilla trinitatis (Goldenes 'Ave Maria' ). The Identification of a Marian Prayer-Type in Mechthild von Magdeburg's 'Das fließende Licht der Gottheit' (VII, 19), S. 301—320
The Marian prayer 'Von dem grùsse únser vrowen' that Mechthild von Magdeburg embeds in her 'Fließendes Licht der Gottheit' (VII, 19) is not, as claimed, a variant of the Ave Maria-prayer, but Mechthild's version of the Ave ancilla trinitatis, a prayertype extant in Germany before her era. Said exemplars are in Latin, thus documenting further her knowledge of that tongue.
Christel Meier, Metamorphosen und Theophanien. Zur Ovid- Illustration des späteren Mittelalters (Taf. IV—XVIII, Abb. 11—34), S. 321—341
Despite their great significance for the development of the early modern tradition of Ovidian illustrations, the illustrated medieval manuscripts of Ovid's 'Metamorphoses' and the 'Ovidius moralizatus' of Petrus Berchorius have not yet been comprehensively studied. The present article focuses on the previously unexplored highquality Gotha manuscript, University Library, Ms. Membr. I 98, created in 14th century Upper Italy, which contains slightly more than one hundred miniatures. By analyzing text and pictures, the article seeks to elucidate the strategies of depicting metamorphoses and theophanies, especially the transformation of men into animals, plants or stones and the visualization of the gods, and to explain the way in which the miniatures relate to the texts of Ovid and Berchorius. For the sake of comparison reference is also made to some of the pictures of the equally unresearched Bergamo manuscript, Biblioteca Civica A. Mai, Ms. Cassaforte 3. 4, which originated independently of the Gotha manuscript.
Karl Enenkel, Politische und religiöse auctoritas. Die Legitimation von Autorschaft in der neulateinischen Literatur (1350—1650) (Taf. XIX—XXII, Abb. 35—41), S. 343—367
In the contribution it is argued that early modern authorship is not a self-evident, emphatic notion, but rather depends on a number of legitimizations and authorizations. Paratexts, such as letters of dedication, prefaces, author's portraits, and dedication scenes, are of pivotal importance for the acceptance of literary, scholarly, and scientific works ca. 1350—1650. The contribution analyzes the way in which these paratexts functioned as a means of legitimization and authorization. From the 15th century onward, dedications seem to be an absolute prerequisite for the act of publication, whether for manuscript editions or for printed books. The addressee of the dedication — the patron — functions as a kind of mediator between the author and his audience. In the contribution it is argued that the ways in which this mediation is performed have a highly ritual character, which pertains both to written paratexts, such as letters of dedication or dedicatory prefaces, and visual paratexts, such as author's portraits and dedication scenes.
Sabine Schmolinsky, Präsentierung — Verfahren der Vergegenwärtigung im Mittelalter. Zur Einleitung, S. 369—372
This introduction to six papers of the 18th annual meeting of the „Brackweder Arbeitskreis für Mittelalterforschung“ in November 2011 proposes some features of generating and performing presence and presentation in various medieval practices. Starting with the concepts of presence and meaning in Hans Ulrich Gumbrecht's „Production of Presence“ (2004) it addresses dimensions of materiality, topology, performativity, and deixis and their impact on „making present“ in time and space. As the contributions point out, there are identifiable agents who shaped material objects, script, narratives or rituals in order to produce authenticity, old age, memory, and centrality or marginality in their respective contemporary context. Slightly touching Gumbrecht's „presentification“ from case to case, „Präsentierung“ thus proves to be appropriate to denote past procedures of producing synchrony and meaning in presence.
Kristin Böse, Das Kreuz an der Schwelle. Strategien der Vergegenwärtigung in nordspanischen Handschriften des 10. und 11. Jahrhunderts (Taf. XXIII—XXIV, Abb. 42—49), S. 373—389
Northern Spanish manuscripts from the 10th and 11th centuries frequently open with a full-page miniature of the cross. They appear at a time when in other European regions illuminations of the cross had already been replaced by a miniature of the crucifixion. Following up on recent assumptions that such representations of the cross were directed to the Christian community rather than to the Muslims, who held control over the Southern Iberian Peninsula, this article focuses on the sign's meaning for the monastic communities responsible for manuscript production. In discussing its various designs and its position within the manuscript, I consider the ways in which different references to space and time come together in one cross illumination. Firstly, early examples of cross illuminations in particular recall pictorial traditions deriving from royal Asturian metalwork from the 9th and early 10th centuries. Secondly, the miniatures serve as instruments for the monastic communities to inscribe themselves in the history of salvation. Finally, as crosses in Northern Spanish architecture also served as markers of liminal space, the illuminations may additionally be interpreted as markers of a threshold, which convey the perception of the manuscript as a sacred space for all those who were involved in the manuscript's production or who participated in the process of reception.
Jan Clauß, Die Salbung Pippins des Jüngeren in karolingischen Quellen vor dem Horizont biblischer Wahrnehmungsmuster, S. 391—417
The origins of Pippin's royal unction in 751 have been intensely debated among medievalists. One potential source of inspiration for this new ritual in the Frankish world is the unction of kings in the Old Testament, performed e. g. in the case of David and Salomon. Arguing for this hypothesis and taking it as point of departure, the essay looks for reasons contemporary agents may have had to model this ritual innovation after the Biblical type, asking why it was likely that the unction was apprehended and interpreted in the light of Holy Scripture. In this way the essay detects strategies of representation which allowed the Carolingian usurper to benefit from theological and cultural horizons as well as Christian concepts of kingship which had already been present in Merovingian times. In that period, Biblical motives and allusions to Israel's kings had been employed to voice expectations or to gain royal favour. However, it was Pippin's unction which gave unprecedented momentum to this concept. By meaningful ritual densification, integrating present groups and Biblical 'Heilsgeschichte', the unction could forcibly legitimize the dethronement of the Merovingians and underline the Carolingians' newly gained status. The focus on modes of presentation is apt to reveal broader implications, not only for the Carolingian family proper. Also the relationship with the Frankish nobility, especially the episcopal elite, as well as the papacy could be organized by reference to Biblical kingship and its narratives of election and inauguration.
Michael Brauer, Im Antlitz der Weisheit. Literarische und politische Vergegenwärtigung Karls V. im 'Livre des fais' der Christine de Pizan, S. 419—435
The essay analyses literary and political strategies of actualisation (Präsentierung) in the 'Livre des fais' by Christine de Pizan, who created the image of King Charles V of France (1364—1380) as a wise ruler. Three literary modes of actualisation are examined: The portrait of the king, his position in the social space at court and a series of sentences that put the theoretical concept of wisdom into practice. As for political actualisation, Christine uses the example of the deceased king to create a political vision for her present age (1404), which was characterised by the madness of King Charles VI and the struggle of the Princes. In his sagacious sentences, Charles V gives examples of good government in a very practical sense: What is justice in specific cases? How to appoint someone to an office? Which norms should govern daily life at court? These examples were meant to be adapted to present and future needs by Christine's reader.
Bernd Roling, Vergegenwärtigungen und Transformationen eines Mythos. Die Historisierung Merlins und Taliesins zwischen Mittelalter und Früher Neuzeit, S. 437—483
Only a few figures of the early Middle Ages were as controversial as the Celtic wise men Merlin and Taliesin, two heroes of the Arthuric tradition, whose Latin tradition had been founded by Geoffrey of Monmouth and Gerald of Wales. Medieval theologians blamed the Welsh prophets as demonic offspring or as impostors. How could early modern defenders of celticism react? This paper demonstrates how 16thcentury scholars like John Leland and John Price were able to free Merlin and Taliesin from the burden of demonology and to restore their historical dignity by declaring them to the founding fathers of Welsh bardism and the first witnesses of early Cymric poetry.
Nevertheless the 18th century heirs of early Welsh nationalism, Edward Williams, Edward Davis and others, were willing to exaggerate the historic role of their heroes, by making them the key figures of a neopaganic movement. As a consequence, with the collapse and unmasking of Ossian in the early 19th century Merlin and Taliesin once more were in danger to lose their historical credibility. Not before the 1840s modern historians were finally able to demonstrate the authenticity of the very first Cymric poetry, written by Taliesin and Merlin.
Susanne Härtel, Wie sich die Dinge präsentieren. Auf den Wegen jüdischer Grabsteine aus Regensburg (Taf.XXV—XXX, Abb. 50—66), S. 485—511
The paper focuses on former tombstones from the medieval Jewish cemetery in Regensburg (1210—1519) and their further transmission, thereby concentrating on things rather than on texts as a starting point of historical analysis. In order to understand how these stones have presented themselves in their various contexts and over the centuries of Jewish-Christian relations, use is made of Hans Ulrich Gumbrecht's distinction between meaning on the one hand and presence on the other, here operationalized in their ideal poles of script and stone. After a brief introduction of Gumbrecht's concept, four specific stones are chosen whose tracks can actually be followed over the centuries and in changing constellations of meaning and presence attributed to them. In this way, four different stages may be identified to document the transformation of meaningful tombstones, from present signs of triumph into oscillating landmarks whose potential of meaning can be actualized time and again. It is only in the last stage leading into our own presence that the possibility seems to arise that a stone's inscription, i. e. its meaning, is actually substituted by a new one, thus creating a completely new initial situation — similar to the production of meaning when the stones were turned into individual tombstones in the first place. The things themselves — as has to be concluded — are not self-evident in their testimony: On the contrary, in their oscillation between meaning and presence they often mark a position across alleged pre-modern and modern worlds or prevent simple conclusions from their appearance in one stage to another. Maybe more than texts, they drag the historian into the specific contexts of time and place.
Christian Scholl, Zur Präsentierung imaginärer Ursprünge. Einige Beispiele aus der jüdischen Geschichte des Mittelalters, S. 513—532
In the Middle Ages, numerous myths and legends circulated in Western and Southern Europe according to which the origins of several Jewish-European communities and families went back to antiquity or at least to Carolingian times. Most of these stories were created by Jews themselves, who used them as a response to certain needs of the present. To give evidence for their claims, Jews pursued different strategies: They invented stories about their ancestors being the Jews who were expelled from Jerusalem after the conquest of the city and the destruction of the Temple in 70 AD. Besides, they dated tombstones with Hebrew inscriptions back to antiquity or they forged letters which their alleged ancestors had received from the Jews of Jerusalem at the time of Christ or even before. This fictitious history — stories, allegedly ancient tombstones and forged letters — was meant to serve as a 'proof' for the high age of the community. The reasons why many Jewish communities pretended to go back that far in history are different; some did so in order to claim a superior status over other Jews, for example as far as wealth or erudition are concerned, whereas others had to defend themselves in life-threatening situations in which Christian citizens accused them of their people's being responsible for the crucifixion of Jesus.