Abstract
"Thietmar of Merseburg on Rituals of Kingship." This study confronts a longstanding tendency to interpret the rituals of Ottonian kings exclusively as a means to represent theories of monarchy and to treat them as manifestations of a coherent system. Expanding on research pertaining to rites of submission or surrender, Warner argues that Ottonian views on the subject of ritual were not as systematic as they sometimes appear to be in modern studies and that rituals of kingship encompassed a variety of purposes and messages. Since perception was as important as form or content in ritual, accounts of ceremonial occasions could be manipulated to support an argument. For example, an examination of Thietmar's chronicle suggests that the level of detail and the interpretation accorded a specific ceremonial moment commonly depended on Thietmar's own prejudices and antipathies. Hence, such instances say as much about Thietmar as they do about kingship, government, or the character of ritual. Given the degree to which the image of Ottonian rulership relies on Thietmar's chronicle, Warner emphasizes the need to recognize that the chronicle's author was no dispassionate observer of history but rather a man of affairs with a distinct point of view and pragmatic interests.
Published Version
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