‘Most illustrious king of kings’. Evidence for Ottonian kingship in the Otto III prayerbook (Munich, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Clm 30111)
Sarah Hamilton
The young emperor Otto III (983–1002) has a reputation for great piety, recorded in various accounts written soon after his death. Recent scholarship shown how much these descriptions of the devout king owe to literary convention and clerical expectation. It is argued here that evidence prayerbook (Munich, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Clm 30111) made ruler suggests attempts were educate him practice daily personal devotions. Further, it suggested more line with contemporary than previously been thought, as revealed other prayerbooks period. Munich prayerbook, suggested, provides reality underlies ruler's anxious piety.
Journal of Medieval History