Confessor, Traitor or Prosecutor: On the Ritualized Relationships between Kings and Bishops through the Prism of Ottonian Historiography
Iliana Kandzha
This paper is devoted to the analysis of episcopal behavior and interpretive frameworks that writers Ottonian age used describe their actions. The focus research are various narrative representations, which were attached relationships between bishops kings in medieval historiography. saintly bishop, spiritual instructor a king, prosecutor ruler, bishop-traitor most prominent literary models, or modes description, texts from tenth eleventh centuries. These relation royal power, perceived as parts coherent strategies utilized by historiographers meet own aims. aims included increasing prestige community represented criticizing policies, condemning political rivals justifying position. It argued all these roles, thrusted upon chroniclers, hagiographers polemicists, realizations milestone concepts power theology: admonition familiarity. roles thus allowed imagine bishop being an intimate friend, loyal lord, prophet pastor ruling king his realm.
Acta Universitatis Carolinae. Philosophica et historica