Otto III (980-1002) was one of the most powerful rulers in Europe in the late tenth century. He is also one of the most enigmatic. The son of the German emperor Otto II and the Greek princess Theophanu, he came to the throne at the age of three and was only twenty-one years old at the time of his death. Nonetheless, his reign had a lasting impact on both Germany and Italy for generations. In this book, Gerd Althoff provides a much-needed biography of this fascinating figure. In the process, he uses Otto's life to explain how in practice early medieval kingship worked.

This work, originally published in German, documents and describes just how extensively crucial personal and social bonds influenced political life in Europe in the Early and High Middle Ages. Political life in the Middle Ages was significantly influenced by the bonds people had to one another, and the bonds of kinship, friendship and lordship were by far the most important. Gerd Althoff, a renowned medieval scholar, demonstrates how the nature and importance of these bonds changed, as did the rules and norms which governed them.

This work, originally published in German, documents and describes just how extensively crucial personal and social bonds influenced political life in Europe in the Early and High Middle Ages. Political life in the Middle Ages was significantly influenced by the bonds people had to one another, and the bonds of kinship, friendship and lordship were by far the most important. Gerd Althoff, a renowned medieval scholar, demonstrates how the nature and importance of these bonds changed, as did the rules and norms which governed them.

Medieval Concepts of the Past shows how the history of the Middle Ages is being reshaped by leading medieval historians in Germany and the United States in light of cultural and social-scientific investigations into ritual, language, and memory. These two national traditions of medieval scholarship, which have been largely separated over the course of the twentieth century, are drawing closer together through a common interest in issues of social science and linguistic theory as applied to the representation of the past. This book marks a significant step in the reconvergence of these two...

Medieval Concepts of the Past shows how the history of the Middle Ages is being reshaped by leading medieval historians in Germany and the United States in light of cultural and social-scientific investigations into ritual, language, and memory. These two national traditions of medieval scholarship, which have been largely separated over the course of the twentieth century, are drawing closer together through a common interest in issues of social science and linguistic theory as applied to the representation of the past. This book marks a significant step in the reconvergence of these two...