Ottonian Renaissance

Enamel processional cross (Senkschmelzen-Kreuz), former Essen Abbey, about 1000

The Ottonian Renaissance was a renaissance of Byzantine and Late Antique art in Central and Southern Europe that accompanied the reigns of the first three Holy Roman Emperors of the Ottonian (or Saxon) dynasty: Otto I (936–973), Otto II (973–983), and Otto III (983–1002), and which in large part depended upon their patronage. The leading figures in this movement were Pope Sylvester II and Abbo of Fleury.[1] Renewed contact between the Ottonian court and Byzantine Constantinople spurred the hybridisation of Eastern-Byzantine and Western-Latin cultures, particularly in arts, architecture and metalwork, while the Ottonians revitalised the cathedral school network which promoted learning based on the seven liberal arts.[2] Ottonian intellectual activity was largely a continuation of Carolingian works, but circulated mainly in the cathedral schools and the courts of bishops (such as Liège, Cologne and Magdeburg), rather than the royal court.[3]

  1. ^ Pierre Riché et Jacques Verger, Des nains sur des épaules de géants. Maîtres et élèves au Moyen Âge, Paris, Tallandier, 2006, Chapter IV, "The Third Carolingian Renaissance", p. 59 sqq
  2. ^ Dominic A. Aquila (2022). The Church and the Age of Enlightenment (1648–1848) Faith, Science, and the Challenge of Secularism. Ave Maria Press. p. 86. ISBN 9781646800322.
  3. ^ Timothy Reuter (2014). Germany in the Early Middle Ages C. 800-1056. Taylor and Francis. pp. 246–247. ISBN 9781317872399.

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