Marriage certificate of the Empress Theophanu

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Theophanu and Otto II's marriage certificate.

The so-called marriage certificate of Empress Theophanu (Wolfenbüttel State Archives 6 Urk 11) is an early medieval endowment document for the Byzantine Princess Theophanu , who was anointed as Empress of the East Frankish-German Empire on the occasion of her marriage to Emperor Otto II in 972 and who later ruled the Empire . The legal document issued by Otto II is an example of the political and cultural contacts between the Western Empire and the Byzantine Orthodox culture in the 10th century. As a testimony to Ottonian art under the influence of Byzantine models, the document handed down in a calligraphic copy is considered one of the most beautiful works of art of early medieval diplomacy .

Historical background

After the fall of Western Rome in 476, the Byzantine Empire was the only successor state to the Roman Empire . Charlemagne's coronation as emperor in 800, a usurpation from the Byzantine point of view , meant a challenge for the emperor, who resided in Constantinople . The takeover of the Carolingian imperial title by Otto I in February 962 renewed the two emperor problem . In 967, the conflicts between Otto I and the Byzantine emperor Nikephorus II Phocas for supremacy in Italy intensified . On December 25, 967, Pope John XIII. in Rome Otto II in the presence of his father Otto I as co-emperor.

In autumn 968 there were military clashes between the parties in Capua and Benevento as well as in Apulia , which lasted until 970. At the same time, embassies on both sides tried to find a diplomatic solution to the conflict. Otto I's aim was to get Byzantium to recognize his imperial dignity and to clarify the border issues in southern Italy. The agreement was to be reinforced by the marriage of his son, the young Otto II, to a Byzantine emperor's daughter. A real Porphyrogenneta , Anna, the daughter of the previous Byzantine emperor Romanos II, was planned for this politically significant wedding . However, Nikephorus refused to marry a purple born outside of their own country. Otto's envoy, Archbishop Gero of Cologne , finally accepted, after tough negotiations with Nikephorus' successor, Johannes I. Tzimiskes , a relative, probably a niece of the new emperor who was not "born under the purple", Theophanu.

The "marriage certificate of Empress Theophanu" documents the marriage of the seventeen-year-old co-emperor of the Holy Roman Empire Otto II to the twelve-year-old Princess Theophanu. On April 14, 972, Pope John XIII. the wedding in St. Peter's Church in Rome. Politically, the marriage meant the recognition of the Ottonian Empire by the Byzantine Empire. On the occasion of the wedding, Otto II. Theophanu transferred extensive material equipment (legitima dos) for life to use. The display of splendor with which the ruling house of the Ottonians received the Byzantine princess in Italy served to demonstrate its equality with the imperial court of Constantinople. With the certificate Otto not only assigned his bride extensive dotal goods , but also promised her admission to the consortium imperii , participation in the imperial rule over the empire. Theophanu brought the heir to the throne Otto III in 980 . and ruled the empire after the untimely death of Otto II in 983.

Theophanu probably kept the document in October 989 in the Ottonian family monastery in Gandersheim before setting off on her journey to Rome and Italy . There it was rediscovered and published by Johann Georg Leuckfeld around 1700 . Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz was one of the first to recognize the historical significance of the document and included it in his “Guelph history”. After the secularization of the Gandersheim Monastery in 1810, the document with other archival material came to the Wolfenbüttel State Archive , today a department of the Lower Saxony State Archive , where it is kept to this day.

Internal characteristics of the document

The internal characteristics of a document include the linguistic design and the structure of the text, as well as the legal content of the document. The tensions between the Byzantine and occidental empires are also expressed in the context of the marriage certificate of Theophanu and Otto II. Emperor Otto the Great and his son and co-emperor Otto II expressly emphasize to the Byzantine emperor their position as the only legitimate successor to the Roman emperors . They deny Emperor Johannes I. Tzimiskes the title basileus ton Romaion (Emperor of the Romans) to which he is entitled and call him Constantinopolitanus imperator (Emperor of Constantinople). The claim to leadership of the Pope who performed the wedding over the Patriarch of Constantinople in the Church as a whole is made clear in solemn and demanding formulations, as Pope John XIII. referred to as the “most holy and universal Pope” (Iohannis sanctissimi et universalis papae) .

The marriage certificate recorded the income and benefices the future empress should have. The document begins with an arenga , a general, theologically demanding, rhetorical introduction in the style of sermons as they were given at weddings. In the dispositive part of the document, the description of the actual legal process, the emperors - Otto I and Otto II - transferred the imperial rights and income to the new wife from the province of Istria with the county of Pescara in Italy, the provinces of Walcheren in the Netherlands and Wichelen in Belgium with the Nivelles Abbey , comprising a total of 14,000 hooves , as well as Pfalzen (curtes) and farms in Boppard , Tiel , Herford , Tilleda and Nordhausen with all accessories.

description

The 144.5 cm long and 39.5 cm wide document is a rotulus , which consists of three pieces of parchment stuck together and rolled up. It is believed that it originated in the imperial abbey of Fulda ; Hartmut Hoffmann attributes the painting to the so-called Gregor Master . A scientific investigation of the purple parchment in Munich in 1966 showed that red lead and madder (Rubia tinctorum) were used for the coloring , an indication that the writing material was used more in the West than in the Byzantine Empire. The document is one of the few pieces of evidence supporting the use of madder in the early Middle Ages. The purple ground is designed in the manner of precious Byzantine silk fabrics : 14 whole and two half circular medallions hide the writing field. The areas outside the medallions are indigo-colored and filled with vegetable and ornamental motifs. The medallions contain zoomorphic (animal) representations. Two opposing pairs of fighting animals appear next to each other. Are alternately engage like hybrids with hinds in the clutches and lions, horses or cattle beat represented. The motifs can be traced back to ancient oriental art.

The writing field is framed by narrow golden borders with acanthus leaf motifs in blue and white. In addition to vegetal and zoomorphic decorations, the upper bar also contains medallions with half-figures: in the middle, Christ flanked by Mary and John the Baptist and the four evangelists . Between the medallions there are six pairs of animals: alternately peacocks drinking from a kantharos and lions eating grapes from a vine . The wedding certificate is the oldest example of an illuminated certificate, that is, with book decorations.

Animal fight scene with parts of the escha protocol of the document

On the purple ground, which is emphasized by painterly means, is the text in gold script in calligraphic minuscule . The gold ink was made from an alloy of silver and powdered gold leaf . A few lines and words in the text were capitals in Capitalis rustica highlighted, for example, the Invocatio , the invocation of the holy and indivisible Trinity , and the Intitulatio , the name and title as the exhibitor, which together launching the certificate, the issuing protocol form , as well as the signature lines with the monograms of Emperors Otto I and Otto II.

The Theophanu document is in good condition. The parchment has warped a bit over time and there is a six-inch crease in the center of the document. It is kept in the permanent exhibition of the Lower Saxony State Archives in a darkened room in an air-conditioned display case, maintaining the required temperature and humidity, and is accessible to the public.

Chancellery original or splendid copy

In historical studies and in the history of art it is controversial whether the purple certificate is the legally relevant original or a simultaneous or somewhat later splendid copy. Although in the Corroboratio the certification is announced by a seal and the execution line, the hand sign of the ruler in his monogram, there is neither a seal on the document, nor does it show any traces of a seal.

Hans K. Schulze and Hans Goetting consider it possible that the certificate was read out on the occasion of the wedding celebrations and presented to the bride. With the solemn and legally relevant act of reading out and handing over the purple certificate, Otto I is said to have pursued the goal of increasing the rank of Theophanus, who was not a purple-born imperial daughter. Walter Deeters interpreted the dividing points in the text as an outline as reading aids, which show that the certificate was intended to be read out. In this case, the scroll could have been closed with a cord wrapped around the scroll, the ends of which were sealed with a gold seal, in the manner of the imperial Byzantine letters abroad.

Well-known diplomats such as Theodor von Sickel and Carlrichard Brühl and Byzantinists such as Werner Ohnsorge are of the opinion that the Theophanu document in Wolfenbüttel is not an original in the sense of diplomacy, and that in addition to this splendid copy, there must have been an actual copy of the chancellery that has not been preserved is. This is indicated not only by the missing seal on the purple certificate, but also by the atypical appearance of the recognition line, which was introduced with the name of the Chancellor and ended with the word recognovi , as well as a typo in the name of Chancellor Willigis .

Classification and nomination for world document heritage

In the Roman and Byzantine Empire, the color purple was reserved for the imperial family. Imperial documents, in which the text was written in gold ink on purple-colored parchment, were originals with a seal. In the West, purple certificates were mostly recipient copies of office originals in normal writing and parchment. Purple-soaked parchment was only rarely used as writing material for documents. The Theophanu certificate is one of the most splendid and artistically valuable among the few preserved purple certificates, which also surpasses the second Ottonian splendor certificate, the Privilegium Ottonianum , in artistic execution.

The marriage certificate was proposed in 2005 for inclusion in the world cultural heritage ( world document heritage ). However, the decision of the International Advisory Committee of UNESCO fell in favor of the hand copy of the Brothers Grimm of the first edition of Children's and Household Tales from 1812/1815 and Martin Waldseemüller's world map .

Sources and regesta

literature

  • Carlrichard Brühl : purple certificates , in: Kurt-Ulrich Jäschke, Reinhard Wenskus (ed.), Festschrift for Helmut Beumann on his 65th birthday , Sigmaringen 1977, p. 3–21 = Carlrichard Brühl: From the Middle Ages and Diplomatik, Collected Essays. Munich / Zurich 1989, Vol. 2, pp. 601–619.
  • Walter Deeters , Dieter Matthes, The marriage certificate of Empress Theophanu, 972 April 14 Rome. An exhibition by the Lower Saxony State Archives in Wolfenbüttel. Publications of the Lower Saxony. Archive management, supplement 19, Göttingen 1972.
  • Anton von Euw : Iconology of the marriage certificate of the Empress Theophanu, in: Anton von Euw, Peter Schreiner (Ed.): Kaiserin Theophanu. Meeting of the East and West at the turn of the first millennium. Commemorative publication of the Cologne Schnütgen Museum for the 1000th year of death of the Empress. Cologne 1991, Vol. 2, pp. 175-191.
  • Wolfgang Georgi: Ottonianum and marriage certificate 962/972, in: Anton von Euw, Peter Schreiner (ed.): Kaiserin Theophanu. Meeting of the East and West at the turn of the first millennium. Commemorative publication from the Schütgen Museum in Cologne for the 1000th year of the Empress' death. Cologne 1991, Vol. 2, pp. 135-160.
  • Hans Goetting, Hermann Kühn: The so-called marriage certificate of Empress Theophanu, (MGH DO. II. 21), their investigation and conservation, in: Archivalische Zeitschrift 64, 1968, pp. 11–24.
  • Rudolf Grieser: GW Leibniz and the so-called marriage certificate of Empress Theophanu, in: Braunschweigisches Jahrbuch 51, 1970, pp. 84–90.
  • Hartmut Hoffmann : Theophanu's marriage certificate . in: Michael Brandt, Arne Eggebrecht (ed.): Bernward von Hildesheim and the age of the Ottonians. Exhibition catalog, Hildesheim 1993 , Mainz 1993, Vol. 2, pp. 62–65.
  • Dieter Matthes: The marriage certificate of Empress Theophanu 972 April 14th Facsimile edition based on the original in the Lower Saxony State Archives in Wolfenbüttel (6 Urk 11) . Commentary, transcription and translation by Dieter Matthes, Stuttgart, Müller and Schindler 1980.
  • Dieter Matthes (ed.): Theophanu's marriage certificate - 972 April 14 , special publication by the Lower Saxony archive administration on the occasion of the Xth International Archive Congress in Bonn, Lower Saxony State Archive Wolfenbüttel, Wolfenbüttel 1984.
  • Hans K. Schulze : The marriage certificate of the Empress Theophanu. The Greek Empress and the Roman-German Empire 972-991. Publications of the Lower Saxony archive administration, special volume, Hanover, Hahnsche Buchhandlung 2007, ISBN 978-3-7752-6124-1 .
  • Theodor von Sickel : Otto I's privilege for the Roman Church from 962. Innsbruck 1883
  • Vera Trost: Chrysography and argyrography in manuscripts and documents, in: Anton von Euw, Peter Schreiner (ed.): Kaiserin Theophanu. Meeting of the East and West at the turn of the first millennium. Commemorative publication of the Cologne Schnütgen Museum for the 1000th year of death of the Empress , Cologne 1991, Vol. 2, pp. 337–339.
  • Gunther Wolf (Ed.): Empress Theophanu. Princess from abroad - the Great Empress of the Western Empire. Böhlau Verlag, Cologne et al. 1991, ISBN 3-412-05491-7 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Gerd Althoff : The Ottonians. Royal rule without a state . 2., ext. Edition. Kohlhammer, Stuttgart et al. 2005, ISBN 3-17-018597-7 , p. 126.
  2. ↑ Gunther Wolf: Again to the question: Who was Theophano , in: ders .: Empress Theophanu. Princess from abroad - the Great Empress of the Western Empire , pp. 59–78.
  3. ↑ a b Hans K. Schulze: The marriage certificate of Empress Theophanu , p. 19.
  4. ↑ a b c Edith Ennen: Women in the Middle Ages. Beck, Munich 1999, ISBN 3-406-37799-8 , p. 63 ( limited preview in the Google book search).
  5. ↑ Hans K. Schulze: The marriage certificate of Empress Theophanu , p. 76.
  6. ↑ Carsten Berndt: Johann Georg Leuckfeld, Roswitha von Gandersheim and the marriage certificate of Empress Theophanu: Investigations into the main written estate of Johann Georg Leuckfeld (1668 to 1726) and examples of scientific networking in the Baroque era , In: Contributions to the history of the city and district of Nordhausen , Vol. 36, Nordhausen 2011, pp. 41-58.
  7. ^ Rosamond McKitterick, Roland Quinault: Edward Gibbon and Empire. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 2002, ISBN 0-521-52505-5 , p. 176 ( limited preview in Google book search).
  8. ↑ Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz: Scriptores rerum Brunsvicensium illustrationi inservantes (3 volumes), collection of sources on Guelph and Lower Saxony history, 1707–1711.
  9. ↑ Hans K. Schulze: Die Heiratsurkunde der Kaiserin Theophanu , p. 31. In the website for the royal palace Tilleda mentioned under the web links, the Latin text of the document is missing the lines: ... Constantinopolitani imperatoris neptim clarissimam in maxima Romulae urbe sancto summoque aeclesiarum principe beato Petro apostolo votis nostris favente domnique Iohannis ... in the German translation a somewhat shorter text passage is missing at the same place: the highly respected niece of the Constantinopolitan ... Emperor John in the extremely large Romulian city, by the blessed ... Apostle Peter, the holy and highest prince of the churches that favored our desires .
  10. ↑ Hans K. Schulze: The marriage certificate of Empress Theophanu , p. 31.
  11. ↑ Hans K. Schulze: The marriage certificate of Empress Theophanu , p. 32. Regest in: Hans K. Schulze: Die Heiratsurkunde der Kaiserin Theophanu , p. 89.
  12. ↑ Hans K. Schulze: The marriage certificate of Empress Theophanu , p. 24.
  13. ↑ a b c UNESCO World Document Heritage, nomination application: The "marriage document of the Empress Theophano."  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (English).@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / portal.unesco.org  
  14. ↑ Hartmut Hoffmann: Theophanu's marriage certificate. In: Bernward von Hildesheim and the age of the Ottonians , vol. 1, p. 63.
  15. ^ The "marriage document of the Empress Theophano". In: Wayback Machine. December 14, 2015, accessed May 8, 2020 .
  16. ↑ Dieter Köcher: Influence of raw material and production of natural madder lacquer on color and lightfastness. Dissertation, Hochschule für Bildende Künste Dresden, Dresden 2006 (PDF) ( Memento of the original from May 13, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. ; Hans Goetting, Hermann Kühn: The so-called marriage certificate of Empress Theophanu (DOII, 21), its examination and conservation. In: Archival Journal. Volume 64, 1968, pp. 11-24. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.hfbk-dresden.de
  17. ↑ The four-footed animals shown plucking fruit from a bush are interpreted by Hans K. Schulze in: Die Heiratsurkunde der Kaiserin Theophanu. P. 27 as lionesses eating grapes from the vine.
  18. ↑ Andreas H. Zajic, Martin Roland: A late medieval forgery of documents from the Augustinian canons of Dürnstein in Lower Austria. At the same time a contribution to illuminated documents from the Middle Ages. In: Archives for Diplomatics . Volume 51, 2005, pp. 331-432, especially pp. 393-395 (PDF) .
  19. ↑ Vera Trost holds in: Chrysography and Argyrographie in manuscripts and documents the use of honey and / or protein suspected by Hans Goetting, Hermann Kühn in: The so-called marriage certificate of Empress Theophanu, (MGH DO. II. 21), their investigation and conservation as a binding agent is unlikely.
  20. ↑ Hans Goetting, Hermann Kühn: The so-called marriage certificate of Empress Theophanu , pp. 5–6. Hans K. Schulze: The marriage certificate of Empress Theophanu , pp. 28-29.
  21. ↑ Hans Goetting, Hermann Kühn: The so-called marriage certificate of Empress Theophanu , pp. 11–27.
  22. ↑ Hartmut Hoffmann: Theophanu's marriage certificate. in: Michael Brandt, Arne Eggebrecht: Bernward von Hildesheim and the age of the Ottonians. Catalog of the exhibition, Hildesheim 1993. 2 Bde. Bd. 2, pp. 62–65.
  23. ↑ Hans K. Schulze: The marriage certificate of Empress Theophanu , p. 33.
  24. ↑ Hans K. Schulze: The marriage certificate of Empress Theophanu , p. 39.
  25. ^ Walter Deeters: On the marriage certificate of Empress Theophanu , pp. 9-10.
  26. ^ Theodor von Sickel: Otto I's privilege for the Roman church from the year 962 , pp. 110–111.
  27. ↑ (I) have found right.
  28. ↑ Uuilliisus instead of Uuilligisus .
  29. ↑ Grimm's fairy tales are to become world heritage. In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung , June 8, 2004; Gerhard Köbler : Review of Hans K. Schulze, The marriage certificate of Empress Theophanu. In: KoeblerGerhard.de , 2009.
This article was added to the list of excellent articles on December 26, 2008 in this version .