Act of Gniezno

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Memorial in Kolobrzeg ( Kolberg ) in memory of the Congress of Gniezno. As part of the act, the first diocese in Pomerania was founded under Bishop Reinbern .
The spearhead of the Holy Lance , Treasury (Vienna)

The act of Gniezno ( Polish : Zjazd gnieźnieński , English Congress of Gniezno ) in February / March 1000 led to the establishment of the church province of Gniezno and the rise of Bolesław by Emperor Otto III .

Probably the decisive trigger for Emperor Otto's trip to Gniezno was the martyrdom of Bishop Adalbert of Prague , who was slain on April 23, 997 by the pagan Prussians . According to the hagiographic sources, Otto set out for Gniezno to get Adalbert's relics. According to Thietmar von Merseburg , the destination of the trip was at the grave of St. Adalbert ( orationis causa ) praying. It should also lead to the foundation of the Archdiocese of Gniezno. At Christmas 999 Otto III broke. from Rome to the journey to Gniezno. On January 17th, it can be detected north of the Alps on the Bavarian Staffelsee . For the first time, the addition to the imperial title appears at the Staffelsee, from which one has concluded far-reaching intentions for the trip: Servus Jesu Christi et Romanorum imperator Augustus secundum voluntatem Dei salvatorisque nostrique liberatoris (Servant of Jesus Christ and Emperor of the Romans, Augustus according to the will of God , our Redeemer and Savior). During the whole journey this devotional formula was added to the imperial title and after the return journey it was changed to the formula servus apostolorum (servant of the apostles). With these formulas, the emperor placed himself in the tradition of the spread of the Christian faith.

During the trip, the sources emphasize the various honors that Otto received north of the Alps. According to Thietmar von Merseburg , no emperor had ever more gloriously left Rome and returned there. In Eulau am Bober Otto was received with honor by Bolesław and escorted to Gniezno. The honorable reception shows that Boleslaw was not surprised by the arrival of the emperor.

Otto moved barefoot into Gniezno and was escorted to the grave of St. Adalbert by Bishop Unger of Posen . Otto built an altar for Adalbert and founded a church province in Gniezno to which the three dioceses of Kolberg, Krakow and Breslau were subordinated. Otto III gave Bolesław a copy of the Holy Lance and Bolesław I Chobry gave the emperor an arm relic of St. Adalbert. The three named bishops Poppo of Krakow , Johannes of Breslau and Reinbern of Kolberg were placed under the Archdiocese of Gniezno. The foundation of the Archdiocese of Gniezno was carried out without the consent of the Poznan Bishop Unger. The refused consent of the local bishop to the establishment of an archbishopric meant a canonical veto. However, Unger's objection was of no practical importance. Thietmar relates with clear criticism ( ut spero, legittime ) that the emperor established the archbishopric.

With the ecclesiastical independence of Poland a revaluation of the rule of Boleslaws was connected. However, it is disputed whether it was a matter of upgrading as a king or upgrading as a friend of the emperor. According to Thietmar von Merseburg, Otto Bolesław raised from tributarius (paying tribute) to dominus (lord). In the Saxon sources it is the only news about an increase in rank of Bolesław. Saxon sources only report a king's uprising in 1025. On the other hand, the Chronicle of Poland by Gallus Anonymus , written in the 12th century, reports that Otto Bolesław was raised to the king. The emperor is said to have honored Boleslaw as "brother and accomplice of the empire" ( fratrem et cooperatorem imperii constituit ) and made "a friend and comrade of the Roman people" ( populi Romani amicum et socium ). The elevation of the king consisted only of a secular act in which the emperor placed the crown of Boleslaw on his head. No church acts or ceremonies are mentioned. Several acts, however, were common in a friendship alliance: the exchange of relics and gifts, the emphasis on demonstrative unity through a feast lasting several days, the designation as frater , amicus and socius . In any case, Boleslaw's expectations seem to have been met, for he gave Otto a splendid escort back to the Reich and accompanied him via Magdeburg to Aachen. In Aachen, Otto is said to have given Bolesław a throne chair from the Carolingian tomb after the opening of Charles' tomb .

Sources

The chronicle of Bishop Thietmar von Merseburg , who held his office from 1009 to 1018, was written from the perspective of the war between Bolesław and Henry II . Thietmar is very reserved in his account of the Gnesen act. The aversion to Bolesław is clearly evident.

The Chronicle of Poland by Gallus Anonymus, which ran until 1113, aims to illustrate the splendor and importance of Bolesław's rule. In his description of Otto's visit to Gniezno, he relied on the non-preserved report on the “Life of St. Adalbert". He describes the journey of Emperor Otto to Gniezno as a pilgrimage to the grave of St. Adalbert. Gallus mentions Otto III's wish as the second motif. to get to know the fame of Bolesław ( gratia glorosi Bolezlaui cognoscendi famam ).

Assessment in research

With the establishment of the ecclesiastical province and the honorable upgrading of the Polish ruler, Otto sustainably promoted the process of independence of the ruled area. In historical studies, the Gnesen act was considered a “great moment” and “first high point” in the history of German-Polish relations, as well as a “world historical event” that left its mark on the entire West Slavonic-Hungarian-German region for the coming millennium.

swell

  • Galli Anonymi cronicae et gesta ducum sive principum Polonorum . Ed. Carolus Maleczyński. (Monumenta Poloniae Historica, NS. 2.) Kraków 1952.
  • Johann Friedrich Böhmer : Regesta imperii 2/3: The regests of the empire under Otto III. 980 (983-1002), rework. by Mathilde Uhlirz. Graz / Cologne 1956, nos. 1327–1390c, here nos. 1341a – 1349.
  • Thietmar von Merseburg, chronicle . Retransmitted and explained by Werner Trillmich . With an addendum by Steffen Patzold . (= Freiherr vom Stein memorial edition. Vol. 9). 9th, bibliographically updated edition. Scientific Book Society, Darmstadt 2011, ISBN 978-3-534-24669-4 .

literature

  • Gerd Althoff : Otto III. (= Design of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance ). Primus-Verlag, Darmstadt 1997, ISBN 3-89678-021-2 , pp. 136-147.
  • Michael Borgolte : Poland and Germany 1000 years ago. The Berlin conference on the “Gnesen Act” (= Europe in the Middle Ages. Vol. 5). Academy publishing house. Berlin 2002, ISBN 3-05-003749-0 ( review ).
  • Johannes Fried : Otto III. and Boleslaw Chrobry. The dedication image of the Aachen Gospel, the "Act of Gniezno" and the early Polish and Hungarian royalty. An image analysis and its historical consequences (= Frankfurt historical treatises. Vol. 30). Steiner-Verlag, Stuttgart et al. 1989, ISBN 3-515-05381-6 .
  • Knut Görich : An Archdiocese in Prague or Gniezno? In: Zeitschrift für Ostforschung , Vol. 40 (1991), ISSN  0044-3239 , pp. 10-27.
  • Gerard Labuda : The “Gnesen Act” from the year 1000. Report on the research projects and results. In: Quaestiones Medii Aevi Novae , Vol. 5 (2000), pp. 145-188.

Web links

Remarks

  1. ^ Gerd Althoff: Otto III. Darmstadt 1997, p. 135.
  2. ^ Thietmar, Chronicle IV, 44.
  3. ^ Gerd Althoff: Otto III. Darmstadt 1997, p. 136.
  4. ↑ Gerd Althoff: The Ottonians. Royal rule without a state. 2nd expanded edition, Stuttgart et al. 2005, p. 190.
  5. ↑ Thietmar IV, 44.
  6. ↑ Jörg Schwarz: Formation of rule and empire 900–1500. Vol. 2, Stuttgart 2006, p. 21.
  7. ↑ Thietmar IV, 45
  8. ↑ Thietmar, Chronicle V, 10.
  9. ↑ Knut Görich: The German-Polish relations in the 10th century in consideration of the Saxon sources. In: Frühmittelalterliche Studien 43, 2009, pp. 315–325, here: p. 319.
  10. ↑ Gerd Althoff, Hagen Keller: Late Antiquity to the End of the Middle Ages. The time of the late Carolingians and Ottonians. Crises and Consolidations 888–1024. (Gebhardt - Handbuch der deutschen Geschichte, 10th completely revised edition), Stuttgart 2008, p. 302.
  11. ^ Gallus Anonymus I, 6.
  12. ^ Gerd Althoff: Otto III. Darmstadt 1997, p. 143.
  13. ↑ Gerd Althoff, Hagen Keller: Late Antiquity to the End of the Middle Ages. The time of the late Carolingians and Ottonians. Crises and Consolidations 888–1024. (Gebhardt - Handbuch der deutschen Geschichte, 10th completely revised edition), Stuttgart 2008, p. 301.
  14. ↑ Gerd Althoff: The Ottonians. Royal rule without a state. 2nd extended edition, Stuttgart et al. 2005, p. 192; Johannes Fried: Otto III. and Boleslaw Chrobry - the dedication image of the Aachen Gospel, the “Gnesen Act” and the early Polish and Hungarian royalty. 2nd, revised and expanded edition. Stuttgart 2001, p. 97.
  15. ↑ Gerd Althoff / Hagen Keller: Late antiquity to the end of the Middle Ages. The time of the late Carolingians and Ottonians. Crises and Consolidations 888–1024. (Gebhardt - Handbuch der deutschen Geschichte, 10th completely revised edition), Stuttgart 2008, pp. 295f.
  16. ^ Herbert Ludat: An Elbe and Oder around the year 1000. Sketches on the politics of the Ottonian empire and the Slavic powers . Cologne et al. 1971, p. 81.
  17. ↑ Johannes Fried: Otto III. and Boleslaw Chrobry. The dedication image of the Aachen Gospel, the "Act of Gniezno" and the early Polish and Hungarian royalty. An image analysis and its historical consequences. Stuttgart 1989, p. 81.