Liutprand of Cremona

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Liutprand of Cremona, Antapodosis (excerpt from III, c. 32–34)

Liutprand of Cremona , also Luitprand , Liudprand , (* 920 ; † before July 972 ) was a historian, diplomat and since 961 bishop of Cremona .

Life

Liutprand came from a noble Italian family of Lombard origin and was educated and trained at the royal court in Pavia . Since both his father and his stepfather traveled to Constantinople as ambassadors of Italian rulers and Liutprand knew Greek, Berengar II sent Liutprand, after he was ordained a deacon , to the court of Emperor Constantine VII in his name (Antap. VI , 4-10). Nothing is known about the purpose of the embassy. Liutprand himself only says that he handed over a "letter full of lies". At the instigation of the stingy Berengar Liutprand's stepfather, the costs for the legation are said to have fully raised. Berengar's greed was also said to be the reason why Liutprand passed off his own gifts as those of his master.

On his return, Liutprand finally fell out of favor with Berengar for reasons unknown. He now placed himself in the service of the Saxon King Otto I , at whose court he was first recorded in 956. Here he met Bishop Recemund of Elvira, an envoy of the Cordobese caliph Abd ar-Rahman III. On whose suggestion he began to write a history work in Frankfurt in 958 under the name Antapodosis ("[Book of] Retribution"), on which he wrote until 962.

He returned to Italy with Otto's entourage and was appointed Bishop of Cremona in 961 . It is documented as such from January 14, 962 to April 20, 970. In Italy, Liutprand was involved in various political events as a confidante of Otto I. This included the imperial coronation of Otto I , the deposition of Pope John XII. , the election of Leo VIII and the deposition of Benedict V. Liutprand wrote his Historia Ottonis about these events before March 965 . He later participated in the election of John XIII. and the Synod of Ravenna jointly organized by Otto and Johannes in 967.

Since Liutprand was a proven expert at the Byzantine court, Otto I resorted to him to negotiate with Constantinople. Around 960 Liutprand stayed on the island of Paxos, probably on the occasion of an incomplete legation trip to Constantinople. In 968 he headed an embassy to negotiate a marriage between Otto II and a "born in purple" princess ( Porphyrogenneta ) in Constantinople , but the negotiations failed because of the question of rule over the southern Italian Lombard principalities of Capua and Benevento , their homage Otto had already received it at the end of 967. Another complication turned out to be Otto's claim, which Liutprand aggressively defended, to be considered Roman emperor, which led to the problem of two emperors . Liutprand's stay in Constantinople lasted from June 4th to October 2nd, 968. His return journey took him to Naupaktos , past Patras to Leukas , where the envoy was the guest of the local bishop. He then spent some time on the island of Corfu , where he stayed at the court of the local strategist Michael, before returning to Italy.

The Translatio Sancti Hymerii , a rather unreliable source, names Liutprand as a member of another embassy which, under the leadership of Archbishop Gero of Cologne, achieved a marriage between Otto II and the Byzantine Theophanu in 972 . He probably took part in Otto II's coronation as emperor.

Legation trips to Constantinople

At the court of Constantine VII.

There is a detailed report of Liutprand's first legation trip to Constantinople, which can be found at the end of his antapodosis. It is one of the most important texts about diplomatic legation trips of the time (stay from September 17, 949 until at least Palm Sunday, March 31, 950). In it, Liutprand reports in particular about the ceremonies and festivities in which he was allowed to participate. This includes his famous description of the ceremony with which one received foreign state guests in Constantinople. It corresponds to the specifications listed in the so-called ceremonial book, a collection of profane and religious ceremonies of the Byzantine court.

“When I entered, the lions roared and the birds chirped according to their appearance; but I was neither afraid nor astonished, since I had inquired about all this with people who were well acquainted with it. After bowing deeply three times to the emperor, I lifted my head and saw him, who I first saw sitting on a small rise, raised almost to the ceiling of the hall and dressed in other clothes. I cannot imagine how this happened, unless he was lifted up like the trees of the presses are lifted. On this occasion the emperor did not say a word with his own mouth; for if he had wanted to, it would have been improper because of the great distance; through his chancellor (the λογοτέτης τοῦ δρόμου) but he inquired about Berengar's life and well-being. After I had responded appropriately, I resigned at the sign of the interpreter and was taken back to the hostel assigned to me. "

Also noteworthy are Liutprand's descriptions of a banquet at which acrobats performed tricks and large golden fruit bowls were lifted onto the table by means of a mechanical device. In the end, the envoy was even given the honor of taking part in a solemn distribution of gifts of money to the dignitaries, at which he himself was presented with a valuable gift.

The emperor at that time was Constantine VII, a very educated monarch, whom Liutprand showed respect.

At the court of Nikephorus II Phocas

After he broke up with Berengar, Liutprand went to the court of Otto the Great as a refugee, for whom he took over important diplomatic activities several times, for example in negotiations with the curia . As a recognized expert at the Byzantine court - he himself had a good knowledge of Greek and had connections to certain circles of Constantinople - Otto turned to him to negotiate with Constantinople (stay from June 4 to October 2, 968). After another trip to Constantinople Liutprand ended in the service of Otto on the island of Paxos for unknown reasons , a third trip took him back to the Byzantine capital.

The aim of his trip was a marriage alliance with the Byzantine imperial family. Otto asked for a “born in purple” princess to be the wife of his son. The negotiations failed due to differing ideas regarding the rule over the southern Italian Longobard principalities of Capua and Benevento , whose homage Otto received at the end of 967. A further complication turned out to be Otto's claim, which Liutprand had aggressively defended, to be considered Roman emperor, for which Nikephorus, who had the same claim, was only ridiculed.

The two emperor problem was, if one follows Liutprand's account, the cause and theme of several disputes that the emperor had to resolve with Otto's envoy in various ways and on different occasions. So the emperor gave the ambassador demonstratively insulting gifts, namely two deer, he assigned Liutprand a seat at his banquets, which he found degrading, and scoffed at every opportunity presented at what he believed to be the ridiculous claim of the barbarian king. The reception and farewell ceremony was changed so that the ambassador felt the emperor's displeasure as soon as he entered the city. For his part, Liutprand kept the, in his opinion, unfounded claim of the successors of the Roman emperors of the “Greek Emperor” in front of his readers at every opportunity.

At the court of Johannes' Tzimiskes (971)

In 971 a legation headed by Archbishop Gero of Cologne set out for Byzantium and in 972 was able to achieve a marriage between Otto II and the Byzantine Theophanu . The Translatio Sancti Hymerii , although a rather unreliable source, names Liutprand as a member of this embassy.

Works

The following writings have been preserved from Liutprand:

  • Antapodosis German [The Book] of Retribution .
  • Historia Ottonis , German book by King Otto .
  • Relatio de legatione Constantinopolitana , German report on the legation in Constantinople .
  • Homilia paschalis.

Antapodosis

The unfinished Antapodosis , which describes the history of Europe from 888 to 958, wants, according to Liutprand's own statement, to represent "the deeds of the emperors and kings of all of Europe". It is characterized by a strongly episodic style, which mainly uses oral tradition of various characters. According to Becker, it consists of “folk tales, folk tales, anecdotes, courtly gossip, songs, party lore”. Liutprand intends to "captivate you with a cleverly dressed up style and amuse you with entertaining or even piquant anecdotes, whereby he does not disdain crude comedy and satirical ridicule." By including his own experiences in his report, the antapodosis often takes on a "memoir-like character." " on. Influences of Byzantine trivial literature can be felt in the Antapodosis in many places. Evidence of Liutprand's friendly attitude towards the emperor can be found especially in the Antapodosis , which contains insults in particular against Berengar II and his wife Willa as well as against some popes. When preparing the work, no value was placed on completeness and seamless context.

Relatio de legatione Constantinopolitana

Display intent

The legation report of Bishop Liutprand of Cremona is controversial in research. There are already different views on the question of the display intent. Martin Lintzel sees it as a propagandistic font with which Liutprand wanted to motivate Otto to go to war against the Byzantine Empire, others, like Jon N. Sutherland (“Mission to Constantinople”), consider the font to be a letter of justification from a failed diplomat, Werner Ohnsorge on the other hand, emphasizes the central role of the two emperor problem in this work, while Henry Mayr-Harting has advocated the thesis that the relatio was actually addressed to the Lombard princes of southern Italy (despite the explicit address, e.g. in the introduction), in order to prevent them from taking sides in favor of Otto to convince. These considerations are based on some passages of the Relatio in which Otto's understanding of rule and that of the Byzantine emperor Nikephorus II Phocas are contrasted with one another. Liutprand emphasizes z. B. Otto's esteem for the Longobard princes while he lets Nikephoros call them his slaves. Of course, this contrast can also amount to a comparison between Otto and the Byzantine emperor, who seems to be a leitmotif of the script. Indeed, the dichotomous representation of the relatio is evident, as Hoffmann recently emphasized, although the authenticity of Liutprand's narrative remains problematic. The mutual disdain is noticeable both in countless tirades of ranting about the degenerate court of the Nikephoros (food, clothing, "body signs"), as well as in insults to the Byzantine emperor, especially on the table, not only of a verbal but also symbolic kind, such as Liutprand receives extremely insulting gifts, has to ask repeatedly in vain for the acceptance of one of his gifts or is allocated seats at the imperial table that perhaps corresponded to the Byzantine perspective, but had to be outright mockery for Liutprand. The splendor of the Byzantine court, the Cremonese bishop argues with his portrayal, has long since faded, the real Roman emperor is Otto and not the Greek Nikephoros.

Eating and drinking in relatio

Unusual for a legation report are undoubtedly the frequent complaints and constant ridicule of Liutprand about the food and drinks that were served to him at several banquets. Detlev Zimpel attempted to answer Lintzel's rhetorical question what this had to do with a legation report by referring to the peace, alliance and community-building character of the meal (according to Gerd Althoff ) in Liutprand's cultural area. His conclusion: According to Western thinking, the common meal resulted in obligations of a friendly nature that were ultimately not in the interests of his client. Michael Rentschler and especially Thomas Weber also dealt with the topic of eating and drinking in Relatio .

reception

Although Liutprand's writings were often viewed as historically unreliable, they are important sources for the historiography of the 10th century, which was generally poor in sources. The writings are particularly important for the cultural and everyday history of Western Europe and Byzantium, as well as for the relations between the Latin West and Byzantium Liutprands of great importance.

literature

Editions of works and translations

  • Paolo Chiesa : Liutprandi Cremonensis Opera Omnia , ( Corpus Christianorum, Continuatio Mediaevalis , vol. 156), Brepols, Turnhout 1998.
  • Joseph Becker : The works of Liudprand von Cremona , 3rd edition, Hahnsche Buchhandlung, Hannover / Leipzig 1915, ( MGH SS. Rer. Germ., 41) ( digitized version )
  • Albert Bauer / Reinhold Rau (transl.): Liudprand's works , German translation with the Latin text by Joseph Becker, in: Rudolf Buchner [et al.] (Ed.): Sources for the history of the Saxon imperial era (Freiherr vom Stein-Gedächtnisausgabe, A 8), 4th edition, Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, Darmstadt 1992, ISBN 3-534-01416-2 .
  • Bernhard Bischoff : An Easter sermon Liudprand von Cremona (around 960) , in: ders .: Anecdota novissima. Texts from the fourth to sixteenth centuries (sources and studies on the Latin philology of the Middle Ages, vol. 7), Hiersemann, Stuttgart 1984, pp. 20–34.

Secondary literature

  • Girolamo Arnaldi : Liudprando e la Storiografia contemporanea nell'Italia Centro-Settentrionale . In: La Storiografia Altomedievale, April 10-16, 1969, vol. 17, Spoleto 1970, pp. 497-519.
  • Klaus HerbersLiudprand from Cremona. In: Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL). Volume 5, Bautz, Herzberg 1993, ISBN 3-88309-043-3 , Sp. 139-140.
  • Wolfgang Huschner : Transalpine Communication in the Middle Ages. Diplomatic, cultural and political interactions between Italy and the Northern Alpine Empire (9th-11th centuries). Vol. II, ( Monumenta Germaniae Historica , Schriften, Vol. 52), Hanover 2003, pp. 510-623.
  • Tobias Hoffmann: Diplomacy in Crisis. Liutprand of Cremona at the court of Nikephorus II. Phocas . In: Frühmittelalterliche Studien , Nr. 43 (2009), pp. 113–178.
  • Herbert Hunger : Liudprand of Cremona and the Byzantine trivial literature . In: Evangelos Konstantinou (ed.): Byzanz und das Abendland in the 10th and 11th centuries, Cologne a. a. 1997, pp. 197-206
  • Ernst Karpf: Liutprand von Cremona , in: Lexikon des Mittelalters , Vol. 5, Munich and Zurich, Sp. 2041 f.
  • Johannes Koder / Thomas Weber: Liutprand from Cremona in Constantinople. Investigations into the Greek vocabulary and statements relating to realities in his works , (Byzantina Vindobonensis, vol. 13), Vienna 1980.
  • Michael Rentschler: Liutprand from Cremona . Frankfurt am Main 1981.
  • Rudolf SchiefferLiudprand. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 14, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1985, ISBN 3-428-00195-8 , p. 721 f. ( Digitized version ).
  • Gerhard Schwartz: The occupation of the dioceses imperial Italy under the Saxon and Salian emperors with the lists of the bishops 951-1122 , published by BG Teubner in Leipzig and Berlin 1913, p. 110.
  • Jon N. Sutherland: Liutprand of Cremona, bishop, diplomat, historian. Spoleto, Centro Italiano di Studi sull'Alta Medioevo, 1988.
  • Wilhelm WattenbachLiutprand . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 19, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1884, p. 19 f.
  • Lexicon for theology and the church . 2nd completely revised edition, vol. 6, Freiburg im Breisgau 1961, 1105 f.

To relatio

  • Wolfram Brandes : Liudprand von Cremona (legatio cap. 39-41) and a previously neglected west-east correspondence about the significance of the year 1000 AD In: Byzantinische Zeitschrift 93 (2000), pp. 435–463.
  • Johannes Koder : Subjectivity and Forgery in Byzantine History. Liudprand von Cremona as a historiographer and as an object of historiography , in: Byzantiaká 15 (1995), pp. 107–132.
  • Martin Lintzel : Studies on Liudprand von Cremona , Berlin 1933, pp. 371–384.
  • Henry Mayr-Harting : Liudprand of Cremona's Account of his Legation to Constantinople (968) and Ottonian Imperial Strategy . In: English Historical Review 116 (2001), pp. 539-556.
  • Werner Ohnsorge: The recognition of the empire Otto I by Byzantium . In: ders .: Constantinople and the Occident . Darmstadt 1966, pp. 29-52.
  • Michael Rentschler: Liudprand von Cremona , Frankfurt am Main 1981, esp. Pp. 17–30, 47–62.
  • Constanze Schummer: Liudprand of Cremona - a diplomat? In: Jonathan Shepard / Simon Franklin (eds.): Byzantine diplomacy , Aldershot 1992, pp. 197-201.
  • Jon N. Sutherland: The Mission to Constantinople in 968 and Liudprand of Cremona . In: Traditio 31 (1975), pp. 54-81.
  • Thomas Weber: Eating and drinking in Constantinople of the 10th century according to the reports of Liutprand of Cremona . In: Johannes Koder / Thomas Weber: Liutprand from Cremona in Constantinople. Investigations on the Greek vocabulary and on statements relating to realities in his works , Vienna 1980, pp. 71–99.
  • Detlef Zimpel: On the importance of food in the "Relatio de legatione Constantinopolitana" of the Liutprand of Cremona . In: Historische Zeitschrift 269 ​​(1999), pp. 1-18.

Web links

Wikisource: Liutprand of Cremona  - Sources and full texts

Individual evidence

  1. Liutprand: Antapodosis . tape III , chap. 22 : “But at that time Emperor Romanos ruled over these [Greeks], who as a noble, philanthropic, clever and pious prince is well worth remembering and fame. To this he sent my father as an ambassador because he was both a righteous and a well-spoken man. "
  2. ^ Koder / Weber: Liutprand . S. 17th ff .
  3. Liutprand: Antapodosis . tape VI , chap. 5 .
  4. Liutprand: Antapodosis . tape VI , chap. 3 .
  5. Liutprand: Antapodosis . tape VI , chap. 6 : “But while I was in such restlessness and worries [about the fact that Berengar had not given him any presents], I found the way out, the presents that I had taken from myself for the emperor to him in Berengar's name hand over and embellish the small gift as best I could with beautiful words. "
  6. Liutprand: Antapodosis . tape III , chap. 1 : “If it is also said of this little book that it was written in captivity or in strangers, it refers to my current exile. Because I started it in Frankfurt, twenty miles from Mainz, and am still working on it today on the island of Paxos, more than nine hundred miles from Constantinople. "
  7. Liutprand: Antapodosis . tape III , chap. 1 .
  8. ^ Liutprand: Relatio . Cape. 2 : "On the fourth of June we [...] arrived in Constantinople in front of the Karea gate and waited until the eleventh hour with our horses in the pouring rain."
  9. ^ Liutprand: Relatio . Cape. 58 : "[...] on the second of October at four o'clock in the afternoon by ship with my guide, I left that formerly rich and prosperous, but now starving, perjury, lying, faithless, predatory, greedy, avaricious and boastful city."
  10. ^ Liutprand: Relatio . 58-61, 63-65.
  11. Liutprand: Antapodosis . tape I , chap. 1 .
  12. Becker: Works . S. XVI .
  13. Becker: Works . S. XVI .
  14. Becker: Works . S. XVII .
  15. Hunger: Liudprand .