Thread by @germanshistory

Forgotten emperors – Otto III (983-1002)
Just as 4-year-old king Otto III is crowned king riders bang on the door of Aachen Cathedral with news that his father, Otto II had died 16 days earlier. 🧵 (1/

Immediately the archenemy of the family, Henry the Quarrelsome is released from prison where he was held for treason. Not only that, as the closest male relative, Henry is made guardian of the child king.

Otto III's chance of survival is bleak. The Bavarians long held the belief they were cheated out of kingship and this is their chance. Otto's only hope is his mother, the Byzantine princess Theophanu, his grandmother Adelheid and Gerbert of Aurillac, polymath and future pope.

Henry had offered king Lothar of France the duchies of Lothringia in exchange for military support. That was a mistake on two fronts, one, Lothar was beaten by Ottonian allies and secondly, the magnates of teh kingdom were uncomfortable with the loss of a major province.

That is not the end yet, but things are moving in the right direction. For more, listen to Episode 11 of the History of the Germans Podcast:
open.spotify.com/episode/6AHmj4…

In 994 Otto III's regency ends. He is just 14 years old and an unstable teenager. He is also one of the best educated rulers to date thanks to his mother. She instilled in him a great admiration of the imperial court in Constantinople which he will try to emulate.

His first effort is to obtain the imperial crown in Rome, where the papacy is still the plaything of the powerful local aristocracy. On the way down the last pope had died and the Romans ask Otto to appoint a new one, and he chose his 24-year old cousin Bruno, pope Gregory V.

Gregory duly crowned Otto III and it seems a new age had begun where emperor and pope were acting in unison. He also meets St. Adalbert of Prague who will become a huge influence on his life.

It is during this time that the king Waik of Hungary gets baptised as Stephen, which in some telling of the story involved Adalbert and Otto III. After the baptism Adalbert is sent as a missionary to Prussia where he is duly martyred.

Meanwhile Crescentius the de facto ruler of Rome had returned and threw out Pope Gregory V and put another man in as Pope John XVII. Otto III returns and Storms the Castel Sant Angelo where he takes Crescentius, has him beheaded and his corpse strung up on the Monet Mario.

The antipope John XVII does not fare much better, He had his nose, tongue and ears cut before he is paraded through the city of Rome sitting backwards on a donkey. For more: open.spotify.com/episode/0V6PmZ…

Otto III seemed to have struggled with guilt following these atrocities. He would spend weeks on pilgrimage and in prayer to atone for his sins. At the same time he began to style his court on the blueprint of the byzantine rulers with a bewildering array of court officials.

His most famous pilgrimage was to Gniesno in the year 1000, where he visited the grave of his friend St. Adalbert. The ruler of Poland, Boleslav the Brave welcomed him with an astounding display of wealth. Whether or not Otto crowned Boleslav king has been disputed ever since.

Otto the proceeded to Aachen where he had the grave of Charlemagne opened. he found the emperor barely decomposed, sitting on his throne and holding the orb and scepter.

He returned to Rome in 1001 a city he wished to turn into his capital. he had a palace built where he presided over court ceremonies on a elevated platform all alone. A long way from the traditions of the East Francian kingdom that saw its kings as Primus inter Pares.

The Romans weren't happy with the imperial presence either. They rose up and attacked Otto in his palace. He had just a couple of dozen friends and supporters with him. In the night they broke out of the siege, led by bishop Bernward of Hildesheim holding up the Holy Lance.

Thrown out of Rome, Otto's political concept of the resurrection of the Roman empire is in tatters. His body is worn out with constant fasting. He dies on Jan 24, 1002. news of his death leads to rebellion. The emperor's body barely makes it back ome.
open.spotify.com/episode/2QSMuL…