Henry II, the last Ottonian emperor, was a consummate political showman, an early medieval ruler who, according to the editors of this catalogue devoted to him, "knew how to play the keyboard of power and self-representation" (11). They lament the fact that Henry II is overshadowed in history by the likes of Charlemagne, Otto the Great, and Friedrich Barbarossa, and they aim to rectify the situation with this publication. At the very least, they have succeeded in bringing this charismatic figure into sharper focus by highlighting his dramatic historical deeds and his magnificent artistic commissions.
The exhibition "Kaiser Heinrich II, 1002-1024," which took place in Bamberg from July to October 2002, brought together some of the most notable monuments associated with this ruler, and this catalogue, which accompanied the exhibition, provides a lasting opportunity to reassess the patronage of Henry II and his wife, Kunigunde. In this respect, it follows other recent catalogues that focused on specific Ottonian patrons and their historical circumstances, including the Empress Theophano (Cologne, 1991), Bernward of Hildesheim (Hildesheim, 1993), and Otto the Great (Magdeburg, 2001). [[1]] These grand, multi-volume catalogues brought a greater contextual awareness to the objects they presented and thereby breathed fresh life into Ottonian scholarship. Their generous format and fine color reproductions of manuscript illuminations, carved ivories, golden book covers, processional crosses, and so on, enabled readers to better envision the glorious trappings of the Ottonian court. These catalogues have come to replace the standard references of previous generations, most notably Hans Jantzen's Ottonische Kunst of 1947 and Percy Ernst Schramm's Denkmale der deutschen Könige und Kaiser from 1962 (rev. 1978 and 1981). Concurrently, Anglo-American scholars have become much more engaged with Ottonian material. [[2]]
This catalogue devoted to Henry II is divided into two main parts, a collection of essays and a catalogue of objects. Because it was sponsored by the Haus der Bayerischen Geschichte, it does occasionally burst with the regional pride that is par for the course. For example, the Bavarian State Minister for Science, Research, and Art proudly acknowledges in his Greeting that Henry II was the first "Bavarian" duke to become king. On the other hand, the catalogue's Bamberg-centric nature is justifiable, since it allows the authors--a varied group of historians, art historians, and archaeologists--to focus on Henry's relationship to the site and his extraordinary transformation of it. Although Henry was raised and educated in Regensburg, it was Bamberg that Henry II built into a political capital and an episcopal See, and it was Bamberg, after all, that he chose as his final resting place.
This is the focus of the first two essays of the catalogue and they are, in many respects, the most illuminating parts of it. The first essay by Stefan Weinfurter, "Heinrich II: Bayerische Traditionen and europäischer Glanz," starts by honing in on Henry's Bavarian roots and then telescopes out to Henry's ultimate position on the international stage. He carefully charts the major events of Henry's life, including his formative years in Regensburg; his contested claim to the throne; his coronation as king in June 1002 (the millennial anniversary of which this exhibition and catalogue were meant to celebrate); his foundation of the See of Bamberg in 1007; the consecration of the new Cathedral there in 1012; his imperial coronation by Pope Benedict VIII in 1014; the visit by the pope to Bamberg in 1022; and his death in 1024.
Throughout his discussion of these historical events, Weinfurter laudably weaves in analysis of artistic hallmarks, showing how the imagery contained therein furthered this ruler's political aims. For example, he discusses the ruler portraits of the Regensburg Sacramentary, commissioned shortly after 1002 (Munich, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Clm. 4456) in relation to Henry's contested claim to the throne. The famous image on folio 11r of this manuscript shows Henry being crowned directly by Christ, while he is supported at right and left by two Bavarian saints: St. Emmeram of Regensburg and St. Ulrich of Augsburg, credited with helping Otto I achieve victory over the Hungarians in 955. Weinfurter also brings the Star Mantel (Bamberg, Diözesanmuseum) into his consideration of Henry vis a vis other international leaders. Given to him by an Italian companion of the pope who visited Bamberg in 1022, this cope glorified Henry as an "ornament of Europe...who will reign through the ages."
In the next essay, "Die einzigartig geliebte Stadt-Heinrich II. und Bamberg," Bernd Schneidmüller focuses on Henry's emotional attachment to Bamberg and the reasons behind his extensive patronage there. Most importantly, he highlights the extraordinary measures that Henry took to transform the town. Five years after his royal coronation in 1002, he began a campaign to elevate Bamberg's status by installing a bishop there. A new See there was far from necessary and it, in fact, put Henry at odds with a number of imperial bishops, including the bishop of Würzburg, whose domain would be diminished. However, Henry justified this radical measure by endowing it with an apostolic mission: the conversion of the Slavs. He pleaded his case on All Saints' Day in 1007 at a synod in Frankfurt, where he knelt and wept before eight archbishops and twenty-seven bishops. They were apparently so moved by this emotional display of piety and humility that they relented. Henry then returned to Bamberg and completely changed the material landscape of the place. Over the course of the next two decades, he enlarged the cathedral, founded several other religious institutions, and then heaped upon them almost unimaginable material riches, including the relics of around one hundred and seventy five saints at the Cathedral's altars.
The next two essays by Gude Suckale-Redlefsen, "Prachtvolle Bücher zur Zierde der Kirchen," and "Goldener Schmuck für Kirche und Kaiser," examines the artistic splendor of Henry's commissions for these ecclesiastical sites in Bamberg. These essays present a general introduction to the major themes of Ottonian illumination, and Suckale-Redlefsen also includes an important discussion of the goldsmith workshop at Bamberg. In the end, I feel that the author could have done more to consider the historical and political ramifications of the visual imagery, as Weinfurter did so successfully in his essay (pp. 15-29). Oddly enough, she credits Henry II as "the greatest lover of illuminated manuscripts of all the German kings of the high middle ages" (52), but then speculates that it was actually an advisor or his wife, Kunigunde, who directly oversaw his commissions for Bamberg. To the contrary, I believe that a man who was otherwise so self-conscious of his image would have taken a very active interest in the objects he gathered or commissioned for Bamberg, his capital and necropolis.
After all, it was precisely during the five years between the foundation of the new See there and the consecration of the Cathedral in 1012 that Henry instigated his most outstanding commissions, including his Pericopebook (Munich, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Clm. 4452). Moreover, it was at exactly this same time that Henry II was building up momentum for his imperial coronation, which took place two years after the consecration of the Cathedral, a point which Joachim Ott brings up in his catalogue entry for the Pericopebook (cat. no. 75, p. 219). He specifically sees a connection between the appearance of St. Peter on the dedication page of this manuscript and Henry's desire to be crowned emperor at St. Peter's in Rome.
I also question the arbitrary division of manuscripts and metalwork into two separate essays, because I think it would have been more instructive to view all of Henry's commissions (metalwork, manuscripts, textiles) alongside one another. On a related note, it was at this point that I began to note one unavoidable drawback to the catalogue's almost exclusive focus on Henry II and Bamberg. Noteworthy commissions that Henry had made for other sites, such as the Pala d'oro at Aachen, were allotted much less consideration than they merit.
The final essay in this section, "Die Ausgrabungen im Bamberger Dom" by Walter Sage, presents the findings of modern archaeological excavations at Bamberg and, in an odd way, serves as a segue into the catalogue of objects, in which two hundred and fifteen items are featured. They range in date and importance from floor tiles of ca. 1000 to Tilman Riemenschneider's fifteenth-century tomb carvings of Henry and Kunigunde. This ambitious array of material was bogged down by the initial focus on "daily life" objects (weights, tools, bone carvings) that would have given the exhibition visitor a valuable frame of reference, but which took up space in the catalogue that would have been better served by lengthier consideration of Henry's most important commissions. On the other hand, the inclusion of coins, seals, and official charters in the catalogue provided insight into other ways in which the emperor could record his image for posterity. As in the essay section, illuminated manuscripts and metalwork objects were unfortunately singled out and grouped alone in their own separate categories within the catalogue. Could they not have been considered together with works of other media (including coins and charters) in thematic sections, devoted perhaps to memoria or liturgy?
My final criticisms of the catalogue are more practical. While almost all of the reproductions are in color, they are disappointingly small. This is a particular disservice to the most important objects, since it is difficult to see the details of the finest illuminations and the most intricate goldsmith work. Additionally, alongside the compact twenty-seven page bibliography, an index at the back of the book would have been useful. For the most part, however, the contributors have done their best to present a much more vivid image of this important early medieval ruler. I have no doubt that this catalogue will serve as an important reference for anyone interested in Henry II, in particular, or for those interested in early medieval rulers and their self-presentation in general.
NOTES
[[1]] Vor dem Jahr 1000: Abendländische Buchkunst zur Zeit der Kaiserin Theophanu. (Cologne: Schnütgen-Museum, 1991), together with: Anton von Euw and Peter Schreiner, eds., Kaiserin Theophanu: Begegnung des Ostens und Westens um die Wende des ersten Jahrtausends. 2 vols. (Cologne: Schnütgen-Museum, 1991); Bernward von Hildesheim und das Zeitalter der Ottonen. 2 vols. (Hildesheim: Bernward Verlag, and Mainz: Philipp von Zabern, 1993); and Otto der Grosse, Magdeburg und Europa. (Mainz: Philipp von Zabern, 2001).
[[2]] On this, see Roger Collins, "Carolingians and Ottonians in an Anglophone World," Journal of Medieval History. 22, 1 (1996), pp. 97-114. Some examples of this scholarly spike in interest are: John William Bernhardt, Itinerant Kingship and Royal Monasteries in Early Medieval Germany, c. 936-1075. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1993); Adelbert Davids, ed., The Empress Theophano: Byzantium and the West at the turn of the first millennium. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995); Adam S. Cohen, The Uta Codex: Art, Philosophy and Reform in Eleventh-century Germany. (University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press, 2000); David A. Warner, Ottonian Germany: The Chronicon of Thietmar of Merseburg. (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2001).