Times of Otto the first from the perspective of Hrosvit from Gandersheim

Abstract

When it is told about Hrosvit, a canoness from Gandersheim, as a writer, generally it is meant about her six dramas, which are certainly representing her best creative skills. The historical poems, especially Gesta Ottonis, which this article concerns, are much less known. The protagonist of this literally work is Otto I the Great (912-973), who was elected a king on 936 (on 962 was elected an emperor). Hrosvit lived and created primarily during his reign. The times of Otto the Great were dominated by relations with the Church and in the history he enrolled as a politician and strategist. It should be also noted, that Otto the Great used religious institutions, which strengthened his power significantly. This cooperation of Church and kingdom/empire is also noticeable in Gesta Ottonis of Hrosvit. Canoness created one of the first biography of the emperor, which testifies – to the fascination of Otto the Great and his ancestors held by contemporaries. In 1517 Leo’s hexameters Hrosvit included the picture of an ideal ruler, following the example of biblical king David, who obtained the strength from the God to fight an enemy. She presented life of Otto the Great and his father in chronological order. She wanted to create something new, which at the same time would refer to the ancient genre patterns. The work of Hrosvit clearly marked the tendency to subject knowledge of the past to constant transformations in such a way as to be able to act in the present and in the future.