The Prayerbook of Otto III or Pommersfelden Prayerbook is an

Ottonian The Ottonian dynasty (german: Ottonen) was a Saxon dynasty of German monarchs (919–1024), named after three of its kings and Holy Roman Emperors named Otto, especially its first Emperor Otto I. It is also known as the Saxon dynasty after the ...

illuminated manuscript, made up of 44 bound parchment folios. It was produced around 984 in

Mainz Mainz () is the capital and largest city of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Mainz is on the left bank of the Rhine, opposite to the place that the Main (river), Main joins the Rhine. Downstream of the confluence, the Rhine flows to the north-we ...

for the private use of

Otto III, Holy Roman Emperor Otto III (June/July 980 – 23 January 1002) was Holy Roman Emperor from 996 until his death in 1002. A member of the Ottonian dynasty, Otto III was the only son of the Emperor Otto II and his wife Theophanu. Otto III was crowned as King of ...

, commissioned by his mother

Theophanu Theophanu (; also ''Theophania'', ''Theophana'', or ''Theophano''; Medieval Greek ; AD 955 15 June 991) was empress of the Holy Roman Empire by marriage to Emperor Otto II, and regent of the Empire during the minority of their son, Emperor Ott ...

and Archbishop

Willigis Willigis ( la, Willigisus; german: Willigis, Willegis; 940 – 23 February 1011 AD) was Archbishop of Mainz from 975 until his death as well as archchancellor of the Holy Roman Empire. Life Willigus was born in the Duchy of Saxony, possibly at ...

. It is the only prayerbook to survive from the Ottonian era and its texts and images set out a monastic model for an ideal sovereign, making it more precisely a

mirror of princes Mirrors for princes ( la, specula principum) or mirrors of princes, are an educational literary genre, in a loose sense of the word, of political writings during the Early Middle Ages, the High Middle Ages, the late middle ages and the Renaissance. ...

. The book exemplifies the three main influences on Ottonian illumination: late Antique/ early Christian, Carolingian, and

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

. The dedication miniature draws from the late Antique iconography seen in the

Chronography of 354 The ''Chronograph of 354'' (or "Chronography"), also known as the ''Calendar of 354'', is a compilation of chronological and calendrical texts produced in 354 AD for a wealthy Roman Christian named Valentinus by the calligrapher and illustrator ...

, the emperor prostrating himself before Jesus comes from Carolingian ideology, and the depiction of Otto

orant Orans (/ˈoː.rans/), a loanword from Medieval Latin ''ōrāns'' translated as ''one who is praying or pleading'', also orant or orante, as well as lifting up holy hands, is a posture or bodily attitude of prayer, usually standing, with the elbow ...

below a

Deesis In Byzantine art, and in later Eastern Orthodox art generally, the Deësis or Deisis (, ; el, δέησις, "prayer" or "supplication"), is a traditional iconic representation of Christ in Majesty or Christ Pantocrator: enthroned, carrying a boo ...

derives from contemporaneous Byzantine imagery.Jeep, p.600 It was acquired in 1994 by the

Bavarian State Library The Bavarian State Library (german: Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, abbreviated BSB, called ''Bibliotheca Regia Monacensis'' before 1919) in Munich is the central " Landesbibliothek", i. e. the state library of the Free State of Bavaria, the big ...

, and given the catalogue number Clm 30111.

References

External links

Sources

* *https://web.archive.org/web/20160304191104/https://opacplus.bsb-muenchen.de/metaopac/singleHit.do?methodToCall=showHit&curPos=1&identifier=100_SOLR_SERVER_303272114
Faksimile Verlag, publisher of the facsimile edition of the Prayerbook of Otto III
10th-century illuminated manuscripts Ottonian illuminated manuscripts {{Manuscript-art-stub