Open AccessThe Saxon Expeditions against the Wends and the Foundation of Magdeburg during Otto I’s Reign
Author(s) -
Mihai Dragnea
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
revista română de studii baltice şi nordice
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2067-1725
pISSN - 2067-225X
DOI - 10.53604/rjbns.v11i2_2
Subject(s) - reign , hegemony , empire , kingdom , ancient history , foundation (evidence) , history , philosophy , law , political science , politics , archaeology , paleontology , biology
During the Middle Ages, rulers from different regions in Europe aspired to an idea of imperial hegemony over a territory. On the other hand, there were rulers who deliberately refused to be elected as emperors, although their reign showed some characteristics of imperial rule. This essay ask for the reasons why some rulers such as Otto I strove for an imperial agenda and how the expeditions of his margraves across Elbe were legitimized by contemporary writers. According to the idea of universal expansion including both Christians and pagans from all over the world, the Ottonian kingdom became an empire, an intrinsically Christian one, however, which followed the Carolingian model.