The Book of Emperors: A Translation of the Middle High German Kaiserchronik

XLVIII. Otto II

355 Very early one morning the bishop sang a mass, and the king took up his own flag. He charged the heathens with daring beyond measure, for God himself was with him. The king displayed his brave determination until, out of that massive horde of heathens, only seven were left. Christendom then rejoiced, comforted in its suffering and well relieved of its oppression. The empire enjoyed peace with the Hungarian people ever afterwards. The king was unwilling to fail to honor God for the great love he had shown him. He proclaimed the honor and fame of God far and wide and founded the archdiocese of Magdeburg, the city in which he was buried afterwards. He held the Empire, it is a fact, for thirty-eight years and twelve days. The princes greatly lamented his passing. XLVIII Otto II Otto II (r. as German king 961–983 and Roman emperor 967– 983), son of Otto the Great, married Theophano, daughter of Byzantine Emperor Romanus II. He led a campaign against the Bohemians that had to be abandoned because fighting had broken out in Bavaria. Eventually he made a successful second expedition to Bohemia, which resulted in Polish King Boleslaus II’s promise of allegiance to him. His marriage to Princess Theophano did not mean good relations with the Greeks of southern Italy. Otto marched on Italy. In Rome he restored Pope Benedict XII, who had been deposed. Then, in an attempt to counter Islamic inroads in Italy, he continued south to Apulia. At first his efforts were successful, but then an alliance developed among Arabs, south-Italian Greeks, and the Byzantine Empire in reaction to Otto’s taking of Apulia. Although the medieval and modern boundaries are not the same, Apulia 356 Chapter Forty-eight (modern Puglia) is very roughly the heel of the Italian “boot;” Calabria is the “toe.” when King Otto departed this life, he left a worthy son also named Otto, who then held the Empire. There was a prince named Regenwart in a land called Calabria who let his men rob and burn at will. The Greeks had no intention of putting up with this and did not rest until they had chased him to Apulia. He had to experience being badly shamed in his own country. Regenwart sent out letters and in one of them he asked King Otto if he would help him regain his honor. If he would, then he would become the king’s vassal and serve him evermore. He would surrender his lands to the king. How helpful and fitting that would be for the Roman Empire! At the advice of his princes, King Otto assembled his forces. The Romans assured him how willing they were to serve. Quickly and energetically they arranged for ships to be constructed and well outfitted. The pope, however, voiced his opposition, telling the king it would be against his will if they sent an expedition to Apulia. Some of the Romans advised the Greeks that they should reconsider what they were doing and fight against the king; he would be forced to withdraw if they did. [The Greeks agreed, and] to assure the good will of those Romans the Greeks also gave them silver and gold. Those Romans insisted that they admired the Greeks and would not help the king anymore to regain his honor. When the king and his men arrived in Calabria, the Greek forces challenged them on the sea. Those who were with the king, having falsely pledged to serve him, fled before the conflict began without even being threatened. The king himself was hard pressed, and many of his men soon lay dead. Still the young warriors committed to him fought fiercely. We know the truth about this from the books. More than thirty thousand Greeks were slain, so that the Greeks paid dearly for that victory. The king and his men forced the galleys’ oars hard through the water; it was time to get away. They hurried and rowed—how little they spared themselves! It was really a miracle that any German survived this. 357 When they arrived back on land and the pope discovered what had happened , he complained to the Senate that the king had been betrayed—the oaths of loyalty had been badly kept. Young people joined older ones in demanding that those who had sold out the king should be killed, as the law...