What kind of daily life did Heinrich II and his beloved Queen Kunigunde experience at court? And how did this compare to the ordinary lives? In the city of Bamberg, in the countryside, and among their Slavic neighbours?

1000 Years Ago: Life at the Court of Cunigunde and Henry II
Ed by Kristin Knebel,  Arne Schonfeld and Conelia von Hessberg
Schnell & Steiner, 2024
(English and German Editions)

Kaiser Heinrich II. Herrschaft, Handschriften und Heiligkeit im Mittelalter.
Ed by Christof Rolker
Series: Bamberger interdisziplinäre Mittelalterstudien Vorträge und Vorlesungen, vol 10.
University of Bamberg press 2024.

Heinrich II died in 1024 after a long and prosperous reign as King of Germany and Holy Roman Emperor. With his beloved wife Kunigunde, he established himself as a heavenly anointed ruler supervising state and church affairs. Arguably, his main “creation” was the bishopric of Bamberg, which later flourished as home to his and Kunigunde’s saintly remains.

In 1993, Bamberg was inscribed as World Heritage and soon followed a series of exhibitions celebrating the founding father, Heinrich II. In 2002, the city celebrated the 1000-year anniversary of his coronation in Mainz, followed by one in 2007 celebrating the foundation of Bamberg.

This year, the Cathedral and the City commemorated the death of Heinrich in 2024 with several exhibitions and events, the largest of which focus on the daily life in Bamberg 1000 years ago.

This being Germany, the exhibition is, of course, accompanied by a catalogue and what is commonly called a “Wissenschaftlicher Begleitsband”, the scholarly companion to the more popular presentation. The latest example of this doubled-up cocktail was published this summer and featured the current exhibitions at Reichenau and Konstanz.

Bamberg, this year, has chosen another solution. While the “Begleitband” has been published as open source by the research group at Bamberg University and published as Open Source in the Bamberg Interdisciplinäre Mittelalterstudien, the catalogue published by Schnell & Steiner is somewhat modernised. Also, it is published in both German and English, offering a substantial nod to the fact that Bamberg is a city open to international tourists.

As such, the catalogue aligns well with the perspective of the exhibition, focusing less on the political impact of Heinrich and Kunigunde but rather on their daily life in Bamberg, the Steigerwald and the Mainfranken.

From the perspective of the ordinary people, the exhibition asks: Who lived 1000 years ago in Bamberg, and how did they live? What did people eat, what did they wear, how did they spend their days? Who went to war with the Emperor, and what did it mean to set out on a campaign? What role did women play, and within what limits could they act?

The catalogue accompanying the exhibition answers these questions in readily understood but, at the same time, scholarly articles and essays that make the insights of current research accessible to the general public.

Established academic writers are joined in this undertaking by well-known figures of popular historical culture as well as younger researchers. The catalogue is richly illustrated throughout with photographs and drawings that add vitality to the picture of life 1000 years ago.

The book opens with a presentation of the physical setting, the cathedral- and palace-complex at the Domburg, the political and religious scene at the turn of the first millennium, the daily life as witnessed by textiles and the food served at the Domburg and below down by the river (and out in the villages), and finally, a section describing military warfare and weapons.

Given the genre, the catalogue is charming and inviting. Nevertheless, a slight disappointment with the offered details might be voiced. For instance, in the chapter on the famous royal textiles, the shift from a Roman cape as sported by Charlemagne to the pluvial mantles preserved in the Cathedral echoing the liturgical vestments is noted. Not mentioned, though, are the recent findings from the scientific project studying the garments, which for instance tells us that the so-called Reitermantel presents itself as an example of a paludamentum or clamys, likely imported from Djabakir in southeastern Anatolia; that is, a Roman cape such as Charlemagne according to Einhard sported. (See p. 129 in Rolker 2024.)

Further, much more might have been achieved by consulting Thietmar, the chronicler of Heinrich’s life and times. For instance, he tells us how the archenemy of Heinrich, the Polish prince Boleslaw, brazenly wore furs and continued to sit while receiving Otto at Gniezno in the year 1000 (Thietmar 5:10) or how in 1004, we hear of Jaromir entering Prague and being affirmed as duke. Before entering the city, he removed his “simple clothing” and put on “more costly garments” (6:12). In a third instance, we hear of Thietmar, who, as a boy, was offered up as a hostage to a group of Viking raiders to free his uncle. While approaching the camp, he was dressed in worldly garments while keeping his clerical garb hidden underneath – presumably to be properly clothed when (as expected) he was soon to pass through the Pearly Gates into Heaven. (Thietmar 4:24). Clothes were important signifiers indicating not just social status and foreign alliances, but perhaps primarily the character of differently staged events when it behoved the participants to bear witness to the social and cultural system in which people lived. Off stage, possibly, kings and queens alike just wore plain serviceable tunics and warm cloaks.

When writing about the daily life of bygone times, a precise historical-anthropological approach may offer the advantage of letting the readers escape the “domestication” of the “others”, who lived in a distant and strange world.

The book is beautifully produced with drawings by Cora Freimann. https://cfreimann.com The English translation is perhaps not without blemishes, but in general, it is satisfying.

The scientific collection of studies, though, is perhaps more satisfying for the learned reader wishing to keep abreast of what new findings scholars, historians, and archaeologists have uncovered in the last ten to twenty years. On the other hand, as an introduction to this critical period in the history of medieval Germany, the catalogue is highly recommended.

As is the exhibition!

Karen Schousboe

FEATURED PHOTO:

King Herod receives the three Magi. From: Codex Aureus Epternacensis, fol 40. Germanisches Nationalmuseum, Public Domain

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