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- Title
The Legend of Prester John and the Imperial Idea in Germany (13<sup>th</sup> -16<sup>th</sup> centuries).
- Authors
GIARDINI, MARCO
- Abstract
The chapter intends to shed light on some fundamental aspects of the reception of the legend of Prester John in the Germanic area between the Middle Ages and the early modern age. Special attention will be given to the representation of this eastern ruler as universal monarch and the possible hints, included in the legend, to the imperial idea formulated in Germany during the timespan considered. The chapter is centered around the analysis of some significant sources: 1) the Letter of Prester John in its primitive version in Latin and its possible links with the imperial idea cultivated in the chancellery of Frederick Barbarossa; 2) the elaborations of the Letter between the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, in a period in which the legend of Prester John came to merge with typically German representations of the myth of the Grail and expectations of imperial restoration associated with the figure of a Fredericus redivivus (the "Third Frederick"); 3) the inclusion of the Letter in the Ambraser Heldenbuch commissioned by Maximilian I (1493-1519), in which Prester John is presented as the ancestor of the emperor and an ideal embodiment of his imperial idea.
- Subjects
GERMANY; PRESTER John (Legendary character); MIDDLE Ages; FREDERICK I, Holy Roman Emperor, ca. 1123-1190; LETTERS
- Publication
Studi e Materiali di Storia delle Religioni, 2023, Vol 89, Issue 1, p142
- ISSN
0393-8417
- Publication type
Article