Otto III / Gerd Althoff ; translated by Phyllis G. Jestice.

Includes bibliographical references (pages [185]-207) and index.

Introduction: The Modern Assessment of Otto III -- Royal Rule and the Idea of the State at the End of the Tenth Century -- Central Questions and the Problem of Sources -- A Child on the Throne -- Henry the Quarrelsome and the Disturbances over the Succession -- The Regency of the Empresses -- The Beginning of Independent Rule -- The First Independent Decisions -- The First Italian Expedition -- The Encounters with Gerbert and Adalbert -- The "Revenge Expedition" to Rome and the Beginning of the "Roman Renewal" -- The Fight Against Crescentius and the Antipope -- Otto III's "Idea of Roman Renewal" in Older and Newer Scholarship -- The Journey to Gniezno -- Preconceptions and Preparations -- The Journey -- From Gniezno to Aachen -- The Last Expedition to Rome -- "Government Business" on the Way -- The Gandersheim Conflict -- The "Ingratitude" of the Romans -- The Death of Otto III -- Building Blocks for an Assessment of Otto III: Observations, Insights, Open Questions -- Demonstrative Ritual Behaviors -- "Friends" of Otto III and His Interaction with Them -- Dealing with the Heritage.