The influence of the monastic reforms and the Investiture Controversy in hagiography: Shaping the profile of a canonized 12th-century bishop, Otto of Bamberg

Abstract

This article focuses on the hagiographic profile of the twelfth-century bishop Otto of Bamberg. Two hagiographies dedicated to him were written by different authors in the same place within a short time. However, the way the two describe Otto’s life and activity after his death follows different narratives. This study discusses these narratives in the context of the disputes on the implementation of the monastic reform and the conflict between the Church and the Empire in the German lands.