Spirituality and Politics in the Works of Hrotsvit Gandersheim

A Saxon canoness in the convent at Gandersheim, Hrotsvit studiedand wrote during those decades of the tenth century when Otto theGreat was consolidating his rule over Saxony and neighboring Germanprincipalities, expanding it eastward into Slavic lands, and exerting apowerful influence over affairs in northern Italy. Stephen L. Wailes hasproduced a study of the sixteen extant works of Hrotsvit and hasshown that she believed the basic duty of a Christian ruler was todefend and extend the Church, and that in her writing she offeredseveral models of correct political behavior for the benefit of both Ottoand the noblemen who constituted his base of power.