Ottonian

[o-toh-nee-uhn]

adjective

1. of or relating to the German dynasty (Otto I, II, III) that ruled as emperors of the Holy Roman Empire from 962 to 1002.

2. pertaining to or designating the arts or culture of the Ottonian period, characterized chiefly by the development of forms derived from both Carolingian and Byzantine concepts.

   an Ottonian revival.

Word History and Origins

Origin of Ottonian¹

1895–1900; < German Otton ( en ), plural of Otto + -ian

Example Sentences

Confident in this new strength, he attempted to vindicate his claims on Italy, and sought, by uniting the two under his sway, to inspire with new life the old Ottonian Empire.

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The knitted eyebrows and worried human expression of the eyes with a slight squint suggest late Ottonian Germany.

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The twin influences of Ottonian Germany and Byzantine Greece blend in its ultimate masterpiece, the golden doors of the Cathedral of the Nativity in the town of Suzdal.

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Those coarse and dreary objects that crop up more or less frequently in early Byzantine, Merovingian, Carolingian, Ottonian, Romanesque, and early Italian art, are not, however, an inheritance from the iconoclastic period; they are the long shadow thrown across history by the gigantic finger of imperial Rome.

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Of course the bulk of those opulent knick-knacks manufactured for the Carolingian and Ottonian Emperors, and now to be seen at Aachen, are as beastly as anything else that is made simply to be precious.

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