Die Krone in Merseburg?

Since medieval studies have increasingly focused on the symbolic acts and rituals used to symbolize power relations in the Middle Ages, encounters between German and Polish rulers around the turn of the first millennium have also attracted new attention. The meeting in Merseburg ( 1013 ) between the Roman-German King Henry II and the Polish ruler Boleslaw Chrobry, which was intended to settle a long-standing conflict between the two protagonists, belongs in this context. Nevertheless, a piece of information in the brief report by eyewitness Thietmar of Merseburg has so far received too little attention, namely that Henry did not wear his crown during the rituals, although this would have been expected in the context of the meeting. In the encounter, which was marked by Boleslaw’s efforts to achieve equality and Henry’s efforts to emphasise his superior position, another significant success for the Polish ruler must therefore be noted: Henry not wearing his crown when Boleslaw had to symbolically carry his sword meant the mitigation of a key ritual in favour of the Piast.