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What was the purpose of the Privilegium Ottonianum?
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Otto I
Otto I and his wife Edith, sculptures in the cathedral at Magdeburg, Germany.
The Privilegium Ottonianum was a treaty concluded in 962 between Otto I and Pope John XII. Its primary purpose was to regulate the relationship between the emperor and the papacy.
The treaty served to confirm and extend the temporal power of the papacy. However, it also established imperial oversight regarding the church; specifically, it included a provision that enabled the emperor to ratify papal elections. While the inclusion of this specific proviso in the original document remains a subject of historical controversy, it was central to Otto’s efforts to exert authority over the church and stabilize his rule.1