Abstract

In this article, I propose to see the emotion of anger in the ‘Antapodosis’ by Liudprand of Cremona as an important means of assessing characters. By depicting the anger of the Ottonian kings as just and predictable, Liudprand shows how the ideal ruler should behave. He uses various examples from the Old Testament and especially the Deuterocanonical books of the Maccabees to present the anger of the Ottonian kings in the same fashion. In his vision, the negative counterpart to the Ottonians is played by the Italic kings, who show their unworthiness precisely through the inept and tyrannical use of anger. In addition to this, Liudprand writes about aristocratic anger-management as well as the anger of women. Although a man of the church, Liudprand shows himself to understand and to use the code of honour which applied to noblemen in conflicts. Women do not, on the contrary, show unmediated anger. Their emotion is mixed with grief and tears.