ABSTRACT
Peace and reconstruction were the features of the second half of Otto’s reign in Germany. The security of his position made it possible for him to turn his eyes to Italy again, and once more the violence of Berengar II and his son Adalbert provoked an appeal to him for aid. Empire also implied an autocratic Emperor, and this, with certain limitations, had been fulfilled in the person of Charlemagne. It was far otherwise with Otto and his successors. Feudal, centrifugal forces had upset the centralised system of Charlemagne. The future was already foreshadowed in Otto I’s reign, during the last twelve years of which Italy commanded almost all his attention. His presence was constantly needed to maintain his hold over North Italy and over Rome. More immediately dangerous was an invasion of Saxony in 974 by the king of Denmark, Harold Bluetooth. The settlement of the south-east was a much more protracted business.
