1 General Capitulary for the Missi Dominici 802 To centralize his rule Charlemagne dispatched officials or missi dominici annually to every part of the empire to review local affairs and enforce royal legislation The following document known as a capitulary provided basic guidelines for these annual visits Comprised of regulatory articles capitularies were typically compiled at general assembles convened by Charlemagne to discuss important issues with his magnates First chapter Concerning the embassy sent out by the lord emperor Therefore the most serene and most Christian lord emperor Charles has chosen from his nobles the wisest and most prudent men both archbishops and some of the other bishops also and venerable abbots and pious laymen and has sent them throughout his whole kingdom and through them by all the following chapters has allowed men to live in accordance with the correct law Moreover where anything which is not right and just has been enacted in the law he has ordered them to inquire into this most diligently and to inform him of it he desires God granting to reform it And let no one through his cleverness or astuteness dare to oppose or thwart the written law as many are wont to do or the judicial sentence passed upon him or to do injury to the churches of God or the poor or the widows or thaw wards or any Christian But all shall live entirely in accordance with God s precept justly and under a just rule and each one shall be admonished to live in harmony with his fellows in his business or profession the canonical clergy ought to observe their laws without malicious fraud and all ought to live in mutual charity and perfect peace And let the missi themselves make a diligent investigation whenever any man claims that an injustice has been done to him by any one just as they desire to deserve the grace of omnipotent God and to keep their fidelity promised to Him so that entirely in all cases everywhere in accordance with the will and fear of God they shall administer the law fully and justly in the case of the holy churches of God and of the poor of wards and widows and of the whole people And if there shall be anything of such a nature that they together with the provincial counts are not able of themselves to correct it and to do justice concerning it they shall without any ambiguity refer this together with their reports to the judgment of the emperor and the straight path of justice shall not be impeded by any one on account of flattery or gifts from any one or on account of any relationship or from fear of the powerful Concerning the fidelity to be promised to the lord emperor And he commanded that every man in his whole kingdom whether ecclesiastic or layman and each one according to his vow and occupation should now promise to him as emperor the fidelity which he had previously promised to him as king and all of those who had not yet made that promise should do likewise down to those who were twelve years old And that it shall be announced to all in public so that each one might know how great and how many thing s are comprehended in that oath not merely as many have thought hitherto fidelity to the lord emperor as regards his life and not introducing any enemy into his kingdom out of enmity and not consenting to or concealing anther s faithlessness to him but that all may know that this oath contains in itself this meaning 2 First that each one voluntarily shall strive in accordance with his knowledge and ability to live wholly in the holy service of God in accordance with the precept of God and in accordance with his own promise because the lord emperor is unable to give to all individually the necessary care and discipline Secondly that no man either through perjury or any other wile or fraud on account of the flattery or gift of any one shall refuse to give back or dare to abstract or conceal a serf of the lord emperor or a district or land or anything that belongs to him and that no one shall presume through perjury or other wile to conceal or abstract his fugitive fiscaline serfs who unjustly and fraudulently say that they are free That no one shall presume to rob or do any injury fraudulently to the churches of God or widows or orphans or pilgrims for the lord emperor himself after God and his saints has constituted himself their protector and defender That no one shall dare to lay waste a benefice of the lord emperor or to make it his own property That no one shall presume to neglect a summons to war from the lord emperor and that no one of the counts shall be so presumptuous as to dare t dismiss thence any one of those who owe military service either on account of relationship or flattery or gifts from any one That no one shall presume to impede at all in any way a ban or command of the lord emperor or to dally with his work or to impede or to lessen or in any way to act contrary to his will or commands And that no one shall dare to neglect to pay his dues or tax That no one for any reason shall make a practice in court of defending another unjustly either from any desire of gain when the cause is weak or by impeding a just judgment by his skill in reasoning or by a desire of oppressing when the cause is weak But each one shall answer for his own cause or tax or debt unless any one is infirm or ignorant of pleading for these the missi or the chiefs who are in the curt or the judge who knows the case in question shall plead before the court or if it is necessary such a person may be allowed as is acceptable to all and knows the case well but this shall be done wholly according to the convenience of the chiefs or missi who are present But in every case it shall be done in accordance with justice and the law and that no one shall have the power to impede justice by a gift reward or any kind of evil flattery or from any hindrance of relationship And that no one shall unjustly consent to another in anything but that with all zeal and goodwill all shall be prepared to carry out justice For all the above mentioned ought to be observed by the imperial oath That bishops and priests shall live according to the canons and shall teach others to do the same 3 That bishops abbots abbesses who are in charge of others with the greatest veneration shall strive to surpass their subjects in this diligence and shall not oppress their subjects with a harsh rule or tyranny but with sincere love shall carefully guard the flock committed to them with mercy …
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