"To ask them further, whether he is to be considered as having renounced the world, whom we see laboring, day by day, by all sorts of means, to augment his possessions; now making use, for this purpose, of menaces of eternal flames, now of promises of eternal beatitude; in the name of God or of some saint despoiling simple-minded men of their property, to the infinite prejudice of the lawful heirs, who are, in very many cases, from the misery in which they are thus involved, driven by their necessities to robbing and to all sorts of disorders and crimes."" Clearly such questions as these do not at all resemble articles of law. 9. Some of the capitula are not even questions, but mere notes, memoranda of particular things which Charlemagne, from time to time, conceived the idea of doing, and which he had put down on paper, lest he should forget them. We read, for instance, at the end of the capitula, or instructions to the missi dominici, in 803, these two articles : "Recollect to order that they who send us horses as presents, inscribe their names on each horse. And so with dresses that may be sent us from abbeys. "Recollect to order that whenever vicarious persons are found doing evil, or suffering it to be done, they be expelled from their post, and replaced by others of a better character."" I could cite many capitula of this description. of 10. Other articles contain judgments and briefs of the crown and the courts, collected evidently for the purpose jurisprudence; thus we read in a capitulary of the year 803: "A man had suborned a slave, induced him to kill his two young masters, the one aged nine, the other eleven, and then killed the slave himself, and threw him into a ditch. Adjudged, that the said man pay a wehrgeld for the boy of nine years old, a double wehrgeld for the boy of eleven, and a treble wehrgeld for the slave; and undergo, moreover, our ban."3 This is obviously a judicial decree in a particular case, in 1 Cap. II., a, 811, § 5. Cap., a., 803, § 12; Baluze, i., 398 Baluze, i., 395. serted among the capitularies as a precedent in future cases of a similar description. 11. We meet, in like manner, with acts of pure domestic financial administration, relative to the administration of Charlemagne's own domains, and which enter into the most minute details on this subject. The famous capitulary De Villis is an example of this, and there are several other articles of the same character scattered through the collection.1 12. Besides the so various acts I have enumerated, the capitularies contain purely political acts, occasional documents, nominations, recommendations, decisions upon personal and passing differences. I look, for instance, at the capitulary rendered in 794 by the assembly of Frankfort,2 and among the 54 articles of which it is composed, I find : (Art. 1.) Letters of pardon granted to Tassilon, duke of the Bavarians, who had revolted against Charlemagne. (Art. 6.) Arrangements for the settlement of a dispute between the bishop of Vienne, and the archbishop of Arles and others, respecting the limits of the sees of the Tarentaise, Embrun, and Aix. It sets forth that letters from the pope on these matters were read, and that it was determined to consult anew with his holiness. (Art. 7.) As to the justification offered, and the pardon received, by bishop Pierre. (Art. 8.) As to the deposition of the pretended bishop Gerbod. (Art. 53.) Charlemagne procures the assent of the assembly of bishops to the pope's license, authorizing him to retain about his person bishop Hildebold as his minister of ecclesiastical affairs. (Art. 54.) He recommends Alcuin to the good wishes and prayers of the assembly. There is obviously nothing legislative here. Thus, at first glance, on the most simple examination of the nature of these various acts, and without entering into any close inspection of their contents, you see how wholly erroneous is the general, the common idea entertained of these capitularies; they constitute anything but a code; they comprise anything but laws. Let us now take a closer view, let us penetrate into the interior of the collection, and examine the articles of which each capitulary is composed; we shall here find the same diversity, the same confusion; we shall here, in like manner, find how inadequate has been the attention hitherto paid to this study, and how fallacious are most of the results which have been deduced from it. I have analyzed the sixty-five capitularies of Charlemagne, classifying under eight heads, according to the nature of the provisions, the articles which they comprise. These eight heads are: 1. Moral legislation. 2. Political legislation. I will first lay this classification before you, and then make some observations upon each head. Date. year uncer Analytical Table of the Capitularies of Charlemagne-continued. Articles. Let us now examine a little more closely the contents of this table; the examination will be a very rapid one, but sufficient, I hope, to give you an idea of the true character of the government of Charlemagne, and of the monuments which exist of it in this collection. I. Moral Legislation.—I have classed under this title those articles which are neither commanding nor prohibitory; which, in truth, are not laws at all, but mere advice, suggestions, or moral precepts. For instance: "Avarice consists in desiring the possessions of others, and in not giving to others a share of that which we ourselves possess; according to the apostle, it is the root of all evil, and it should, therefore, be carefully avoided.1 "Those who apply themselves to amass property by all sorts of ways make dishonorable gains.2 "All men should practise hospitality.3 "Keep clear of theft, of unlawful marriages, of bearing false witness, as we have often exhorted you, and as is exhorted by the Word of God."4 The legislator goes even further than this; he seems to think himself responsible for the conduct of each individual, and apologises for not being able to fulfil this responsibility to the extent he desires : 1 Cap. a., 806, § 15; Baluze, i., 454 3 Cap. a., 794, 33; ib., 268, 2 lb., § 16. 4 Ib., 789, § 56; ib., 236. |