In the institution of the missi dominici , or envoys, or royal envoys, the administrative mind and the personal formula, if I may say so, of Charlemagne are restricted. The counts, the defenders of the marches or frontiers and the dukes, are nothing but men of war introduced into the hierarchy to administer income, justice, and defend the territory; where the missi dominici form the foundation of the whole political edifice of the Carolingians; no important act is done without them, and representing the emperor himself, they reproduce his podestà in all the places, which, honored by his confidence, talk. There [75]what immeasurable authority to them is explained by the very constitution of the empire ruled by Charlemagne, which empire has neither firm boundaries, nor limitations of exactly marked provinces, hence being all uncertain being and indeterminate, it needs a kind of ambulatory magistrate , of a wandering authority who examines in the name of the prince the state of the country, the rights and interests of all, and such are the offices of the missi dominici ; messengers of the master, men of his house, who report to him what they saw in their political itinerary; they have the faculty to inquire, to judge, to suspend, to sentence on all the questions that are stirred up in the royal placites.
To tell the truth, such an institution does not take on greatness and consistency except at the time when Charlemagne was sublimated to the empire, since as long as in the face of innumerable armies it was convenient for him to go conquering in Saxony, in Lombardy, on the Pyrenees, all Ebro, he could only indirectly apply himself to the entire administration. But crowned that he is in Rome, and with the ball in the hand of the empire, and of course the goddesses should organize the provinces, connect them to a common center, and unite to this the institution of the missi dominici, who were almost always elected from among bishops and counts. The first capitular around these royal commissioners bears the date of the second year of the empire, and deals with a general inspection of the provinces. “The most serene and most Christian emperor Charles (thus the capitular) made a choice of the most prudent and wise lords of his court, archbishops, bishops and abbots as well as laymen, sent him around his kingdom, to invite his subjects live according to the right discipline, to those committing to inquire and therefore let them know, what there may be in the laws contrary to good and justice, to oppose shelter with the help of God, and so that no one, as of it often happens, go against the written law, and harm the churches of God, the poor, widows, orphans, nor to any other Christian. Likewise so that everyone conducts himself with prudence and justice, and attends to his things and his profession, leaving aside the love of illicit gain. So that, similarly, the religious are well guarded, the laity and seculars live honestly according to their laws, without committing crimes; so that all, in sum, live in peace and charity. These messengers have the task of diligently seeking if there is anyone who has to appeal to some injustice, to thus keep the sworn faith, and to render full justice to all; and if ever any case occurs, which not even with the help of the count of the province they have been able to make it, they should write about it in clear terms in the briefs they will send to the emperor. Neither flattery, nor gifts, nor Likewise so that everyone conducts himself with prudence and justice, and attends to his things and his profession, leaving aside the love of illicit gain. So that, similarly, the religious are well guarded, the laity and seculars live honestly according to their laws, without committing crimes; so that all, in sum, live in peace and charity. These messengers have the task of diligently seeking if there is anyone who has to appeal to some injustice, to thus keep the sworn faith, and to render full justice to all; and if ever any case occurs, which not even with the help of the count of the province they have been able to make it, they should write about it in clear terms in the briefs that they will address to the emperor. Neither flattery, nor gifts, nor Likewise so that everyone conducts himself with prudence and justice, and attends to his things and his profession, leaving aside the love of illicit gain. So that, similarly, the religious are well guarded, the laity and seculars live honestly according to their laws, without committing crimes; so that all, in sum, live in peace and charity. These messengers have the task of diligently seeking if there is anyone who has to appeal to some injustice, to thus keep the sworn faith, and to render full justice to all; and if ever any case occurs, which not even with the help of the count of the province they have been able to make it, they should write about it in clear terms in the briefs that they will address to the emperor. Neither flattery, nor gifts, nor unlawful gain. So that, similarly, the religious are well guarded, the laity and seculars live honestly according to their laws, without committing crimes; so that all, in sum, live in peace and charity. These messengers have the task of diligently seeking if there is anyone who has to appeal to some injustice, to thus keep the sworn faith, and to render full justice to all; and if ever any case occurs, which not even with the help of the count of the province they have been able to make it, they should write about it in clear terms in the briefs that they will address to the emperor. Neither flattery, nor gifts, nor unlawful gain. So that, similarly, the religious are well guarded, the laity and seculars live honestly according to their laws, without committing crimes; so that all, in sum, live in peace and charity. These messengers have the task of diligently seeking if there is anyone who has to appeal to some injustice, to thus keep the sworn faith, and to render full justice to all; and if ever any case occurs, which not even with the help of the count of the province they have been able to make it, they should write about it in clear terms in the briefs that they will address to the emperor. Neither flattery, nor gifts, nor These messengers have the task of diligently seeking if there is anyone who has to appeal to some injustice, to thus keep the sworn faith, and to render full justice to all; and if ever any case occurs, which not even with the help of the count of the province they have been able to make it, they should write about it in clear terms in the briefs that they will address to the emperor. Neither flattery, nor gifts, nor These messengers have the task of diligently seeking if there is anyone who has to appeal to some injustice, to thus keep the sworn faith, and to render full justice to all; and if ever any case occurs, which not even with the help of the count of the province they have been able to make it, they should write about it in clear terms in the briefs that they will address to the emperor. Neither flattery, nor gifts, nor [76]relatives, nor fear of powerful keep them mainly from doing justice. The emperor also orders that every man of his kingdom, whether ecclesiastical or layman, renew to the sovereign the oath made to him when he was only king, and this from the age of twelve, and to all the the value of this oath that obliges him to keep faith with the emperor all the time they live, not to introduce enemies into his empire, and not to allow any infidelity to be committed against him. ”
These orders given to the royal envoys around the oath of fidelity refer, as it seems, to the original foundation of the empire, to the passage from the simple dignity of king to that of emperor. There Charlemagne also recommends that his messengers take the solemn oath that binds the peoples to the empire, with a sacramental formula which he himself imposed; and from the age of twelve to the last age, all swear this oath to the new emperor without distinction; counts, leuds and bishops, that are, absolute command to the imperial envoys to demand it from all.
To the exaltation to the empire there is an order to all missi to run the lands dependent on them with general instructions about good governance, or as they say today, the people’s police. “No one, it is said, is careful to take possession of the servants, the borders, the land, nor anything else that belongs to the emperor, and neither should he steal or hide from him his fugitive servants, who falsely and unjustly split for free, etc. ” The very extensive instructions and provisions, above every police point, are a way of administrative ordering in the exaltation of the emperor, since after the oath it was necessary to make known the wishes of the new lord, and to consolidate the action of the his vigilance over the whole empire. Then, having established this political order, Provisions for the clergy soon follow, but the two civil and ecclesiastical orders are always mixed and confused together. “The bishops, the abbots, and the abbesses, should have their lawyers, and vice lords, and centurions versed in the laws, lovers of justice, peaceful and good, who aim in all peace and harmony to end the disputes according to the law. The counts and the centurions should call everyone before them, to render justice to all, and keep as subordinates persons who faithfully observe the law, who do not oppress the poor or hide for promises or gifts, or for any other reason, thieves, murders, adulterers, sorcerers, charmers, fortune tellers; but rather reveal them so that they may be punished according to the law, and the Christian people may be freed from such harassment. ” With many other similar provisions, [77]common father, the protector of the weak, and the emperor speaking paternal words that recall the forests of Lamagna, and those ancient hospitable oaks. After all, his powerful authority ought to take care of everything, and therefore he continues: “Everyone should be ready to receive our orders, and if anyone claims as a pretext that he was not ready when our order arrived, let him be translated to ours. palace. Let everyone offer help to our messengers so that good justice is done. Perjury is strictly forbidden, since it is necessary to eradicate this abominable crime from the womb of Christianity; if it is proved that anyone has sworn falsely, he loses his right hand, and is deprived of his assets, until our further decision.
Then come the laws concerning the custody of the forests, and places of pastime and banished by the emperor, and all these laws are very strict, as usual in primitive civilizations, and entrusted to the vigilance of the royal messengers.
The missi dominici were therefore, as can be seen, the organs and ministers of a great centrification [74]which had the emperor as its core, so to speak. Charlemagne wants to know everything, to know everything for himself, since being confronted with a half-barbaric and imperfect civilization, it is convenient for him to reduce everything to unity with a careful surprise. Three years later another commission is entrusted to those royal officers, and that is to bring the capitulars of the emperor to all the provinces, and to inculcate their observance. An article there seems to be special for the Bavarians, which he even though previously subjected to his empire, the one in which he wants their customs and privileges to be respected; thus preserving the conqueror the laws of the dukes of that country, although stripped of their lordship, in the way that he already had to preserve the laws of the Lombards, the Visigoths and the Saxons themselves.
These capitulars, which can be entitled the exaltation to the empire, are entrusted, for execution, to royal messengers taken from the counts and the bishops, each of whom the emperor himself indicates the itinerary [78]his, in these terms: “Archbishop Magno and Count Gotifredo will go first from Orleans to the Saône, for the shortest, then they will go to Troyes and the countryside of this city, then to Langres and from Langres to Besanzone in Burgundy , then from there to Autun and the Loire to Orleans. Fardolfo and Stefano will run through the Paris countryside, the lands of Melun, Etampes, Chartres and Poissy. The bishops Mainardo and Madelgando will flow through the Maine, the Bessinese, the Cotentino, the Avranchino, the Evreux territory, and on this same bank of the Seine, the territory of Reims as well. ” In the capitulars we have no other names of messengers than the aforementioned, but it is nevertheless no less certain that the whole territory of the empire was visited by these imperial deputies, each assigned its particular jurisdiction.
In the same year, another general commission is entrusted to the missi dominici who will flow from the empire, and the capitular to them is given by Charlemagne from the palace of Nijmegen, in the midst of the solitudes and woods of the Vaalla. This chapter, which is quite special since that which refers to times of famine, includes the principle of the two great provisions mentioned above, the uniformity of weights and measures, and the maximum, or at least the taxation. regular price of grains. Another chapter, also addressed to the royal messengers, includes even more general disciplines on placites [75], on diets and taxes. «Nobody, except the scabins and vassals of the count, is obliged to present himself at the placito, if he has no causes to be judged; and our messengers use the reverse mercy of all. The witnesses come to the placito still fasting [76] , as we already ordered in the previous capitulars, and if they ate, they can no longer testify, nor take an oath, and before making them swear they should be separately questioned. ” And so on in this capitular, everything is ordered by ordering what refers to the good and right administration of justice, except where judicial combat is admitted between the accused of false oath and the accuser; but it was the custom of the times when strength prevailed over reason.
But if on the one hand Charlemagne wants justice to be done to everyone, on the other he wishes not to be bored at home with unjust grievances, and yet the litigants do not have to resort to him except for strong and serious reasons. «Our messengers and accounts do us [79]know the litigants guilty of lies why they are punished. Cases that refer to the property or freedom of persons must not be concluded before the vicars or centurions, but rather in the presence of the imperial messengers or the count, etc. ” Then to these general formulas of law, which the envoys or royal envoys brought with them, as the summary of the sovereign intentions, Charlemagne added peculiar instructions suitable for directing them, and keeping them to mark in their office. They must then chiefly inquire of the reasons why not a few claimed to be exempt from the militia, and he summarizes them all in his instructions to them; then, to ensure that such great abuses in military service are not renewed, he touches, in a capitular, to the messengers themselves addressed, of the laws which referred to said service, with the following words. «Any free man who possesses four hands of his own, or given to him in benefit by some other, should be ready to move together with his lord, against the enemy. To those who do not have more than three mansi, a man must be added that he is the owner of one, if they understand it among themselves, and it is enough that only one of them goes to the field. Whoever has two mansi will be accompanied with whoever has two others, and they too will arrange themselves so that only one moves; and in this way four owners of one hand only for each one will accompany and arrange each other, so that only one of them has to leave. Anyone who is convinced that he did not want to dress up with another, or move against the enemy, will have to pay a fine, according to the law. If anyone claims to have stayed at home by order of the count, vicar or centurion, and having counted the money that it would have been convenient for them to use in preparing for war, our messengers will investigate whether it is true, and when so, they will condemn to a fine the one who has given the man license to stay, both also a count, a vicar, the advocate of a bishop or an abbot. Exempt from this order and from the fine are the two men left by the count left at home in the custody of his wife, and the two others still remaining to guard his possessions or for our benefit and service.[77] . For the same reason we want the count to leave two others in each of his possessions in addition to the two names to be left in the custody of his wife; but all the others must follow them to the war. The bishops and abbots, too, will not have to keep at home if not two of their laity. All our people, and that of the bishops [80]and of the abbots, who possesses goods of his or in benefits, march against the enemy at our every command, except those to whom we have allowed to remain with their lords, and if there is anyone who has paid money to get rid of them, or is remained at home with the permission of your lord, pay, as we said, a fine to our taxman. We also want our messengers to pay fines to all those, be it counts, vicars or centurions, who had to march against the enemy, and did not. Four copies of this capitular will be made, one of which to be kept in the hands of the royal messengers, and another to be delivered to the count in whose government it is to be carried out, so that neither one nor the other does anything contrary to our orders. The messengers who command the army will have the third copy,
Now that you have known this vast legislation concerning the missi dominici, you may also have curiosity to inform yourself, by examining the ancient documents, of the way in which they carried out their task; in fact we still have some reports of the same, in which the history of the administration of Charlemagne is to be sought. Here then are the formulas that these missi dominici , invested with an immeasurable mayor as they were, used with the counts, and with the abbots, legitimate holders of benefits. «Adalardo, Folrado, Unroco, and Orcolfo, put of the emperor, greet the most beloved count in the Lord. It is not unknown to your goodness that the emperor sent us, Radone, Folrado, and Unroco to this legation, to do as much as we believe appropriate, according to God’s will and his. Except that Radone, having fallen ill, found himself prevented from forming part of this deputation, in time that more than ever the need for his presence was felt, so it pleased our emperor to add Adalard and Orcolfo to us, so that all , of company, we have to get to work, according to God’s will and his, as we have just said. Having therefore entered this legation, we send you this letter, ordering you, on the part of the emperor, and begging you, on our part, to provide in all possible ways for all the things that depend on you. both to those concerning the worship of God and the service of our lord, as to those concerning the health and defense of the Christian people, being commanded thus to us as to all the other messengers, to report to him towards the middle of April , of the way in which his orders will have been carried out, so that he may give the deserved praises to those who have fulfilled him, and severely reprove those who have shown themselves recalcitrant and rebellious. And what more could we tell you? He wants us not only to report to him that he has violated his orders, but also to him to report to him in mid-April the manner in which his orders will have been carried out, so that he may give the well-deserved praises to those who have fulfilled them, and severely reproach those who have shown themselves recalcitrant and rebellious . And what more could we tell you? He wants us not only to report to him that he has violated his orders, but also to him to report to him in mid-April the manner in which his orders will have been carried out, so that he may give the well-deserved praises to those who have fulfilled them, and severely reproach those who have shown themselves recalcitrant and rebellious . And what more could we tell you? He wants us not only to report to him that he has violated his orders, but also to him [81]we point out those whose negligence aided similar fines. We therefore admonish you to re-read the capitulars, to remember the orders you have received in voice, and to put all your zeal into it, so that you will have only rewards in receiving as much from God as from your most powerful lord. We also order and exhort you, together with all your subordinates and the inhabitants of your province, to be obedient to your bishop, whether he is present, or to have his orders done to you, without neglecting to carry them out; and you do the same in your obligations towards the emperor and in everything that was ordered to you in writing or in voice. Do justice to churches, to widows, to orphans, to everyone, in short, without bad worries, without unjust profit, without delay except what is necessary, in full and irreproachable form, rightly and rightly, whether it concerns you yourself, whether it concerns any of your employees or entirely another person. The rebels or disbelievers at your orders, and those who do not want to submit to your justice, may be imprisoned by you, whatever their number, and if necessary, send them to us, or tell us the need, when we will be together. collected, so that we can put into practice against them the commands received by the emperor. If there is something in the orders you have received that you are not quite sure of, send us some intelligent man in diligence, we will explain it to you, so that you will be made clear, and send it with God’s help to execution. Also take care that none of you is found,Shut up! Shut up! let the messengers pass, and then we will do justice to each other . Justice must not be so superseded in its course, on the contrary, let all the causes be brought before us. Because if your sadness is so great, and if you have produced, up to our coming, those causes that you could have judged without our help, know that we will render very rigorous information about you [78] . Keep this letter, and read it often so that it will serve you as an instruction, and say that you may have worked just as it was written there. ”
There is nothing better than these contemporary writings to show the progress and merit of Charlemagne’s administration; they are leftovers of venerable laws and monuments, within which one must look for the customs, habits and customs of those times; the capitulars and the instructions given to one of these messengers fully narrate the [82]true spirit of the political administration of the eighth and ninth centuries. Very powerful men were these royal messengers, however that their mayor had no limits, and they commanded the accounts with the authority that they held from the emperor, and they were almost an image and symbol of Caroline unity. The most eminent of these great ambulatory magistrates was the Bishop of Orleans, of whom I touched above, named Theodolfo, who was appointed by Charlemagne to form part of the legation, in the year 811 sent to visit all the southern cities, to see if the placites were well conducted, if the Assizes were duly, if the revenue of the tax authorities were regularly collected, if the Roman cities kept their privileges or their municipalities, if the churches were subject to discipline. Theodolfo was an administrative mind of great value, a man of outstanding doctrine, and due to his origins he belonged to the Italic and Lombard school. His writings, even in verse, have a political color; he saw the two Narbonese, where he composed his poem with the title:Exhortations to the judges , to comfort them to do others good justice, and to give everyone his. However, the most noteworthy of his works is the relation of an administrative nature, of his legation in the two Narbonese; he has seen and visited everything, and gives a summary of his impressions to the emperor. In a poem about his legation in the southern provinces, he also collects his memories; he saw Nimes with its antiquities, Beziers with its Hebrews, Marseille with its municipal institutions, and he wants his journey to be kept in memory, in order to borrow a profane and Virgilian language for it.
As for the reports written by the royal envoys to the emperor about the government in general, they were read aloud at the placites and meetings of the May camp, where the high lord gathered his leuds and counts and men of arms. By means of the missi dominiciCharlemagne was informed of every slightest accident in the public administration, and he knew the customs and forces of his empire from the Ebro to the Danube. The capitulars were the great law that reduced everything to uniformity; the accounts were stable magistrates so that they could not be used to apply the law outside the places where they resided; therefore there was a need for procurators who would flow throughout the empire, with the full confidence of the prince, nor should these be men of the municipalities or provinces, but so delegates proper to the emperor who brought with them the spirit of unification of the capitulars. Whenever it was a profession of impressing a certain vigorous impulse on the surface of some vast empire, it was also a profession of
