A ''missus dominicus'' (plural ''missi dominici''),

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

for "envoy of the lord uler or ''palace inspector'', also known in

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

as Zendgraaf (

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

: ''Sendgraf''), meaning "sent

Graf (feminine: ) is a historical title of the German nobility, usually translated as "count". Considered to be intermediate among noble ranks, the title is often treated as equivalent to the British title of "earl" (whose female version is "coun ...

", was an official commissioned by the Frankish king or

Holy Roman Emperor The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans ( la, Imperator Romanorum, german: Kaiser der Römer) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period ( la, Imperat ...

to supervise the administration, mainly of justice, in parts of his dominions too remote for frequent personal visits. As such, the ''missus'' performed important intermediary functions between royal and local administrations. There are superficial points of comparison with the original Roman ''

corrector A corrector (English plural ''correctors'', Latin plural ''correctores'') is a person or object practicing correction, usually by removing or rectifying errors. The word is originally a Roman title, ''corrector'', derived from the Latin verb '' ...

'', except that the ''missus'' was sent out on a regular basis. Four points made the ''missi'' effective as instruments of the centralized monarchy: the personal character of the ''missus'', yearly change, isolation from local interests and the free choice of the king.

Reign of Charlemagne

Based on

Merovingian The Merovingian dynasty () was the ruling family of the Franks from the middle of the 5th century until 751. They first appear as "Kings of the Franks" in the Roman army of northern Gaul. By 509 they had united all the Franks and northern Gauli ...

''ad hoc'' arrangements, using the form ''missus regis'' (the "king's envoy") and sending a layman and an ecclesiastic in pairs, the use of ''missi dominici'' was fully exploited by

Charlemagne Charlemagne ( , ) or Charles the Great ( la, Carolus Magnus; german: Karl der Große; 2 April 747 – 28 January 814), a member of the Carolingian dynasty, was King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774, and the first Holy ...

(ruling 768—814), who made them a regular part of his administration, "a highly intelligent and plausible innovation in Carolingian government", Norman F. Cantor observes, "and a tribute to the administrative skill of the ecclesiastics, such as

Alcuin Alcuin of York (; la, Flaccus Albinus Alcuinus; 735 – 19 May 804) – also called Ealhwine, Alhwin, or Alchoin – was a scholar, clergyman, poet, and teacher from York, Northumbria. He was born around 735 and became the student o ...

and

Einhard Einhard (also Eginhard or Einhart; la, E(g)inhardus; 775 – 14 March 840) was a Frankish scholar and courtier. Einhard was a dedicated servant of Charlemagne and his son Louis the Pious; his main work is a biography of Charlemagne, the ''Vita ...

". The ''missi'' were at first chosen from Charlemagne's personal, most trusted entourage, of whatever social degree. Soon they were selected only from the secular and ecclesiastical nobility: the entry for 802 in the so-called Lorsch Annals (794–803) states that instead of relying on "poorer

vassal A vassal or liege subject is a person regarded as having a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch, in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. While the subordinate party is called a vassal, the dominant party is called a suzerain ...

s", Charlemagne "chose from the kingdom archbishops and bishops and abbots, with dukes and counts, who now had no need to receive gifts from the innocent, and sent them throughout his kingdom, so that they might administer justice to the churches, to widows, orphans and the poor, and to all the people." Presumably the same year the

capitulary A capitulary (Medieval Latin ) was a series of legislative or administrative acts emanating from the Frankish court of the Merovingian and Carolingian dynasties, especially that of Charlemagne, the first emperor of the Romans in the west since t ...

usually known as the '' Capitulare missorum generale'' was issued, which gives a detailed account of their duties and responsibilities. They were to execute justice, to ensure respect for the king, to control the government of the military

duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ran ...

s and administrative

count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

s (then still royal officials), to receive their oath of allegiance, to let the king's will be known, at times by distributing capitularies around the empire, and to supervise the clergy of their assigned region. In short, they were the direct representatives of the king or

. The inhabitants of the district they administered had to provide for their subsistence, and at times they led the host to battle. The ''missi'' were protected by a triple ''

wergeld Weregild (also spelled wergild, wergeld (in archaic/historical usage of English), weregeld, etc.), also known as man price (blood money), was a precept in some archaic legal codes whereby a monetary value was established for a person's life, to b ...

'' and resistance to them was punishable by death.Laughlin 1903:6. In addition special instructions were given to various ''missi'', and many of these have been preserved. As ''missi'' became a conventional part of court machinery, ''missus ad hoc'' came to signify ''missi'' sent out for some particular purpose. The districts placed under the ordinary ''missi'', which it was their duty to visit for a month at a time, four times a year, were called ''missatici'' or ''legationes'' (a term illustrating the analogy with a papal legate); the ''missatica'' (singular ''missaticum'') avoided division along the lines of the existing

diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, pro ...

s or

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''Roman province, provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire ...

s. The ''missi'' were not permanent officials, but were generally selected from the ranks of officials at the court, and during the reign of Charlemagne high-standing personages undertook this work. They were sent out collegially, usually in twos, an ecclesiastic and a layman, and were generally complete strangers to the district which they administered, to deter them from putting out local roots and acting on their own initiative, as the counts were doing. In addition extraordinary ''missi'' represented the emperor on special occasions, and at times beyond the limits of his dominions. Even under the strong rule of Charlemagne it was difficult to find men to discharge these duties impartially, and after his death in 814 it became almost impossible.

Reigns of Louis the Pious and Charles the Bald

Under Charlemagne's surviving legitimate son,

Louis the Pious Louis the Pious (german: Ludwig der Fromme; french: Louis le Pieux; 16 April 778 – 20 June 840), also called the Fair, and the Debonaire, was King of the Franks and co-emperor with his father, Charlemagne, from 813. He was also King of Aqui ...

(ruling 813–840),the process of disintegration was hastened. Once the king associated the choice of ''missi'' with the assembly of nobles, the nobles interfered in the appointment of the ''missi''. The ''missi'' were later selected from the district in which their duties lay, which led to their association with local hereditary filiations and in general a focus upon their own interests rather than that of the king. The 825 list of ''missi'' reveals that the circuits of the ''missatica'' now corresponded with provinces, strengthening local powers. The duties of ''missi'', who gradually increased in number, became merged in the ordinary work of the bishops and counts, and under the emperor

Charles the Bald Charles the Bald (french: Charles le Chauve; 13 June 823 – 6 October 877), also known as Charles II, was a 9th-century king of West Francia (843–877), king of Italy (875–877) and emperor of the Carolingian Empire (875–877). After a ...

(ruling 843–877), who was repeatedly pressured by bishops to send out ''missi'', they took control of associations for the preservation of the peace.

Louis the German Louis the German (c. 806/810 – 28 August 876), also known as Louis II of Germany and Louis II of East Francia, was the first king of East Francia, and ruled from 843 to 876 AD. Grandson of emperor Charlemagne and the third son of Louis the P ...

(ruling 843–876) is not known to have sent out ''missi''. About the end of the ninth century, with the implosion of Carolingian power, the ''missi'' disappeared from France and during the 10th century from Italy. The ''missi'' were the last attempt to preserve centralised control in the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a Polity, political entity in Western Europe, Western, Central Europe, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, dissolution i ...

. In the course of the ninth century, the forces which were making for

feudalism Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was the combination of the legal, economic, military, cultural and political customs that flourished in medieval Europe between the 9th and 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a way of structur ...

tended to produce inherited fiefdoms as the only way to ensure stability, especially in the face of renewed external aggression in the form of

Viking Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...

attacks, to which the impaired central power was demonstrated to be impotent.

Notes

Sources and external links

*''Capitulare missorum generale'' ("General Capitulary of the Missi"), Spring 802, ed. G. Pertz, MGH Cap. 1, no. 33; ed.

Boretius The ''Monumenta Germaniae Historica'' (''MGH'') is a comprehensive series of carefully edited and published primary sources, both chronicle and archival, for the study of Northwestern and Central European history from the end of the Roman Empire ...

, no. 60, p. 147; tr. H.R. Loyn and J. Percival, ''The Reign of Charlemagne''. London, 1975. pp. 73–9; tr. D.C. Munro, "General Capitulary of the Missi (802)

o. 5 O is the fifteenth letter of the modern Latin alphabet. O may also refer to: Letters * Օ օ, (Unicode: U+0555, U+0585) a letter in the Armenian alphabet * Ο ο, Omicron, (Greek), a letter in the Greek alphabet * O (Cyrillic), a letter of the ...

. In ''Translations and Reprints from the Original Sources of European history''. Vol. 6. Philadelphia, University of Pennsylvania Press, 1900. pp. 16–8
Available online
*''Capitularia missorum speciale'', ed. G. Pertz, MGH Cap. 1, no. 34; tr. H.R. Loyn and J. Percival, ''The Reign of Charlemagne''. London, 1975. pp. 79–82. *Lorsch Annals, ed.

G. Pertz G is the seventh letter of the Latin alphabet. G may also refer to: Places * Gabon, international license plate code G * Glasgow, UK postal code G * Eastern Quebec, Canadian postal prefix G * Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne, Australia, ...

, MGH Scriptores 1. entry for 802, pp. 38–9. *

Catholic Encyclopaedia The ''Catholic Encyclopedia: An International Work of Reference on the Constitution, Doctrine, Discipline, and History of the Catholic Church'' (also referred to as the ''Old Catholic Encyclopedia'' and the ''Original Catholic Encyclopedia'') i ...

(passim)

Reign of Charlemagne

Reigns of Louis the Pious and Charles the Bald

Notes

Sources and external links

Further reading

See also