The Capitularies of Charles the Bald represent a series of acts implemented by
King Charles to decide and promulgate laws governing public affairs.
Capitularies
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 ...
were used extensively by the Merovingian and Carolingian rulers (see the
Capitularies of Charlemagne) to provide guidance to counts and their subordinate officers in the far-flung reaches of the empire.
[Christian Pfister (1911). " Capitulary" . In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). ''Encyclopædia Britannica''. 5. (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 282-283.]
Hincmar
Hincmar (; ; la, Hincmarus; 806 – 21 December 882), archbishop of Reims, was a Frankish jurist and theologian, as well as the friend, advisor and propagandist of Charles the Bald. He belonged to a noble family of northern Francia.
Biography E ...
, as chief advisor to Charles, was particularly adept at coordinating and disseminating the capitularies, soliciting maximum input from all sources. While numerous capitularies were issued by Charles, two important ones stand out:
*
Capitulary of Servais of 854, dispatching ''
Missi'' to protect and secure the realm
*
Capitulary of Quierzy The Capitulary of Quierzy () was a capitulary of the emperor Charles II, comprising a series of measures for safeguarding the administration of his realm during his second Italian expedition, as well as directions for his son Louis the Stammerer, w ...
of 877, providing guidance for protecting the realm during Charles’ absence.
A complete list of capitularies was provided by
Jacques Sirmond in his 1623 history.
See also
*
Treaty of Coulaines
References
{{Reflist
Sources
* Nelson, Janet Laughland, ''Charles the Bald'', Longman Press, 1992
* Herlihy, David (Editor), ''The History of Feudalism'', Springer, 1971 (available o
Google Books
* Jacques Sirmond, ''Karoli Calvi et successorum aliquot Franciae regum capitula'', 1623
* ''Capitulary'',
The Encyclopædia Britannica, 11th Edition, Cambridge, 1911
Administrative law
Carolingian Empire