The Edict of Pîtres - translation

Edict of Pîtres – translation © Simon Coupland

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THE EDICT OF PÎTRES (864)

1. We give you many thanks for the faithfulness and goodwill which you continually display to us

through all your help and obedience, just as your ancestors did to our ancestors, and for largely keeping

the peace which we affirmed and had recognised here together two years ago.1 Since then the agreement

has been upheld in many places, and most of you have observed it, though not all of you, as we had

hoped. We also thank you for coming to this our assembly in such numbers and in peace.

2. And because we can see and have experienced your goodwill in these and other matters, it is with

great confidence that we remind you to keep the peace and to labour manfully, unfailingly and

unremittingly on the defensive works which we have begun here against the Northmen,2 the common

enemies of God, His holy church, and ourself. For you know how it would have helped us if we had had

these fortifications built here when, as you know, we struggled together against them with such

difficulty at Meaux,3 until God, in His mercy, saw fit to assist us in a clear sign of His compassion.

3. And because we have learned that what we, with the agreement and advice of our retainers, decreed

and had you recognise here two years ago4 has been willingly heard and accepted, we wish to make

known to you in writing what we, with the consent and counsel of our retainers, have also decreed here

and now, for our common well-being, peace and honour, so that you can note it more thoroughly, and,

by having recourse to the written copy which we have ordered to be distributed to each county, where it

will be read out and retained, maintain it more resolutely and observe it more faithfully. We also wish it

to be conveyed by the bishops or their officers to every county in their dioceses in straightforward

language, so that it can be understood by everyone.


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* * * * * *

The Edict.

Charles, by the grace of God King. We wish it to be known by all those who are faithful to God and to

ourself that we, with the agreement and advice of our retainers, have now established the following

decrees in this our assembly on June 25th in the year of Our Lord Jesus Christ’s Incarnation 864, that is,

by His grace, the twenty-fifth year of our reign, the twelfth Indiction, in this place, which is called Pîtres,

and that we command that they be observed throughout our kingdom by all men, without any dissent.

1. Firstly, with regard to the inviolability of churches, priests, and servants of God, and the immunity of

church possessions, we decree that no-one shall take for himself any of these things in defiance of our

command, and “the counts shall assist the bishops and church officers in their duties,” as is written in a

capitulary of our predecessors and ancestors, in the twenty-third chapter of the second book.5 And if any

of the counts or servants of the state should fail to observe what we command, and does not mend his

ways after being reprimanded for this on two occasions, it is our wish that negligence on the part of a

count be brought to our attention by the bishops or by our representatives, while negligence by others

should be brought to our notice by the counts, so that by our authority these men are forced to submit to

what is contained in our predecessors’ capitulary.

2. Next, with regard to the rights of orphans and widows, the royal laws, and particularly those who

ravish widows, girls, and nuns, and concerning those who dare to flog priests, and who are not afraid to

throw priests out of churches or to take them in without the bishops’ consent, or to charge rent on a

holiday or on things which were given to the churches under immunity by our lord and father in his

capitularies, and who refuse to pay rents on church property to the churches: such people shall be

thoroughly investigated by our representatives and counts and vigorously stopped, and thus there shall


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be complete justice, in accordance with what is laid down in the capitularies of our father and

grandfather. And let these people, who hold both divine and human laws in contempt, and who neither

fear God nor are afraid to act against the holy canons and to break the law and the King’s precepts, be

brought before us by law, so that, with the advice of men faithful to God and to ourself, we can then

ordain what is to be done with such people by means of the valid discipline of the church and the

punishment of the bishops’ penance.6

3. Let the law be upheld by all, together with justice for every man in his situation. And let all men, when

in their county, when coming to the assembly or leaving it, and when the need arises for us to summon

our army to the appointed place, following custom and our predecessors’ capitularies, thus take care7 to

keep the peace which we, by common consent, affirmed with our own hands, before God as our witness,

when we held our assembly here.8 And if anyone deliberately transgresses against this affirmation and

fails to put right immediately what has been done in breach of it, we order that this be reported to us by

our bishops, counts and representatives, so that we can be sure to correct such disrespect for God,

ourself, and the whole of Christianity, according to what we find in divine and human laws, so that -

God forbid! - we are not condemned by the Lord by our own judgement. And if anyone does

contemptuously violate our public affirmation and will not put matters right, our bishops, counts and

representatives shall see that we do not learn of this violation from anyone other than those whose

responsibility it is, because if we do hear of it from anyone else, as we should not, then just as they will

not be free from fault, so neither will they be free from punishment.

4. It is our wish and express command to our counts that, as it is written in the twenty-fourth chapter of

the second book of our forebears’ capitularies,9 “those vassals who serve ourself and our wife shall

receive due respect from all men, as has often been declared by our father and ourself.” And just as the


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counts themselves wish to be held in esteem by ourself and our servants, as was customary in our

ancestors’ days, so shall they, too, show the respect that is due.

5. It is our wish and express command to our counts that both our demesne estates and the monastic

estates which have been granted or given to our wife and our sons and daughters, and which lie under

immunity, shall be duly revered and protected in their counties. Moreover our own men and theirs, who

are without distinction also ours, shall be able to manage these estates with due honour in safety. And

our counts and representatives shall neither forget nor fail to recognise us, since the Lord of Lords says

of himself: “I will honour those who honour me, and those who despise me shall not be esteemed.”10

6. And because human frailty is more inclined to act in breach of justice than in pursuit of it, and because

the Devil is continually striving to close the eyes of the mind to human frailty, lest man perceive God’s

punishment and mend their ways, it has come to our knowledge that certain unreliable men from those

counties which have been ravaged by the Northmen, and in which they had homes, possessions and

slaves, are doing wrong virtually unchecked, because they no longer have their homes and slaves there.

And because they own nothing by which they could be induced to submit to justice, or so they say, and

because they own no homes where they could be summonsed and brought to court in accordance with

the law, they say that they cannot legally be convicted by summons or lawsuit and lawfully judged. And

so to combat their evil tricks we decree, with the agreement and advice of our retainers, that the count

shall send his representative to the area where they used to own homes, and shall order him to summons

them and bring them to court. And because the law exists by public consent and royal decree, the Franks

shall swear that they have been lawfully summonsed and brought to court in order to submit to justice

and comply with it, in accordance with our royal command, and so this property will be seized by the

judgement of the lawmen, and if necessary, anyone who refuses to appear and to submit to justice will


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be outlawed. And the count who has carried this out shall inform the other count, in whose district the

man holds possessions and slaves, what then has to be done, and shall command him, on our orders, to

compel the man to return to his own county to submit to justice and comply with it, using the things

which the man owns in his county.

7. We have also heard that untrustworthy men are likewise practising robbery and lawlessness in other

counties, and after performing these wicked actions there, returning to the county in which they live, but

where they never do such evil deeds. We therefore command and expressly order our counts that those

counts in whose districts such men perpetrate their lawless acts shall inform those counts in whose

districts they take refuge, and with one mind, one accord and one aim they shall arise and strive to catch

such men, so that the church of God and its ministers, the servants of God and the people can live in

quiet.

8. No unadulterated denarii of the correct weight from any mint shall be refused anywhere in our

kingdom before St Martin’s Day, as it is written in the thirty-second chapter of the fourth book of the

capitularies of our royal predecessors and ancestors.11 And in all towns, villages and estates throughout

our kingdom, whether they be our demesne properties, or under immunity or the counts’ jurisdiction, or

belong to our vassals or to anyone else, let a number of the local inhabitants and temporary residents,

depending on the number of estates and villages, be appointed by our judges and those who own the

estates, together with the officers of the state, and given responsibility to see that good denarii are not

rejected, nor any coins accepted which are not of the correct weight and unadulterated.

9. And let those who have responsibility in this way swear an oath that they will, to the best of their

knowledge and ability, faithfully comply with the duties imposed upon them in this matter, and will not


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conceal a man whom they know to have refused an unadulterated denarius of the correct weight, but

will bring him to the attention of the officers of the state. And if anyone is convicted of breaking this

oath, let him be punished in accordance with secular law as a perjurer, as it is written at the end of the

tenth chapter of the third book of our forebears and ancestors’ capitularies,12 and let him also be subject

to public penance in accordance with ecclesiastical law.

10. From that same St Martin’s Day only unadulterated denarii of the correct weight of our new

coinage shall be accepted throughout our kingdom. And “anyone who produces a different denarius

during trading from that day onwards shall have it taken away from him by the count or his officers,” as

it is written in the eighteenth chapter of the second book of capitularies.13

11. The denarii of our new coinage shall have on one side our title in a circle, with the monogram of our

name in the middle, while on the other side they shall have the name of the town, and in the centre a

cross.

12. Following the custom of our predecessors, as can be found in their capitularies,14 we decree that

there shall not be a mint anywhere in our entire kingdom other than in our palace, and at Quentovic,

Rouen (whose mint belongs to Quentovic by ancient custom), Reims, Sens, Paris, Orléans, Chalon-sur-

Saône, Melle and Narbonne.

13. Let those people in whose districts mints will then be situated select reliable moneyers without

favour, greed or gain, if they wish to have God’s favour and our own. And the moneyers shall swear

that they will faithfully do their duty to the best of their knowledge and ability. And they shall neither

mint adulterated or underweight denarii, nor allow such denarii to be minted. And they shall refine the


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silver which they receive for purification without any fraud or evil trick against those whose silver it is,

and shall exchange denarii without any cheating during either weighing or purification. And if anyone is

believed to have broken this oath, he shall submit to an ordeal, and if he is convicted of having done this,

because it is no less a crime to defraud the state or the church of their silver, or the poor of their

possessions, by some evil trick during the recoinage and purification of silver, than it is to mint an

adulterated and underweight denarius, he shall lose his hand, as it is laid down for coin forgers in the

thirty-third chapter of the fourth book of capitularies,15 and shall be subject to public penance by the

bishops’ judgement as a blasphemer and a robber of the poor. And in those areas where judgements are

determined by Roman law, he shall be sentenced in accordance with that law.

14. And on 1st July of this twelfth Indiction let every count in whose district we have commanded there

to be a mint bring to the town of Senlis his viscount and two other men who own property and slaves or

benefices in his county, and let him have his moneyer with them, so that there they can pass on to him

five pounds by weight of pure silver from our treasury for each moneyer’s work, so that he can use it to

begin minting. And let each moneyer return to our treasury minted denarii of the same weight as the

silver which he received from our treasury, in the hands of the persons from whom he received it, on the

Saturday before the beginning of Lent in the said place.

15. Let nobody take this lightly in the usual way for gain or avarice, but let all men have their silver

exchanged for the prescribed coinage after 1st July, in the knowledge that throughout our kingdom from

St Martin’s Day onwards no other denarii will be acceptable apart from this our new coinage, and that

from 1st July these new denarii will be accepted by everyone. And “any free man who rejects an

unadulterated denarius of our new coinage in our realm from that day,” as it is written in the

aforementioned book and royal capitulary, “shall pay our fine, that is, sixty solidi. But if serfs of the


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church or of the counts or of our vassals presume to do this,” as it is written in the aforesaid capitulary,

“they shall receive sixty lashes.”16 Because injudicious men have been using this as an excuse when

determining punishment, we decree with the consent and counsel of our retainers that the peasants and

serfs of any master who are convicted of this shall not be beaten with a big stick, but naked with a birch.

And in towns, villages and estates the bishops shall, through their officers and priests and the officers of

the state, be responsible for seeing that the level of discipline is not exceeded in such cases, but that it is

carried out in such a way that men are punished, while at the same time those who are inflicting the

punishment do not run into sin, either deliberately or by using the chastisement as an excuse, and do not

physically harm those who are being punished. And so if someone does transgress this our decree, let it

be reported to us by the bishops, so that he can thus be punished, and nobody is then tempted to

disregard our decree. And “if their lord or master, being a free man, or the advocatus17 of such men

opposes our representative or count in the maintenance of discipline, or is unwilling to bring them before

our representative when ordered to, he shall pay the aforesaid fine of sixty solidi,” as it is written in the

aforementioned capitulary.18

16. And if after 1st July any man discovers a denarius of this our new coinage which is adulterated or

weighs less than it should, he shall detain the man who offered this coin during trading, and the man

shall say from whom he received it, and so it shall pass from hand to hand until the original forger is

reached. And any moneyer who is found to have minted an adulterated or underweight denarius shall be

judged by Roman law in those areas where judgements are based on that law, while in those areas where

judgements are not based on Roman law the moneyer of the bad denarius shall, as we said above, lose

his right hand, as it is written in the thirty-third chapter of the fourth book of capitularies.19 “And anyone

who approves of this shall pay sixty solidi if he is a free man, or be beaten naked with the birch if he is a

serf or a peasant.”


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17. Let the counts and officers of the state diligently ensure that no coinage can be made secretly or

fraudulently anywhere in their county or district. And if anyone is discovered and convicted of striking

forged money, “he shall have his hand cut off,” as was laid down concerning coin forgers in the

aforementioned capitulary of our predecessors.20 “And anyone who agrees to this shall pay sixty solidi if

he is a free man, or be beaten naked with the birch if he is a serf or a peasant.”

18. And if a coin forger is striking money either in those places where we ordered coinage to be minted,

or in secret, or if he offers a bad denarius of the new coinage during trading, and then flees for refuge to

one of our royal estates, or into an immunity or the property or district of some magnate, so that he

cannot be prosecuted or punished as it is laid down, if he flees to a royal estate, he shall be sought by

our officer. And if the latter protects him or hides him, this shall be reported to us, so that he can be

punished for this in accordance with the royal capitularies, so that nobody else ever dares to use our

authority and power to defend forgery or to agree to it. But if he takes refuge in any magnate’s

immunity, district or property, let him be treated like a man who takes refuge in an immunity after

committing robbery, murder or some other crime outside it, in accordance with what is written in the

twenty-sixth chapter of the third book of capitularies, namely: “the count or officer of state shall order

the bishop or abbot, or whoever fills the place of the bishop, abbot, abbess, or magnate into whose

district or property the man has fled, to hand the criminal over. If he refuses, and will not hand him over,

he shall be fined fifteen solidi for his first refusal. If he will not hand him over after a second request, he

shall be fined thirty solidi. And if he will not accede to yet a third request, the man who is keeping him

within the immunity and will not hand him back shall be forced to pay for all the damage that the

criminal has done, and the count shall come in person, with authority to seek the man inside the

immunity wherever he can find him. But if the response to the count’s first inquiry is that the criminal


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had previously been within the immunity, but then fled, he shall swear that he did not cause the man to

flee so as to damage anyone’s rights, and shall thus vindicate himself. And if the count enters the

immunity, or anyone’s district or property, and somebody gathers a force and tries to resist him, the

count shall report this to the king or the local lord, and the opponent shall then be judged. And just as

the man who caused damage in an immunity shall be made to pay six hundred solidi, so shall the man

who presumed to gather a force and resist the count also be fined six hundred solidi.”21

19. So that this provision concerning good denarii which should not be rejected and denarii of forged

coinage can be followed more easily and effectively, it is our wish that each count shall compile a list of

all the markets in his county, and shall be sure to tell us which markets were in existence in our

grandfather’s day, which came into being at the time of our lord and father, which were established on

his authority, which were created without his authorisation, and which came into being during our own

reign; also which are situated on their ancient sites, or, if some have been moved, by whose authority

this took place. And every count shall bring this list to us at our next assembly, so that we can decide to

what extent they are necessary and useful, which are authorised and can remain, and which are

superfluous and should be abolished, or restored to their rightful place. “And on the Lord’s Day no

markets are to be held anywhere,” as it is written in chapter one hundred and thirty-six of the first book

of capitularies.22

20. Let the count, the servants of the state, and our other vassals see that “a just modius and a fair

sextarius”23 are used for buying and selling in towns, villages and estates, in accordance with Holy

Scripture and our predecessors’ capitularies,24 and that measures are taken from our palace following

ancient practice. And this shall not be an opportunity to demand a larger modius than usual from tenant

farmers or from those who owe rent. And the men who will have sworn responsibility for denarii in the


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estates shall also see that measures are not altered, as it is written in the ninetieth chapter of the third

book of capitularies.25 And if someone is believed to have altered a measure, and to have used either a

large modius or sextarius when taking wine or corn, or a small measure when selling, if he is a free man,

he can prove himself innocent of this by an oath, according to his law, or, if he is convicted of having

done this, having commanded it to be done, or having agreed to it, then the wine and corn which he

measured dishonestly shall be taken away from him by the officers of the state, and he shall also pay our

fine, that is, sixty solidi. But if a peasant or serf is thought to have done this, he shall either undergo an

ordeal, or, if he is found guilty, shall lose what he measured dishonestly, as we said above, and his naked

body shall also be flogged with the birch. And whether it be a free man, a peasant, or a serf who is

convicted of this, he shall submit to the bishops’ judgement after his punishment by law, for the Lord

prohibited such practices, saying: “Who did not give out his money at interest”,26 for which the kingdom

of God closes and hell opens up. This sin is reckoned among those mortal sins of which the apostle Paul

says that the Christian is not permitted “to eat food with such a person” as he who commits them,27 and

the holy Nicene canons command clergy to lose their orders for it. For such a crime worldly men lose

their lives, while clergy lose their ecclesiastical office. Yet the officers of the state must be careful not to

take away the belongings of free men, peasants or serfs unjustly, using this as an excuse for some evil

trick, inspired by greed. For if a complaint about this comes to us, and they are found guilty, they shall

pay for this miscarriage of justice in the same way as those who practise injustice in office. But in the

areas where judgements are passed in accordance with Roman law, such offenders shall be judged by

that law, since neither we nor our ancestors have passed any capitularies in addition to that law or

contrary to it. Likewise the officers of the state shall see that in the towns, villages and markets those

who sell baked bread or meat by the denarius, or wine by the sextarius, will not be able to cheat or sell

short. But in each town let the officers of the bishop, abbot or count get the bakers who sell bread to

make as many standard-size loaves of a fair modius as they have from their bakers, and if they are found


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to be cheating or selling short, let them be punished according to their measure, as we said above. And if

the men who are supposed to have the responsibility that no bad measures are used are convicted of

perjury, because they swore that they would not consent to this, they shall be punished in accordance

with the law, as it is written at the end of the tenth chapter of the third book of capitularies,28 and

afterwards they shall receive the public penance for perjury from the bishops.

21. Because we have remitted the fine for the rejection of good denarii for the past three years,29 it is

our wish that the pledges of payment should now be made good, using the discretion which we

recommended to our representatives. And where no payment was promised, it shall now be pledged and

delivered, so that by this and by the punishment laid down people are forced to stop refusing good

denarii from now on. And because we have heard that some have used this opportunity to take more

from the poor in fulfilment of their pledge than the fine amounts to, we wish this to be diligently

investigated by our representatives. And anyone who takes more from them than we ordered shall be

made to pay it back to them, and our representatives shall bring such people before us without any

excuses, so that they can be chastised by our royal punishment, and are no longer tempted to oppress the

poor by such deception.

22. No other fine shall be imposed upon peasants who have already been flogged, or are to be flogged,

for refusing good denarii; and if anything of theirs has been taken from them by anyone for this, he shall

be compelled by our representatives to pay it back. And anyone who owns benefices or allodial lands in

two, three or four counties, but not enough there for him to pay the full fine, let them inform our

representatives of this, and they shall carefully note this down and report it to us, so that we can use our

discretion to decide how large a fine the punishment shall be, without the man being excessively and

unjustly burdened, since Holy Scripture says: “it is not the gift which we seek from there, but the


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fruit,”30 that is, it is not dishonest gain which we seek from them, but through their chastisement the

benefit of the kingdom.31 And it is not for the poor alone, but also for the rich that we wish to command

the discretion ordained in the fourth book of capitularies by our royal predecessors, who in the fifty-

seventh chapter decided: “Let a debt for which payment is pledged to us be examined, such that a man

who sinned out of ignorance is not forced to pay all that the law requires, but only what is seen to be

possible. But a man who sinned just as much, but wickedly and wilfully, shall be forced to pay the full

penalty of the law.”32

23. Henceforth let no-one in our kingdom presume to make an alloy of gold or silver to sell, or agree to

this, and after St Remigius’s Day, that is, 1st October, nobody is to offer gold or silver to buy or sell,

except for purification. And if, after 1st October, anyone is found carrying an alloy of gold or silver, or

any jewellery of gold or silver alloy to buy or sell, what he is carrying shall be taken off him by the

officers of the state. And if he owns no property or slaves in that county, he shall be brought before us

with the gold or silver by guarantors, so that we can decide how he should be sentenced. But if he does

own property, slaves or goods in that county which can be used by law to punish him, he shall be

ordered to appear before us in accordance with the law. And if anyone is discovered carrying his gold or

silver, or any jewellery made of gold or silver, to the smith to be purified, the officers of the state shall

see that they do not use this as an excuse to take from him what is his. But if they do this, and an

objection about it reaches us, whoever committed this injustice in his county or district shall appear

before ourself or our vassals and be punished. But a smith who is convicted of mixing or adulterating

gold or silver to buy or sell after the said date shall be punished in accordance with Roman law in those

areas where judgements are determined by that law, while in the other regions of our kingdom he shall

lose his hand for minting forged money, in accordance with royal capitularies.33 And any free man who

agrees to this shall pay our fine, that is, sixty solidi, as it is written in the said capitulary; a peasant or


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serf shall be flogged naked with the birch. But if the culprit is a Jew, he shall lose the alloy which he

produced as well as paying our fine, as was customary in our predecessors’ day.

24. Nowhere in our land shall a pound of refined gold be sold for more than twelve pounds of pure

silver in new denarii. And gold which has actually been refined, but not enough to be suitable for

making gilt, shall be worth ten pounds of pure silver in new denarii for each pound of gold. And the

counts and all other officers of the state, if they wish to enjoy public office, shall make utterly certain

that nothing is sold for more than it should be using any surcharge or fraud as an excuse. And anyone

who is found to have weakened or falsified this our decree by any trick, or to have changed it in any

other way, shall pay our fine, that is, sixty solidi, if he is a free man, while a serf or peasant shall be

flogged naked with the birch.

25. As it is written in the aforesaid capitularies, in the seventy-fifth chapter of the third book, “let

nobody presume to give or sell byrnies or weapons abroad without royal permission,”34 and in chapter

six of the same book those places in the kingdom are designated where merchants “can take byrnies and

weapons for sale and sell them, but if they are discovered taking them or selling them beyond that, all

their stock shall be confiscated, and half of it shall go to the palace, while the other half shall be divided

between the royal representatives and the man who found this out.”35 Now the Northmen have come to

our land because of our sins, and are being both given byrnies, weapons and horses by our people in

ransoms, and also sold them out of greed for gain, and as they are being given for one man’s ransom, or

sold at a low price, the result is that they are afforded help against us, terrible damage is being done to

our kingdom, many churches of God are being destroyed and even more Christians robbed, and the

resources of the church and the kingdom are being drained. We therefore decree with the agreement and

advice of our retainers that after 1st July of this twelfth Indiction whoever gives a byrnie, a horse, or any


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weapon to the Northmen for any reason, either as a ransom or at any price, shall pay with his life as a

traitor to his country and as one who sells Christianity36 to the heathen for its destruction, without any

chance of pardon or redemption. All this shall be swiftly made known to all by our representatives and

counts, so that they cannot claim ignorance as an excuse.

26. Let the Frankish countrymen who own, or could own, horses join the army with their counts, and let

nobody, neither a count nor any officer of the state, use force, unjustified oppression, or any evil trick to

take away from such Franks their property or their horses so that they cannot make up the army and

deliver the mounts which by ancient custom they owe to the state. And if any count or officer of the

state is convicted of doing this, he shall be forced to pay for it, in accordance with what is written in the

royal capitularies about those who commit injustice in their county or district.37

27. According to the royal capitulary which our lord and father passed in the sixteenth year of his reign,

the seventh chapter,38 the counts and “our representatives shall diligently investigate how many free men

live in each county who could between them make up a squadron, how many who could help another

man to do so, how many who could be helped and equipped by two others, how many who could be

helped and equipped by four others, so that they could make up a military squadron, and the number

shall be brought to our attention,” so that those who are unable to join the army can work on new

fortifications, bridges and swamp crossings, following ancient practice and the custom of other nations,

and can do guard duty in the fortifications and in the border area: let all men come to the defence of the

country without any excuses. And if any of these men desert the army, they shall pay the fine for

desertion, given the discretion described in the fourteenth chapter of the third book of our forefathers’

capitularies.39 And anyone who fails to come to the defence of the country shall be judged in accordance

with ancient custom and what is laid down in the capitularies.40


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28. Those Franks who owe the King poll tax or rent on their property shall not commend themselves to

the church or to anyone else’s service without our permission, so that the state does not lose what it is

owed by them. And if they wish to dedicate themselves or their goods to the church or to anyone else’s

service without our permission, the counts and their deputies shall not agree to this, but will prevent it

by our authority, in accordance with what is written about those who wish to commend themselves into

serfdom for robbery in a capitulary of our grandfather.41 And if they act in breach of our authority, those

who take them in shall pay our fine, that is, sixty solidi. And if they wish to have them as their vassals,

or to retain the property on which rent was due to the King, they shall pay our royal treasury the sum

which was owed by those Franks or due on their property, as it is written in chapters fifteen and eighty-

six of the aforesaid third book of capitularies, and in chapter thirty-six of book four.42 And because “at

first the law was stricter, but later it was bound to become more lenient,” as it says in the holy rules of

the church,43 after this, as we said earlier, the aforesaid capitularies of our forebears and ancestors did

not prevent Frankish men from giving or selling their property to the church or to others, or dedicating

them to the service of God if they wished, as it is written in the first book of capitularies, chapters 132

and 134,44 and the second book, chapter thirty-one and book four, chapter nineteen.45 And if any of

these Franks wishes to give away or sell his property, we will not stop him as long as the royal

administration does not lose without reason what it is owed, since we do not wish to impose on

everyone those unjust practices which have recently been introduced, and which we see to have been

prohibited in the forty-seventh chapter of the fourth book of capitularies.46 And with regard to those

who live in accordance with Roman law, we do not prescribe anything which is not contained in those

same laws.

29. Those peasants on either royal or ecclesiastical estates who do not deny that in accordance with


17

ancient tradition they owe cartage and manual labour, as it is written in the polyptychs, but who refuse

to cart marl or anything else which they do not like, because marl was not yet transported much in the

old days, but only began to be carted in many places during the reigns of our father and grandfather, and

who are unwilling to thresh in the barn for their labour duty, while not denying that they owe it, shall

cart whatever they are told to for their cartage duty, without any argument. And in the same way they

are to perform whatever manual labour they are told to, without any argument.

30. Because the peasants in some places on both royal and ecclesiastical estates are selling their

hereditary land, that is, their tenures, not only to their fellows, but also to recognised clergy, country

priests, and all sorts of other people, and only retaining the homestead, and because estates are being

destroyed by this, so that not only can the rents which are due no longer be collected from there, but

also the lands belonging to the individual holdings can no longer be recognised, we therefore decree that

the command shall go out from our officers and the ministers of the church that this shall no longer

happen at all, so that estates shall not be broken up or confused. And anything which has been sold by

anyone from any holding without the permission of the lords or masters shall be taken back and restored

to the holdings from which the lands were sold, and where the rent is in arrears because of some

people’s inability to pay their dues as tenants; and the demesne rent shall be levied on each holding in

proportion to the quantity and quality of the lands and vineyards belonging to it after they have all been

restored.

31. Concerning those people who have come from the areas which have been laid waste by the

Northmen, we decree that, as it is written in a capitulary of our grandfather, the Emperor Charles,47 in

each county the count shall make a list of their names and lords. And he shall allow those newcomers

who have been living in the county since the reign of our father or grandfather to remain there,


18

according to the custom of those days. But the representatives of the bishops and the state shall force

those who recently fled from here to other regions because of persecution by the Northmen to come

back here from there, but without oppressing them or demanding any tax or tribute from them. And they

shall also have permission to put in trust whatever they have acquired there by their service or gained by

any fair means. And those who do not intend to profit at all from working in the vineyards should all

have reached their homes by 1st September, but those who earn some money in the vineyards there

should have got back to this area eight days after St Remigius’s Day, and in future shall provide for

themselves here, and serve their lord. But if necessary they may return to their lodgings there on St

Martin’s Day, and are permitted to remain there until 1st April, when they shall return to their native

region and their lord’s district, where they must stay until mid-May, for the sowing. Then if it is

necessary they may go back to their lodgings, before returning to their own land for the harvest, where

they shall remain thereafter. But if a man or a woman from this region married a wife or husband there,

the marriage shall be dissolved, as it is neither lawful nor legal, as Leo shows in his decrees, and St

Gregory in his letters.48 And every master shall receive his slave back, male or female, and shall make

them marry a person from his district. And if children have been born, they shall follow the mother, in

accordance with that law.

32. Counts who are neighbours or share the same borders shall not hold court on the same day, if it can

be avoided, particularly following the Sunday after Easter, because the Frankish men and advocati

cannot get to both meetings. Let them rather send each other envoys, and if one is holding court on a

Monday, let the other hold court on the Thursday, or the Monday of the following week. And so that

the count who postpones his meeting suffers no disadvantage, whoever holds court first in one year shall

agree to the other holding it first the year after. And if it so happens that the legal oaths are to be sworn

on the Monday after Easter, or on other days when the court should be held, each count shall send his


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representative to witness the oaths, so that the men are not considered to be defaulters. And he shall

hold court at such a time that both his bargildi49 and the advocati who have cases in other counties can

attend his court.

33. And because the oaths to be sworn by law are witnessed after forty nights, and because it is stated in

the said capitularies of our predecessors and ancestors that “after the count and the men of his district

have returned from any military expedition, let the proclamation of resisus, which in the German

language is called scaftlegi, that is, the laying down of arms, be made forty nights from that day,”50

many people disagree about this, and fail to swear their oaths. And others wish to swear the oath on the

fortieth day after they witness the oath, and disagree to such an extent that even if the fortieth day falls

within the holy fast of Lent, they argue that they should swear their oath, and default against their

suitors if the latter fail to come and witness them. For they count the days, but not the nights as well,

just as the days and not the nights are counted from the Lord’s Nativity to the Purification of Mary, and

from the Lord’s Resurrection to his Ascension. For the Purification of Mary is celebrated on the fortieth

day after the Lord’s Nativity, and the Lord’s Ascension, which is on a Thursday, the fifth day of the

week, on the fortieth day after His Resurrection, which is on a Sunday. And as for days without

reference to nights, the Lord says through the prophet Jonah: “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be

overthrown.”51 But forty days including the nights are counted in the fasts of the prophet Elijah and of

Moses, when he received the law for the second time,52 and in the fast of the Lord himself.53 But these

make it six weeks, that is, forty-two days, from the beginning of Lent, which is a Sunday, to the Lord’s

Resurrection, which is also a Sunday. And they are the fruit of God’s revelation, through whom those

who wrote the laws established what was right. We therefore decree, with the agreement and advice of

our retainers, that forty days and forty nights after the day when the oath was witnessed, that is, on the

forty-second day, the same day of the week as when the oath was witnessed, but six weeks later, just as


20

Easter falls on the same day of the week as the beginning of Lent, the man who lawfully witnessed the

oath shall lawfully swear his oath in the appointed place, as it is written in our forebears and ancestors’

books of capitularies,54 and as is being correctly practised in some areas, so we hear. And henceforth let

there be no disagreements or delays by anyone in our kingdom on account of this. And if anyone

presumes to treat this our decree with contempt, he shall pay our fine of sixty solidi. And if that day falls

within the holy fast of Lent, let no-one dare to swear during Lent the oath which he witnessed, since we

have already seen and heard God’s judgement made plain on account of this. And if anyone presumes to

do this he shall likewise pay our fine, and also submit to the bishops’ penance. And we command that

Lent be observed from the Wednesday, that is, the start of the fast55, as well as the day on which the

penitent shall publicly receive his penance, until the holy Resurrection, in accordance with ancient

tradition. But anyone who witnesses an oath before the keeping of Lent, and does not have forty days

and forty nights before Lent itself, shall wait until the Monday eight days after Easter without any legal

penalty or being in default, and then lawfully perform what he lawfully witnessed.

34. It is our wish that all those faithful to God and to ourself know how some of our counts asked for

our advice concerning those Frankish men who owe the royal poll tax as well as the rent on their small

estates, and who are driven to sell themselves into serfdom at a time of famine. We have therefore

discussed with the bishops and with the rest of those faithful to God and to ourself what we should do

about this. And in this present edict we decree what we discovered and decided about this with them,

that is, that we cannot find anything explicitly referring to this in the Salic Law, but in the twenty-ninth

chapter of the third book of capitularies it is written concerning the free man “who places himself in

another’s power instead of a pledge of payment, and once he is in this situation inflicts injury on

somebody else, that the man who accepted him instead of a pledge of payment shall either pay for the

damage or release the man after taking him to court, at the same time as losing the debt for which he


21

accepted him as a surety. And the man who caused the injury and who has been discharged shall be

forced to make amends according to the nature of the offence. And if he has a free wife, and they have

children before he mortgages himself, they shall remain free.”56 And we read in the law written by the

hand of God that if our brother is in difficulties, and sells himself into slavery, he shall serve the man

who bought him for six years, and in the seventh shall be released as a free man without paying

anything.57 This holy lesson both morally edifies those who look upon it, and illuminates with a higher

meaning those who understand it. And there are several chapters in the law laid down by our

predecessors and the most illustrious emperors about those who are compelled by hunger or some other

shortage to sell their children, which we did not deem it necessary to repeat here.58 However, we did

judge it necessary to reproduce the capitulary which we found most in agreement with the holy rules of

the church, where it says: “We wish the following to be observed by every freeborn man who is forced

to sell himself or his children in time of famine or some other shortage: if the buyer paid five solidi, he

shall be given six; if ten, he shall likewise receive twelve; or if more, the price shall continue to increase

in the ratio given above.”59 But Saint Gregory also says of those free men who are captured by pagans,

that if anyone ransoms them, those who have been ransomed shall see to it that they give their purchaser

the full price that was paid for their redemption, and then they can remain at liberty.60 But if the church

buys them back, they shall be freed without paying anything. And with the agreement and advice of our

retainers we command by our royal authority that this be observed throughout our kingdom. And if

anyone says that he does not wish to pay the price of a free man at a time of famine or some other

shortage, if he cannot always keep the man as his serf, let him notice what the Lord says to him through

his apostle: “Anyone who has the things of this world and sees his brother in need, and closes his heart

against him, God’s love shall not abide in him.”61 And anyone who does not have this love, even if he

gives himself up to martyrdom or to be burned, cannot obtain the remission of his sins without this love,

nor can he possibly enter the kingdom of God, since his heart is hardened against giving up for God his


22

denarii or his corn, which he received from God, when He poured out Himself and His blood for him on

the cross, pierced by the lance and the nails. And because the minds of men who do not fear God devise

many evils at the Devil’s prompting, it can happen that those who take such free men into serfdom when

they are driven, as we said, by necessity, dispose of them and sell them in other regions. We therefore

decree, with the counsel and consent of our retainers, what we find ordained in ancient laws,62 that if

anyone presumes in this way to take people and sell them either to foreign nations or across the sea, the

man who dares to do this in breach of our statutes shall pay the established royal fine. And if a man who

was free until be became a serf in this way had children by a free woman, they shall remain free, as it is

written in the aforesaid twenty-ninth chapter of the third book of our predecessors and forefathers’

capitularies” concerning someone who commits himself into somebody else’s power instead of a pledge

of payment,”63 or by what is laid down in Roman law for those who live in accordance with that.

35. Our counts should know “that we are sending our representatives into every county to investigate

what efforts the counts are taking to implement our command, especially with reference to those things

which we have now ordained,” as it is written in the second book of our predecessors and ancestors’

capitularies, in chapter eighteen, “and we command before us, and shall give the reason why he has been

either unwilling or unable to do what we commanded, or if he could not do it because something

prevented him, why he did not report this difficulty to us at the time. For if he was unwilling, or if his

inability was a result of his negligence, we wish to find somebody else who would be willing and able to

perform what we command.”64

36. As it is written in the twenty-fourth chapter of the second book of the capitularies of our

predecessors and forebears, “it is our wish that the archbishops, together with the counts from their

dependent towns, should receive from our chancellor, either in person or through their representatives,


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those capitularies which we have laid down now and at other times in consultation with our retainers.

And each man shall have them transcribed throughout his diocese for the other bishops, abbots and

counts, and all our other vassals, and shall read them out in their counties with everyone present, so that

our will and our decree can be made known to all, but our chancellor shall note down the names of the

bishops and counts who take the trouble to collect them, and shall bring these names to our attention, so

that no-one presumes to disregard this.”65

37. And because our vassals are busy building defensive works on the Seine and elsewhere, and because

the men who were travelling across the Seine in both directions destroyed the lodge which last year we

ordered to be constructed here, on the pretext that our vassals were beginning to live in it, contrary to

the respect that is due, now that we have had this lodge rebuilt, by the efforts and at the expense of our

men, it is our wish and express command that no-one else shall presume to dwell in this lodge, unless it

is at our command, the same as in our palace, nor shall anyone demolish it. And if anyone dares to do

so, and we are informed of this by the guards whom we have appointed there, the culprit shall not

escape without due punishment. And because we wish to be prepared, and order you to be prepared, at

all times, in case problems arise for us here or elsewhere, just as the custom used to be when your

ancestors assisted our ancestors, and when you yourselves duly offered us the help we needed, so let us

now and always be perpetually ready in all respects to resist the pagans, or anyone else, together, in

order to defend the holy church and Christianity itself, in accordance with God’s will, and to obtain and

protect our common peace and security in all things, as God sees fit to help us.

And after all these things have been read.

1. We remind you of your loyalty, so that you will steadfastly observe this, and will always be prepared

as chosen men, faithful to ourself and to God, so that if problems arise for us against the pagans or


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anyone else, as soon as the news reaches any one of you and you hear of our need, you will be ready to

fight without delay, and will be able to travel in the service of God and ourself for the common good,

and to join us swiftly. And it is our wish and express command that if anyone has built castles,

fortifications or palisades at this time without our permission, such fortifications shall be demolished by

the beginning of August, since those who live nearby and round about are suffering many difficulties and

robberies as a result. And if anyone is unwilling to demolish them, then the counts in whose districts they

have been built shall destroy them. And if anyone tries to stop them, they shall be sure to let us know at

once. And if they neglect to implement this our command, they should know that, as it is written in these

chapters and in the capitularies of our predecessors,66 we shall look for counts who are willing and able

to obey our orders, and appoint them in their districts.

2. And if anyone is taken to court, so that he can determine the reason for this, let him press on until the

reason for which he has been sued is determined. And if anyone is forced to wait here because of his

case, he shall be able to stay with us as long as he needs. And our vassals shall also remain with us and

journey with us with as many men as they require.

3. But you others and those who remain with us, when you are leaving, when you are living in your

home territory, and when you are returning to us, go with the gratitude of God and of ourself, and keep

the peace which we have confirmed together. And may God grant that we see one another happy and

healthy soon and for many years to come, and that we rejoice in God’s mercy and grace towards us.


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NOTES

1. The assembly and synod of Pîtres in 862 are recorded in Annales Bertiniani (AB); the resultant

capitulary in MGH, Cap 2, pp. 302-10.

2. These are also mentioned in AB 862.

3. The Vikings’ attack on Meaux is described in AB 862 and Vita sancti Faronis, cc. 127-31.

4. As note 1.

5. Ansegisi abbatis capitularium collectio (Ans) II.23: MGH, Cap 1, p. 419; Admonitio ad omnes

regni ordines (825) c. 25: MGH, Cap 1, p. 307.

6. Capitulare missorum Silvacense (853) c. 2: MGH, Cap 2, p. 272.

7. Reading ‘procurent’ for ‘procuret’, to agree with ‘omnes’.

8. That is, in 862: see note 1.

9. Ans II.24: MGH, Cap 1, p. 419; Admonitio ad omnes regni ordines (825) c. 26: MGH, Cap 1, p.

307.

10. 1 Samuel 2.30.

11. Ans IV.30: MGH, Cap 1, p. 441; Capitula legibus addenda (818-19) c. 18: MGH, Cap 1, p.

285.

12. Ans III.10: MGH, Cap 1, p. 426; Capitulare missorum in Theodonis villa datum secundum,

generale (805) c. 11: MGH, Cap 1, p. 124.

13. Ans II.18: MGH, Cap 1, p. 418; Admonitio ad omnes regni ordines (825) c. 20: MGH, Cap 1, p.

306.

14. Cf. Capitula cum primis constituta (808) c. 7: MGH, Cap 1, p. 140.


285.

16. As note 11.


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17. “The lay aristocrat originally appointed by the king to act as legal representative of the

ecclesiastical immunity”: E. James, The Origins of France (London 1982).

18. As note 11.

19. As note 15.

20. As note 15.

21. Ans III.26: MGH, Cap 1, p. 428; Capitulare legibus additum (803) c. 2: MGH, Cap 1, p. 113.

22. Ans I.139: MGH, Cap 1, p. 412; Capitulare Aquisgranense (809) c. 8: MGH, Cap 1, p. 149.

23. Leviticus 19.36 (Vulgate).

24. Ans III.90: MGH, Cap 1, p. 434; Admonitio generalis (789) c. 74: MGH, Cap 1, p. 60.

25. As previous note.

26. Psalm 14.5 (Vulgate).

27. 1 Corinthians 5.11.

28. As note 12.

29. See the Constitutio Carisiacensis de moneta of 861: MGH, Cap 2, pp. 301-2.

30. Philippians 4.17.

31. One ms. has the following gloss: ‘As Augustine states, “It is foul and dishonest to obtain money

by various deceptions and excuses for acquiring any goods by dishonest means.”‘ The quotation

is otherwise unknown.

32 Ans IV.56: MGH, Cap 1, p. 444; Capitulare missorum (819), c. 15: MGH, Cap 1, p. 29.

33. As note 15.

34. Ans III.75: MGH, Cap 1, p. 433; Capitulare Bononiense (811) c. 18: MGH, Cap 1, p. 167.


generale (805), c. 7: MGH, Cap 1, p. 123.


27

36. One ms. continues: .”.. and aids the heathen in their error. We therefore wish that for such a bold

and reckless sale the seller shall pay with his life, and a churchman or nun shall be condemned to

perpetual exile.”

37. It is unclear which capitulary is being referred to.

38. Capitula ab episcopis in placito tractanda (829) c. 7: MGH, Cap 2, p. 7.


generale (805) c. 19: MGH, Cap 1 p. 125.

40. Cf. Memoria Olonnae comitibus data (822-3) c. 18: MGH, Cap 1, p. 319.

41. Capitulare Aquisgranense (802-3) c. 15: MGH, Cap 1, p. 172.


generale (805) c. 20: MGH, Cap 1, p. 125; Ans III.86: MGH, Cap 1, p. 434; Capitulare de

iustitiis faciendis (811-3) c. 11: MGH, Cap 1, p. 177; Ans IV.35: MGH, Cap 1, p. 442; Capitula

per se scribenda (818-9) c. 2: MGH, Cap 1, p. 287.

43. Innocentii epistola ad Experium. For refs. see MGH Cap 2, p. 322, n. 87.

44. Ans I.135: MGH, Cap 1, p. 411; Capitulare legibus additum (803) c. 6: MGH, Cap 1, p. 113-

14. Ans I.137: MGH, Cap 1, p. 412; Capitulare missorum (803) c. 12: MGH, Cap 1, p. 116.

45. Ans II.31: MGH, Cap 1, p. 421 (?). Ans IV.18: MGH, Cap 1, p. 438; Capitula legibus addenda

(818-9) c. 6: MGH, Cap 1, p. 282.

46. Ans IV.45: MGH, Cap 1, p. 443; Capitulare missorum (819) c. 4: MGH, Cap 1, p. 289.

47. Ans III.18: MGH, Cap 1, p. 427; Capitulare missorum Niumagae datum (806) c. 5: MGH, Cap

1, p. 131.

48. Leonis epistola ad Rusticum: for ref. see MGH, Cap 2, p. 324 n. 1; there is no obvious reference

in Gregory’s works.


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49. The precise function of this official is unclear.

50. Capitulare missorum Wormatiense (829) c. 13: MGH, Cap 2, p. 16.

51. Jonah 3.4.

52. 1 Kings 19.8; Exodus 34.28.

53. Matthew 4.2.


284.

55. That is, Ash Wednesday.

56. Ans III.29: MGH, Cap 1, p. 429; Capitulare legibus additum (803) c. 8: MGH, Cap 1, p. 114.

57. Leviticus 25.39-44.

58. Pauli sententiarum V 1.1: G. Hänel, Lex Romana Visigothorum, p. 412.

59. Novellarum Valentiani III, XI interpretatio: Hänel, p. 292.

60. MGH, Epistolae I, p. 250 (IV.17).

61. 1 John 3.17.

62. As note 59.

63. As note 56.

64. Ans II.18: MGH, Cap 1, p. 418; Admonito ad omnes regni ordines (825) c. 20: MGH, Cap 1, p.

306.

65. Ans II.24: MGH, Cap 1, p. 419; ibid. c. 26: MGH, Cap 1, p. 307.

66. As note 64.

The Edict of Pîtres - translation

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