Edict of Pîtres – translation © Simon Coupland
1
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.
Edict of Pîtres – translation © Simon Coupland
2
* * * * * *
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
Edict of Pîtres – translation © Simon Coupland
3
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
Edict of Pîtres – translation © Simon Coupland
4
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
Edict of Pîtres – translation © Simon Coupland
5
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
Edict of Pîtres – translation © Simon Coupland
6
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
Edict of Pîtres – translation © Simon Coupland
7
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
Edict of Pîtres – translation © Simon Coupland
8
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.”
Edict of Pîtres – translation © Simon Coupland
9
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
Edict of Pîtres – translation © Simon Coupland
10
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
Edict of Pîtres – translation © Simon Coupland
11
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
Edict of Pîtres – translation © Simon Coupland
12
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
Edict of Pîtres – translation © Simon Coupland
13
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
Edict of Pîtres – translation © Simon Coupland
14
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
Edict of Pîtres – translation © Simon Coupland
15
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
Edict of Pîtres – translation © Simon Coupland
16
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
Edict of Pîtres – translation © Simon Coupland
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,
Edict of Pîtres – translation © Simon Coupland
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
Edict of Pîtres – translation © Simon Coupland
19
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
Edict of Pîtres – translation © Simon Coupland
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
Edict of Pîtres – translation © Simon Coupland
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
Edict of Pîtres – translation © Simon Coupland
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,
Edict of Pîtres – translation © Simon Coupland
23
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
Edict of Pîtres – translation © Simon Coupland
24
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.
Edict of Pîtres – translation © Simon Coupland
25
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.
15. Ans IV.31: MGH, Cap 1, p. 441; Capitula legibus addenda (818-19) c. 19: MGH, Cap 1, p.
285.
16. As note 11.
Edict of Pîtres – translation © Simon Coupland
26
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.
35. Ans III.6: MGH, Cap 1, p. 426; Capitulare missorum in Theodonis villa datum secundum,
generale (805), c. 7: MGH, Cap 1, p. 123.
Edict of Pîtres – translation © Simon Coupland
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.
39. Ans III.14: MGH, Cap 1, p. 427; Capitulare missorum in Theodonis villa datum secundum,
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.
42. Ans III.15: MGH, Cap 1, p. 427; Capitulare missorum in Theodonis villa datum secundum,
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.
Edict of Pîtres – translation © Simon Coupland
28
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.
54. Ans IV.26: MGH, Cap 1, p. 440; Capitula legibus addenda (818-19) c. 14: MGH, Cap 1, p.
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.
Top Related