The Online Library of Liberty

A project of Liberty Fund, Inc.

• Preface
• I.: The Germans and the Empire to 1073
• 1.: Selections From the Germania of Tacitus, Ca. 100 Ad
• 2.: Procopius, Vandal War. (greek.)
• 3.: Procopius, Gothic War. (greek.)
• 4.: The Salic Law.
• 5.: Selections From the History of the Franks, By Gregory of Tours.
• 6.: The Coronation of Pippin, 751.
• 7.: Einhard’s Life of Karl the Great.
• 8.: The Imperial Coronation of Karl the Great, 800.
• 9.: General Capitulary About the Missi, 802.
• 10.: Selections From the Monk of St. Gall.
• 11.: Letter of Karl the Great to Baugulf, Abbot of Fulda, 787.
• 12.: Letter of Karl the Great In Regard to the Two Books of Sermons Prepared By Paul the Deacon, Ca. 790.
• 13.: Recognition of Karl By the Emperors At Constantinople, 812.
• 14.: Letter of Karl to Emperor Michael I, 813.
• 15.: Letter to Ludwig the Pious Concerning the Appearance of a Comet, 837.
• 16.: The Strassburg Oaths, 842.
• 17-18.: the Treaty of Verdun, 843.
• 17.: Annales Bertiniani.
• 18.: Regino.
• 19.: The Treaty of Meersen, 870.
• 20.: Invasions of Northmen At the End of the Ninth Century.
• 21.: Invasion of the Hungarians, Ca. 950.
• 22.: Dissolution of the Empire.
• 23.: The Coronation of Arnulf, 896.
• 24, 25.: Rise of the Tribal Duchies In Germany, Ca. 900.
• 24.: Saxony.
• 25.: Suabia.
• 26.: Henry I and the Saxon Cities, 919-36.
• 27.: The Election of Otto I, 936.
• 28.: Otto I and the Hungarians.
• 29.: The Imperial Coronation of Otto I, 962.
• 30-31.: the Acquisition of Burgundy By the Empire, 1018-1032.
• 30.: Thietmar of Merseburg.
• 31.: Wipo, Life of Conrad II.
• 32.: Henry Iii and the Eastern Frontier, 1040 to 1043.
• II.: The Papacy to the Accession of Gregory Vii, 1073
• 33.: Legislation Concerning the Election of Bishops, Fourth to the Ninth Century.
• 34.: The Pope Must Be Chosen From the Cardinal Clergy of Rome, 769.
• 35.: The Petrine Theory As Stated By Leo I, 440-61.
• 36.: The Emperor Gives the Pope Authority In Certain Secular Matters.
• 37.: The Emperor Has the Right to Confirm the Election of the Bishop of Rome, Ca. 650. a Letter From the Church At Rome to the Emperor At Constantinople, Asking Him to Confirm the Election of Their Bishop.
• 38.: A Letter From the Church At Rome to the Exarch At Ravenna, Asking Him to Confirm the Election of Their Bishop, Ca. 600.
• 39.: Gregory I Sends Missionaries to the English, 596.
• 40.: The Oath of Boniface to Pope Gregory Ii, 723.
• 41-42.: the Rebellion of the Popes Against the Emperor.
• 41.: Letter of Pope Gregory Ii to the Emperor, Leo Iii, 726 Or 727.
• 42.: Gregory Iii Excommunicates All Iconoclasts, 731 Ad
• 43.: The Pope, Gregory Iii, Asks Aid of the Franks Against the Lombards, 739. A Letter of Gregory Iii to Karl Martel.
• 44-46.: the Acquisition of Land By the Pope.
• 44.: Promise of Pippin to Pope Stephen Ii, 753-54.
• 45.: Donation of Pippin, 756.
• 46.: Promise of Charles to Adrian I, 774.
• 47.: Karl the Great Declares the Pope Has Only Spiritual Duties, 796. Letter of Karl to Leo III.
• 48.: Karl the Great Exercises Authority In Rome, 800.
• 49.: The Oath of Pope Leo Iii Before Karl the Great, 800.
• 50.: The Oath of the Romans to Ludwig the Pious and Lothar, 824.
• 51.: The Emperor Admits the Right of the Pope to Confer the Imperial Title. Passages From a Letter of Ludwig Ii, Emperor, to Basil, Emperor At Constantinople, 871.
• 52.: The Pope Enacts That Papal Elections Must Take Place In the Presence of the Emperor’s Representatives. Enactment of a Roman Synod Held By John Ix, 898.
• 53.: The Oath of Otto I to John Xii, 961.
• 54.: Otto I Confirms the Pope In the Possession of His Lands, 962.
• 55.: Leo Viii Grants the Emperor the Right to Choose the Pope and Invest All Bishops, 963.
• 56.: The Pope Confers the Royal Title. a Letter of Pope Sylvester Ii to Stephen of Hungary, 1000.
• 57.: The Emperor, Henry Iii, Deposes and Creates Popes, 1048.
• 58.: The Pope Becomes the Feudal Lord of Southern Italy and Sicily, 1059. The Oaths of Robert Guiscard to Pope Nicholas Ii, 1059.
• 59.: The Papal Election Decree of Nicholas Ii, 1059.
• III.: The Struggle Between the Empire and the Papacy, 1073-1250
• 60-64.: Prohibition of Simony, Marriage of the Clergy, and Lay Investiture, 1074-1123.
• 60.: Prohibition of Simony and of the Marriage of the Clergy, 1074 Ad
• 61.: Simony and Celibacy. the Roman Council, 1074.
• 62.: Celibacy of the Clergy. Gregory Vii, 1074.
• 63.: Action of the Ninth General Council In the Lateran Against the Marriage of the Clergy, 1123 Ad
• 64.: Prohibition of Lay Investiture, November 19, 1078.
• 65.: Dictatus Papæ, Ca. 1090.
• 66.: Letter of Gregory Vii to All the Faithful, Commending His Legates, 1074.
• 67.: Oath of the Patriarch of Aquileia to Gregory Vii, 1079 Ad
• 68-73.: Gregory Vii Exercises Secular Authority.
• 68.: The Oath of Fidelity Which Richard, Prince of Capua, Swore to Gregory Vii, 1073.
• 69.: Letter of Gregory Vii to the Princes Wishing to Reconquer Spain, 1073.
• 70.: Letter of Gregory Vii to Wratislav, Duke of Bohemia, 1073.
• 71.: Letter of Gregory Vii to Sancho, King of Aragon, 1074.
• 72.: Letter of Gregory Vii to Solomon, King of Hungary, 1074.
• 73.: Letter of Gregory Vii to Demetrius, King of the Russians, 1075.
• 74-81.: Conflict Between Henry Iv and Gregory VII.
• 74.: Letter of Gregory Vii to Henry Iv, December, 1075.
• 75.: The Deposition of Gregory Vii By Henry Iv, January 24, 1076.
• 76.: Letter of the Bishops to Gregory Vii, January 24, 1076.
• 77.: The First Deposition and Excommunication of Henry Iv By Gregory Vii, 1076.
• 78.: The Agreement At Oppenheim, October, 1076.
• 79.: Edict Annulling the Decrees Against Pope Gregory.
• 80.: Letter of Gregory Vii to the German Princes Concerning the Penance of Henry Iv At Canossa, Ca. January 28, 1077.
• 81.: The Oath of King Henry.
• 82.: Countess Matilda Gives All Her Lands to the Church, 1102.
• 83.: The First Privilege Which Paschal Ii Granted to Henry V, February 12, 1111.
• 84.: The Second Privilege Which Paschal Ii Granted to Henry V, April 12, 1111.
• 85-86.: Concordat of Worms, 1122.
• 85.: The Promise of Calixtus II.
• 86.: The Promise of Henry V.
• 87.: Election Notice, 1125.
• 88.: Anaclete Ii Gives Roger the Title of King of Sicily, 1130.
• 89.: The Coronation Oath of Lothar Ii, June 4, 1133.
• 90.: Innocent Ii Grants the Lands of the Countess Matilda As a Fief to Lothar Ii, 1133.
• 91.: Letter of Bernard of Clairvaux to Lothar Ii, 1134.
• 92.: Letter of Bernard to Conrad Iii, 1140.
• 93.: Letter of Conrad Iii to the Greek Emperor, John Comnenus, 1142.
• 94.: Letter of Wibald, Abbot of Stablo, to Eugene Iii, 1159.
• 95.: Letter of Frederick I to Eugene Iii, Announcing His Election, 1152.
• 96.: Answer of Eugene Iii, May 17, 1152.
• 97.: Treaty of Constance, 1153.
• 98.: The Stirrup Episode, 1155.
• 99.: Treaty Between Adrian Iv and William of Sicily, 1156.
• 100-102.: the Besançon Episode, 1157.
• 100.: Letter of Adrian Iv to Frederick, September 20, 1157.
• 101.: Manifesto of the Emperor, October, 1157.
• 102.: Letter of Adrian Iv to the Emperor, February, 1158.
• 103.: Definition of Regalia Or Crown Rights, Given At the Diet Held On the Roncalian Plain, 1158.
• 104.: Grounds For the Quarrel Between Adrian Iv and Frederick I. Letter of Eberhard, Bishop of Bamberg, to Eberhard, Archbishop of Salzburg, 1159.
• 105-107.: the Disputed Papal Election of 1159.
• 105.: Letter of Alexander Iii About His Election, 1159.
• 106.: Letter of Victor Iv to the German Princes, 1159.
• 107.: The Account of the Election As Given By Gerhoh of Reichersberg, Ca. 1160.
• 108.: The Preliminary Treaty of Anagni Between Alexander Iii and Frederick I, 1176.
• 109.: The Peace of Constance, January 25, 1183.
• 110.: The Formation of the Duchy of Austria, 1156.
• 111.: The Bishop of Würzburg Is Made a Duke, 1168.
• 112.: Decree of Gelnhausen, 1180.
• 113.: Papal Election Decree of Alexander Iii, 1179.
• 114-115.: Supremacy of the Papal Power.
• 114.: Innocent Iii to Acerbius, 1198.
• 115.: The Use of the Pallium. Innocent Iii to the Archbishop of Trnova (in Bulgaria), 1201.
• 116-118.: the Punishment of Heretics.
• 116.: Innocent Iii to the Archbishop of Auch In Gascony, 1198.
• 117.: Innocent Iii Commands All In Authority to Aid His Legates In Destroying Heresy, 1198.
• 118.: Confiscation of the Property of Heretics. Innocent Iii to the King of Aragon, 1206.
• 119.: Innocent Iii Commands the French Bishops to Punish Usury, 1198.
• 120.: Innocent Iii Forbids Violence to the Jews, 1199.
• 121.: Innocent Iii to the Archbishop of Rouen, 1198.
• 122.: Innocent Iii to a Bishop, Forbidding Laymen to Demand Tithes of the Clergy, 1198.
• 123-125.: the Secular Power of Innocent III.
• 123.: The Prefect of Rome Takes the Oath of Fidelity to the Pope, 1198.
• 124.: John of Ceccano’s Oath of Fidelity to Innocent Iii, 1201.
• 125.: Innocent Iii Commands the Archbishop of Messina to Receive the Oaths of Bailiffs In Sicily, 1203.
• 126.: Innocent Iii Commands the English Barons to Pay Their Accustomed Scutage to King John, 1206.
• 127.: Innocent Iii to Peter of Aragon, 1211.
• 128.: Innocent Iii Grants the Title of King to the Duke of Bohemia, 1204.
• 129.: Innocent Iii Rebukes the English Barons For Resisting King John of England, 1216.
• 130.: Decision of Innocent Iii In Regard to the Disputed Election of Frederick Ii, Philip of Suabia, and Otto of Brunswick, 1201.
• 131.: Treaty Between Philip, King of Germany, and Philip Ii, King of France, 1198.
• 132.: Alliance Between Otto Iv and John of England, 1202.
• 133.: Concessions of Philip of Suabia to Innocent Iii, 1203.
• 134.: Promise of Frederick Ii to Innocent Iii, 1213.
• 135.: Promise of Frederick Ii to Resign Sicily After His Coronation As Emperor, 1216.
• 136.: Concessions of Frederick Ii to the Ecclesiastical Princes of Germany, 1220.
• 137.: Decision of the Diet Concerning the Granting of New Tolls and Mints, 1220.
• 138.: Frederick Ii Gives a Charter to the Patriarch of Aquileia, 1220.
• 139.: Statute of Frederick Ii In Favor of the Princes, 1231-2.
• 140-142.: Treaty of San Germano, 1230.
• 140.: The Preliminary Agreement.
• 141.: Papal Stipulations In the Peace of San Germano, 1230.
• 142.: Letter of Gregory Ix About the Emperor’s Visit to Him After the Peace of San Germano, 1230.
• 143-144.: the Final Struggle Between Gregory Ix and Frederick II.
• 143.: Papal Charges and Imperial Defence, 1238.
• 144.: The Excommunication of Frederick Ii, 1239.
• 145.: Current Stories About Frederick II.
• IV.: The Empire From 1250 to 1500
• 146.: Diet of Nürnberg, 1274.
• 147.: The German Princes Confirm Rudolf’s Surrender of All Imperial Claims In Italy, 1278-79.
• 148.: Revocation of Grants of Lands Belonging to the Imperial Domain, 1281.
• 149.: An Electoral “letter of Consent,” 1282.
• 150.: Letter of Rudolf to Edward I, King of England, Announcing His Intention of Investing His Sons With Austria, Etc., 1283.
• 151.: Decree Against Counterfeiters, 1285.
• 152.: The Beginning of the Swiss Confederation, 1290.
• 152 A.: Edict of Rudolf, Forbidding Judges of Servile Rank to Exercise Authority In Schwyz, 1291.
• 153.: Concessions of Adolf, Count of Nassau, to the Archbishop of Cologne In Return For His Vote, 1292.
• 154.: The Archbishop of Mainz Is Confirmed As Archchancellor of Germany, 1298.
• 155.: Declaration of the Election of Henry Vii, 1308.
• 156.: The Supplying of the Office of the Archchancellor of Italy, 1310.
• 157.: The Law “licet Juris” of the Diet of Frankfort, August 8, 1338.
• 158-159.: the Diet of Coblenz, 1338.
• 158.: Chronicle of Flanders. (french.)
• 159.: Chronicle of Henry Knyghton.
• 160.: The Golden Bull of Charles Iv, 1356.
• 160 a and 160 B.: the Acquisition of the Mark of Brandenburg By the Hohenzollern Family, 1411.
• 160 A.: the Cities of the Mark Make Complaints to Sigismund, 1411. ( German. )
• 160 B.: Sigismund Orders the People of the Mark to Receive Frederick of Hohenzollern As Their Governor, 1412. ( German. )
• V.: The Church From 1250 to 1500
• 161.: Bull of Nicholas Iii Condemning All Heretics, 1280.
• 162.: The Bull “clericis Laicos” of Boniface Viii, 1298.
• 163.: Boniface Viii Announces the Jubilee Year, 1300.
• 164.: The Bull “unam Sanctam” of Boniface Viii, 1302.
• 165.: Conclusions Drawn By Marsilius of Padua From His “defensor Pacis.”
• 166.: Condemnation of Marsilius of Padua. 1327.
• 167.: The Beginning of the Schism. the Manifesto of the Revolting Cardinals. Aug. 5, 1378.
• 168.: The University of Paris and the Schism, 1393.
• 169.: The Council of Pisa Declares It Is Competent to Try the Popes. 1409.
• 170.: An Oath of the Cardinals to Reform the Church. Council of Pisa, 1409.
• 171.: The Council of Constance Claims Supreme Authority, 1415.
• 172.: Reforms Demanded By the Council of Constance, 1417.
• 173.: Concerning General Councils. the Council of Constance, 39th Session, October 9, 1417.
• 174.: Pius Ii, By the Bull “execrabilis,” Condemns Appeals to a General Council, 1459.
• 175.: William Iii of Saxony Forbids Appeals to Foreign Courts, 1446.
• 176.: Papal Charter For the Establishment of the University of Avignon, 1303.
• 177.: Popular Dissatisfaction That the Church Had So Much Wealth, Ca. 1480.
• 178.: Complaints of the Germans Against the Pope, 1510.
• 179.: Abuses In the Sale of Indulgences, 1512.
• VI.: Feudalism
• 180.: Form For the Creation of an Antrustio By the King.
• 181.: Form For the Suspending of Lawsuits.
• 182.: Form For Commendation. Middle of Eighth Century.
• 183.: Form By Which the King Allows a Powerful Person to Undertake the Cases of a Poor Person.
• 184-188.: Dependent Tenure of Land.
• 184.: Form For the Gift of Land to a Church to Be Received Back By the Giver As a Benefice.
• 185.: Form For a Precarial Letter.
• 186.: Form of Precarial Letter.
• 187.: Form of Precarial Letter.
• 188.: Gift of Land to Be Received Back and Held In Perpetuity For a Fixed Rent.
• 189.: Treaty of Andelot, 587.
• 190-194.: Grants of Immunity.
• 190.: Precept of Chlothar Ii, 584-628.
• 191.: Grant of Immunity to a Monastery, 673.
• 192.: Form of a Grant of Immunity to a Monastery.
• 193.: Form By Which the King Granted Lands With Immunity to Secular Persons.
• 194.: Grant of Immunity to a Secular Person, 815.
• 195-196.: the Feudalizing of Public Offices.
• 195.: Edict of Chlothar Ii, 614.
• 196.: Capitulary of Kiersy, 877.
• 197-202.: the Military Obligation of the Holder of Land.
• 197.: Capitulary of Lestinnes, 743.
• 198.: Capitulary of Aquitaine, Pippin, 768.
• 199.: Capitulary of Heristal, 779.
• 200.: General Capitulary to the Missi, 802.
• 201.: Capitulary to the Missi, 806.
• 202.: Capitulary Concerning Various Matters, 807.
• 203-208.: Effect of the Carolingian Organization On the Growth of Feudalism.
• 203.: General Capitulary to the Missi, 805.
• 204.: Capitulary of 811.
• 205.: Capitulary of Worms, 829.
• 206.: Capitulary of Aachen, 801-813.
• 207.: Agreement of Lothar, Ludwig, and Charles, 847.
• 208.: Capitulary of Bologna, 811.
• 209.: Homage.
• 210.: Homage.
• 211.: Homage.
• 212.: Homage.
• 213.: Homage.
• 214.: Homage of Edward Iii of England to Philip V of France, 1329.
• 215.: Feudal Aids.
• 216.: Feudal Aids.
• 217.: Feudal Aids, Etc.
• 218-225.: Homages Paid By the Count of Champagne.
• 218.: Homage to the Duke of Burgundy, 1143.
• 219.: Homage to Philip Ii of France, 1198.
• 220.: Homage to the Duke of Burgundy, 1200.
• 221, 222.: Agreement Between Blanche of Champagne and Philip Ii, 1201.
• 221.: Letter of Blanche.
• 222.: Letter of the King.
• 223.: Homage to the Bishop of Langres, 1214.
• 224.: Homage to the Bishop of Châlons, 1214.
• 225.: Homage to the Abbot of St. Denis, 1226.
• 226.: List of the Fiefs of Champagne, About 1172.
• 227.: Sum of the Knights [who Owe Service to the Count of Champagne].
• 228.: Extent of the Lands of the County of Champagne and Brie, About 1215.
• 229, 230.: The Attempt of the King to Control the Feudal Nobles.
• 229.: The Feudal Law of Conrad Ii, 1037.
• 230.: The Feudal Law of Frederick I For Italy, 1158.
• VII.: Courts, Judicial Processes, and the Peace
• 231.: Sachsenspiegel.
• 232.: Frederic Ii Appoints a Justiciar and a Court Secretary, 1235. From the Peace of the Land Which Was Proclaimed At Mainz, 1235.
• 233.: Wenzel Creates a Commission to Arbitrate All Differences, 1389. From the Peace of Eger, 1398. (german.)
• 234-239.: Ordeals Or Judgments of God.
• 234.: Ordeal By Hot Water.
• 235.: Ordeal By Hot Iron.
• 236.: Ordeal By Cold Water.
• 237.: Ordeal By Cold Water.
• 238.: Ordeal By the Barley Bread.
• 239.: Ordeal By Bread and Cheese.
• 240-250.: Documents On the Peace of God, the Truce of God, and the Peace of the Land.
• 240.: Peace of God, Proclaimed In the Synod of Charroux, 989.
• 241.: Peace of God, Proclaimed By Guy of Anjou, Bishop of Puy, 990.
• 242.: Truce of God, Made For the Archbishopric of Arles, 1035-41.
• 243.: Truce of God For the Archbishoprics of Besancon and Vienne, Ca., 1041.
• 244.: Truce For the Bishopric of Terouanne, 1063.
• 245.: Peace of the Land Established By Henry Iv, 1103.
• 246.: Peace of the Land For Elsass, 1085-1103.
• 247.: Decree of Frederick I Concerning the Keeping of Peace, 1156.
• 248.: Peace of the Land Declared By Frederick I In Italy, 1158.
• 249.: The Perpetual Peace of the Land Proclaimed By Maximilian I, 1495. ( German. )
• 250.: The Establishment of a Supreme Court to Try Peace-breakers, 1495. ( German. )
• VIII.: Monasticism
• 251.: The Rule of St. Benedict. About 530.
• 252.: Oath of the Benedictines.
• 253.: Monk’s Vow.
• 254.: Monk’s Vow.
• 255.: Monk’s Vow.
• 256.: Monk’s Vow.
• 257.: The Written Profession of a Monk.
• 258.: The Ceremony of Receiving a Monk Into the Monastery.
• 259.: Offering of a Child to the Monastery.
• 260.: Offering of a Child to the Monastery.
• 261.: Commendatory Letter.
• 262.: Commendatory Letter.
• 263.: General Letter.
• 264.: Letter of Dismissal.
• 265.: The Regular Clergy. Prologue of the Rule of St. Chrodegang, Bishop of Metz, For His Clergy, Ca. 744.
• 265 A.: Military-monkish Orders. the Origin of the Templars, 1119.
• 266.: Anastasius Iv Grants Privileges to the Knights of St. John (hospitallers), 1154.
• 267.: Innocent Iii Orders the Bishops of France to Guard Against Simony In the Monasteries, 1211.
• 268.: Innocent Iii Grants the Use of the Mitre to the Abbot of Marseilles, 1204.
• 269.: The Friars. the Rule of St. Francis, 1223.
• 270.: The Testament of St. Francis, 1220.
• 271.: Innocent Iv Grants the Friars Permission to Ride On Horseback When Travelling In the Service of the King of England, 1250.
• 272.: Alexander Iv Condemns the Attacks Made On the Friars Because of Their Idleness and Begging, 1256.
• 273.: John Xxii Condemns the Theses of John of Poilly In Which He Attacked the Friars, 1320.
• IX.: The Crusades
• 274.: The Meritorious Character of Martyrdom. Origen, Exhortation to Martyrdom, 235 Ad, Chaps. 30 and 50. (greek.)
• 275.: Origen, Commentary On Numbers, Homily X, 2. ( Greek. )
• 276.: Forgiveness of Sins For Those Who Die In Battle With the Heathen. Leo Iv (847-55) to the Army of the Franks.
• 277.: Indulgence For Fighting Heathen, 878.
• 278.: Gregory Vii Calls For a Crusade, 1074.
• 279.: The Speech of Urban Ii At the Council of Clermont, 1095. Fulcher of Chartres.
• 280.: The Council of Clermont, 1095. Robert the Monk.
• 281.: The Truce of God and Indulgence For Crusaders. the Council of Clermont, 1095.
• 282.: Rabble Bands of Crusaders. Ekkehard of Aura, Hierosolimita.
• 283.: Peter the Hermit. Anonymi Gesta Francorum, 1097-99.
• 284.: Eugene Iii Announces a Crusade, December 1, 1145.
• 285.: The Third Crusade, 1189-90. From the Chronicle of Otto of St. Blasien.
• 286.: Innocent Iii Forbids the Venetians to Traffic With the Mohammedans, 1198.
• 287.: Papal Protection of Crusaders. Innocent Iii Takes the King of the Danes Under His Protection, 1210.
• 288.: Innocent Iii and the Lateran Council Announce a Crusade, 1215.
• X.: Social Classes and Cities In Germany
• 289.: Otto Iii Forbids the Unfree Classes to Attempt to Free Themselves, Ca. 1000.
• 290.: Henry I Frees a Serf, 926.
• 291.: Henry Iii Frees a Female Serf, 1050.
• 292.: The Recovery of Fugitive Serfs, 1224.
• 293.: The Rank of Children Born of Mixed Marriages Is Fixed, 1282.
• 294.: Frederick Ii Confers Nobility, About 1240.
• 295.: Charles Iv Confers Nobility On a Doctor of Both Laws, 1360.
• 296.: The Law of the Family of the Bishop of Worms, 1023.
• 297.: The Charter of the Ministerials of the Archbishop of Cologne, 1154.
• 298.: The Bishop of Hamburg Grants a Charter to Colonists, 1106.
• 299.: The Privilege of Frederick I For the Jews, 1157.
• 300.: The Bishop of Speyer Gives the Jews of His City a Charter, 1084.
• 301-325.: the Cities of Germany.
• 301.: Lothar Ii (855-69) Grants a Market to the Monastery of Prüm, 861.
• 302.: Otto I Grants a Market to an Archbishop, 965.
• 303.: Otto Iii Grants a Market to Count Bertold, 999.
• 304.: No One Shall Compel Merchants to Come to His Market, 1236.
• 305.: A Market-court Is Independent of the Local Court, 1218.
• 306.: Otto I Grants Jurisdiction Over a Town to the Abbots of New Corvey, 940.
• 307.: The Ban-mile, Or the Limits of the Bishop’s Authority, 1237.
• 308.: The Citizens of Cologne Expel Their Archbishop, 1074.
• 309.: The People of Cologne Rebel Against Their Archbishop, 1074.
• 310.: Confirmation of the Immediateness of the Citizens of Speyer, 1267.
• 311.: Summons Sent to an Imperial City to Attend a Diet, 1338.
• 312.: Municipal Freedom Is Given to the Town Called Ebenbuchholtz, 1201.
• 313.: The Extension of the Corporate Limits of the City of Brunswick, 1269.
• 314.: The Decision of a Diet About the Establishment of City Councils In Cathedral Towns, 1218.
• 315.: Frederick Ii Forbird the Municipal Freedom of the Towns and Annuls All City Charters, 1231-2.
• 316.: Breslau Adopts the Charter of Magdeburg, 1261. (german.)
• 317.: The Schoeffen of Magdeburg Give Decisions For Culm, 1338. (german.)
• 318.: The Establishment of the Rhine League, 1254.
• 319.: Peace Established By the Rhine League, 1254.
• 320.: Agreement Between Hamburg and Lübeck, Ca. 1230.
• 321.: Agreement For Mutual Protection Between Lübeck and Hamburg, 1241.
• 322.: Lübeck, Rostock, and Wismar Proscribe Pirates, 1259.
• 323.: Decrees of the Hanseatic League, 1260-64.
• 324.: Decrees of the Hanseatic League, 1265.
• 325.: Cologne Merchants Have a Gildhall In London, 1157.
• Bibliography
• 1.: Large Collections; National
• 2.: Large Collections; Ecclesiastical and Papal
• 3.: Special Topics Selected Documents, Etc.
• Glossary

41.

Letter of Pope Gregory II to the Emperor, Leo III, 726 or 727.

We have received the letter which you sent us by your ambassador Rufinus. We are deeply grieved that you should persist in your error, that you should refuse to recognize the things which are Christ’s, and to accept the teaching and follow the example of the holy fathers, the saintly miracle-workers and learned doctors. I refer not only to foreign doctors, but also to those of your own country. For what men are more learned than Gregory the worker of miracles, Gregory of Nyssa, Gregory the theologian, Basil of Cappadocia, or John Chrysostom—not to mention thousands of others of our holy fathers and doctors, who, like these, were filled with the spirit of God? But you have followed the guidance of your own wayward spirit and have allowed the exigencies of the political situation at your own court to lead you astray. You say: “I am both emperor and bishop.” But the emperors who were before you, Constantine the Great, Theodosius the Great, Valentinian the Great, and Constantine the father of Justinian, who attended the sixth synod, proved themselves to be both emperors and bishops by following the true faith, by founding and fostering churches, and by displaying the same zeal for the faith as the popes. These emperors ruled righteously; they held synods in harmony with the popes, they tried to establish true doctrines, they founded and adorned churches. Those who claim to be both emperors and priests should demonstrate it by their works; you, since the beginning of your rule, have constantly failed to observe the decrees of the fathers. Wherever you found churches adorned and enriched with hangings you despoiled them. For what are our churches? Are they not made by hand of stones, timbers, straw, plaster, and lime? But they are also adorned with pictures and representations of the miracles of the saints, of the sufferings of Christ, of the holy mother herself, and of the saints and apostles; and men expend their wealth on such images. Moreover, men and women make use of these pictures to instruct in the faith their little children and young men and maidens in the bloom of youth and those from heathen nations; by means of these pictures the hearts and minds of men are directed to God. But you have ordered the people to abstain from the pictures, and have attempted to satisfy them with idle sermons, trivialities, music of pipe and zither, rattles and toys, turning them from the giving of thanks to the hearing of idle tales. You shall have your part with them, and with those who invent useless fables and babble of their ignorance. Hearken to us, emperor: abandon your present course and accept the holy church as you found her, for matters of faith and practice concern not the emperor, but the pope,1 since we have the mind of Christ [1 Cor. 2:16]. The making of laws for the church is one thing and the governing of the empire another; the ordinary intelligence which is used in administering worldly affairs is not adequate to the settlement of spiritual matters. Behold, I will show you now the difference between the palace and the church, between the emperor and the pope; learn this and be saved; be no longer contentious. If anyone should take from you the adornments of royalty, your purple robes, diadem, sceptre, and your ranks of servants, you would be regarded by men as base, hateful, and abject; but to this condition you have reduced the churches, for you have deprived them of their ornaments and made them unsightly. Just as the pope has not the right to interfere in the palace or to infringe upon the royal prerogatives, so the emperor has not the right to interfere in the churches, or to conduct elections among the clergy, or to consecrate, or to administer the sacraments, or even to participate in the sacraments without the aid of a priest; let each one of us abide in the same calling wherein he is called of God [1 Cor. 7:20]. Do you see, emperor, the difference between popes and emperors? If anyone has offended you, you confiscate his house and take everything from him but his life, or you hang him or cut off his head, or you banish him, sending him far from his children and from all his relatives and friends. But popes do not so; when anyone has sinned and has confessed, in place of hanging him or cutting off his head, they put the gospel and the cross about his neck, and imprison him, as it were, in the sacristy or the treasure chamber of the sacred vessels; they put him into the part of the church reserved for the deacons and the catechumens; they prescribe for him fasting, vigils, and praise. And after they have chastened and punished him with fasting, then they give him of the precious body of the Lord and of the holy blood. And when they have restored him as a chosen vessel, free from sin, they hand him over to the Lord pure and unspotted. Do you see now, emperor, the difference between the church and the empire? Those emperors who have lived piously in Christ have obeyed the popes, and not vexed them. But you, emperor, since you have transgressed and gone astray, and since you have written with your own hand and confessed that he who attacks the fathers is to be execrated, have thereby condemned yourself by your own sentence and have driven from you the Holy Spirit. You persecute us and vex us tyrannically with violent and carnal hand. We, unarmed and defenseless, possessing no earthly armies, call now upon the prince of all the armies of creation. Christ seated in the heavens, commanding all the hosts of celestial beings, to send a demon upon you;2 as the apostle says: “To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved” [1 Cor. 5:5]. Do you see now, emperor, to what a pitch of impudence and inhumanity you have gone? You have driven your soul headlong into the abyss, because you would not humble yourself and bend your stubborn neck. When a pope is able by his teaching and admonition to bring the emperor of his time before God, guiltless and cleansed from all sin, he gains great glory from Him on the holy day of resurrection, when all our secrets and all our works are brought to light to our confusion in the presence of his angels. But we shall blush for shame, because you will have lost your soul by your disobedience, while the popes that preceded us have won over to God the emperors of their times. How ashamed we will be on that day, that the emperor of our time is false and ignominious, instead of great and glorious. Now, therefore, we exhort you to do penance; be converted and turn to the truth; obey the truth as you found and received it. Honor and glorify our holy and glorious fathers and doctors who dispelled the blindness from our eyes and restored us to sight. You ask: “How was it that nothing was said about images in six councils?”3 What then? Nothing was said about bread or water, whether that should be eaten or not; whether this should be drunk or not; yet these things have been accepted from the beginning for the preservation of human life. So also images have been accepted; the popes themselves brought them to councils, and no Christian would set out on a journey without images, because they were possessed of virtue and approved of God. We exhort you to be both emperor and bishop, as you have called yourself in your letter. But if you are ashamed to take this upon yourself as emperor, then write to all the regions to which you have given offence, that Gregory the pope and Germanus the patriarch of Constantinople are at fault in the matter of the images [that is, are responsible for the destruction of the images],4 and we will take upon ourselves the responsibility for the sin, as we have authority from God to loose and to bind all things, earthly and celestial; and we will free you from responsibility in this matter. But no, you will not do this! Knowing that we would have to render account to Christ the Lord for our office, we have done our best to convert you from your error, by admonition and warning, but you have drawn back, you have refused to obey us or Germanus or our fathers, the holy and glorious miracle-workers and doctors, and you have followed the teaching of perverse and wicked men who wander from the truth. You shall have your lot with them. As we have already informed you, we shall proceed on our way to the extreme western regions, where those who are earnestly seeking to be baptized are awaiting us. For although we have sent them bishops and clergymen from our church, their princes have not yet been induced to bow their heads and be baptized, because they hope to be received into the church by us in person. Therefore we gird ourselves for the journey in the goodness of God, lest perchance we should have to render account for their condemnation and for our faithlessness. May God give you prudence and patience, that you may be turned to the truth from which you have departed; may he again restore the people to their one shepherd, Christ, and to the one fold of the orthodox churches and prelates, and may the Lord our God give peace to all the earth now and forever to all generations. Amen.

[1 ] Note the plain statement that the emperor has no authority in ecclesiastical matters. Observe also the general tone of the whole letter.

[2 ] This is equivalent to the excommunication of the emperor. But as Gregory’s authority was not recognized in Constantinople, his excommunication of the emperor would not be observed.

[3 ] The first six general councils of the church here referred to were (1) Nicæa, 325; (2) Constantinople, 381; (3) Ephesus, 431; (4) Chalcedon, 451; (5) Constantinople, 553; (6) Constantinople, 681.

[4 ] The text of this passage, as Migne has it, is perhaps corrupt; its meaning, at any rate, is obscure. We have given the only reasonable interpretation that seemed possible. Apparently the pope agrees to assume the responsibility for the destruction of images in the past, if only the emperor will accept the papal view and cease from his opposition to images in the future.