be LAL £3 CAROLINGIAN CIVILIZATION yn ‘ A READER SECOND EDITION edited by PAUL EDWARD DUTTON wi broadview press 1 005 304 982 4 r©2004 Paul Edward Dutton. ‘All rights reserved. The use of any part of this publication reproduced, transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, or stored in a retrieval system, without prior written consent of the publisher — or in the case of photocopying, a licence from Access Copyright (Canadian Copyright Licensing Agency), One Yonge Street, Suite 1900, “Toronto, ON MSE 15 ~ is an infringement of the copyright law. National Library of Canada Cataloguing in Publication Carolingian civilization :a reader / edited by Paul Edward Dutton. — and ed. (Readings in medieval civilizations and cultures ; 1) Includes index ISBN I-$5111-492-5 1. Carolingians--Sources, 2, France—History —To 987—Sources. I. Dutton, Paul Edward, 1952- IL. Series. 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Wide Wibod ‘A wicked characterization of a certain count at court, taken from a longer poem meant for the amusement of court and king. Perhaps big-boned Wibod, our hero, may hear this poem, ‘And shake his thick head three or four times, And gazing fiercely try to frighten with a look and a mutter, ‘And overwhelm me with his threats, even though I am not there. If, however, the king in all his majesty should summon him, Wibod would go with faltering step and knocking knees. And his huge gut would go before him and his chest; He would resemble Vulcan in his feet, Jove in his voice. Questions: What functions would poetry have served at the Carolingian court and how would it have bound together the intellectual and social dimension of the court even when its members were absent, perhaps on campaign or home fo church and monastery? 19. THEODULF OF ORLEANS: PRECEPTS FOR THE PRIESTS OF HIS DIOCESE Theodulf was also a responsible and attentive bishop, who tried to raise the standard of learning and behavior among his priests and his flock. There is much interesting social information in the following text, including talk of schools and learning, the role of women, popular religious practices, the condition of the parish church, sin and confession, merchants, and daily diet. Source: trans, GE. McCracken with A. Cabaniss in Early Medieval Theolegy, vol. 9 of The Library of Cristian Classis (Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1957), pp.382-399; reprinted with permission. Theodulf to Our Brothers and Fellow Presbyters, the Priests of the Diocese of Orléans 1. [beg you, my most beloved brothers, to labor with the most watchful care with regard to the progress and improvement of the people subject to you, so that, by showing them the way of salvation and instructing them by word and example, we shall bring back fruitful harvests to our Lord Jesus Christ with his aid, you from their progress, and ourselves from yours. I beg your brother- hood, also, that you read carefully these chapters which I have briefly laid down for the improvement of life, and commit them to memory, and that byCHAPTER TWO: THE TIME OF CHARLEMAGNE (768-814) reading them and the Holy Scriptures you may regulate the morals and improve the life of the people put under you, and with them, the Lord being your helper, you may strive to reach the heavenly kingdom, You ought to know truly and always to remember that we, to whom the care of governing souls has been entrusted, will render an accounting in regard to those who perish through our neglect, but in regard to those whom by word and example we shall have gained, we shall receive the reward of eternal life. For to us the Lord has said, “You are the salt of the earth.” Because if a faithful people is God’s food, we are the spice of his food, Know that your rank is second to our rank and is almost joined to it. For as the bishops hold in the church the place of the apostles, so the presbyters hold the place of the other disciples of the Lord. The former hold the rank of the chief priest Aaron, but the latter the rank of his sons. For this reason you ought to be mindfal always of so great authority, mindfal of your consecration, mindful of the holy unction which you have received in your hands, that you do not lower this authority, nor nul- lify your consecration, nor defile with sin the hands besmeared with holy oil, but preserving purity of heart and body, offering to the people an example of proper living, you may offer to those over whom you are in charge guidance to the heavenly kingdoms. 2. You ought to be continually reading and constantly at prayer, because the life of the righteous man is taught and equipped by reading, and by constantly reading a person is fortified against sin, according to him who said, “In my heart have [ hidden thy word that I might not sin against thee.” For these are the arms, namely, reading and prayer, by which the Devil is defeated; these are the means by which eternal blessedness is obtained; with these arms vices are suppressed; upon these foods virtues are nourished. 3. But, also, if there be any interruption in reading, the hands should then be used, because “idleness is the enemy to the soul” and the ancient enemy easily carries off to vices the one whom he finds free from reading or praying. By the use of reading you will learn how you should live and how to teach others; by the use of prayer you will be able to be of value both to yourselves and to those united with you in love. By the operation of the hands and the chastise- ment of the body, you will both deny nourishment to the vices and will supply your own needs and have something to offer for the needs of sufferers. 4. When you come, according to custom, to a synod, carry with you clothing and books, and holy utensils, with which to perform your ministry and the office united with it. Bring with you some two or three clergy with whom you may celebrate the solemnities of the Masses, in order that it may be proved how carefully, how zealously, you perform God's service. 107CAROLINGIAN CIVILIZATION: A READER 5. Let the bread which you offer to God for sacrifice be baked either by your- selves or by your servants in your presence, in clean and carefull manner, and let it be carefully observed that the bread and the wine and the water, without which Masses cannot be celebrated, be kept very clean and handled with care, and that nothing be found in them of poor quality, nothing not approved, according to the passage of Scripture which says, “Let the fear of the Lord be with you and do everything with diligence.” 6. Let women never approach the altar when the priest is celebrating Mass, but let them stand in their own places and there let the priest receive their offer- ings as he will offer them to God. For women ought to be mindful of their weakness and of the infirmity of their sex, and therefore fear to touch anything holy in the ministry of the church. These even laymen ought to fear, lest they undergo the punishment of Uzzah, who was willing to touch in an unusual fashion the ark of the Lord but, struck by the Lord, died. 7. Let a priest never celebrate Mass alone, because as it cannot be celebrated without the salutation of a priest, the response of the people, the admonition of the priest, and, again the response of the people, thus it ought never to be celebrated by one man alone. For there should be people to stand around him, to receive his salutation, to give responses to him, and to recall to him that say- ing of the Lord: ‘Wherever two or three shall be gathered in my name, there also am | in their midst.” 8. We frequently see in churches harvested crops and hay piled up, and for this reason we wish it to be thoroughly observed that nothing should be stored in a church except ecclesiastical vestments and holy vessels and books, lest by chance if businesses are being carried on other than should be, we may hear from the Lord, “My house shall be called a house of prayer, but you have made it a brigands’ cave.” 9. In these regions in olden times use was made of the church for burying the dead, and often places set apart for divine worship and prepared for offering sacrifices to God were made into cemeteries or polyandria. For this reason I want this practice henceforth to be abandoned and no one to be buried in a church, unless perchance such a person be a priest, or some righteous man, who on account of the merit of his life acquired by living in such a way a place for his dead body. Let bodies, however, which in olden times were buried in churches never be cast out, but let the tombs which are visible be lowered more deeply into the earth, and, a paving being built over them, and no trace of the tombs being visible, let the respect for the church be preserved. Where, however, there is such a great number of corpses that this is hard to do, 108CHAPTER TWO: THE TIME OF CHARLEMAGNE (768-814) let this place be considered a cemetery and the altar be taken hence and set up where sacrifice can be offered to God reverently and purely. ro. You ought not to gather in the church for any other cause except for praise of the Lord and for carrying on his service. Controversies, however, and tumult, and vain speaking, and other proceedings should be entirely forbidden in that holy place. For where the name of God is invoked, sacrifice is offered to God, and as without doubt angels congregate there in great number, it is dangerous to say anything or do anything there which is not fitting to the place. For if the Lord cast out from the temple those who bought and sold the victims which were to be offered to himself, with how much greater anger will he cast out thence those who defile with lies, vain speaking, jokes, and trifles of this sort, the place set for divine worship? 11. The celebrations of Masses ought never to take place elsewhere than in a church, not in just any houses or in mean places, but in a place which the Lord shall choose, according to the passage of Scripture: “See that you do not offer your burnt offerings in any place which you see, but in a place which the Lord shall choose to place his name there.” 12, Let no woman live with a presbyter in a single house. Although the canons permit a priest’s mother and sister to live with him, and persons of this kind in whom there is no suspicion, we abolish this privilege for the reason that there may come, out of courtesy to them or to trade with them, other women not at all related to him and offer an enticement for sin to him 13. You should take care to reftain from drunkenness, and to preach that the people under your care should refrain, and that you should never go through the taverns eating and drinking, nor travel around through houses and villages out of curiosity, nor attend feasts with women or with any impure persons, unless some head of a household, perhaps, shall invite you to his home and, with his wife and children, wishes to rejoice with you in spiritual joy, and to receive the refreshment of your words and to offer you carnal refreshments in the duty of love, for itis fitting that, if at any time any of the faithful gives you the refreshment of carnal foods, he should be given spiritual refreshment by you. 14, Let no presbyter persuade the faithful of the holy church of God belong- ing to the parish of another presbyter to leave their own church and come to his church and give their tithes to him, but let each one, content with his own church and people, never do to another what he would not wish to be done to himself, in accordance with the passage in the Gospel: “Whatsoever you wish 109)CAROLINGIAN CIVILIZATION: A READER men to do to you, do these same things to them.” Moreover, whoever shall contravene these established principles, or shall attempt to struggle against these warnings of ours, let him know that he will lose his rank or that he ought to be kept in prison for a long time. 15. This we absolutely forbid, that none of you attempt to entice over or receive a cleric subordinate to another, because there is a heavy punishment for this act in the sacred canons. 16. If any presbyter shall be found to be giving a bribe or to have given one to any man, cleric or lay, so that he may steal away the church of another pres- byter, let him know that for this theft and keen covetousness, either he will lose his rank or he ought to be kept in toils of prison a long time doing penance 17. If-a sick infant shall be brought to any presbyter for baptism from the parish of another, let the sacrament of Baptism by no means be denied him. Should anyone refuse to grant this office upon request, and the infant should die without the grace of Baptism, the one who did not baptize him shall know that he shall render an accounting for his soul. 18. Let no presbyter presume to employ for other purposes a chalice or a paten or any sacred utensils set apart for divine worship. For whoever drinks from a consecrated chalice anything other than the blood of Christ which is received in the sacrament, and holds a paten for any other function than for the min- istry of the altar, must be deterred by the example of Belshazzar, who, when he took the vessels of the Lord for common purposes, lost his life and his king- dom as well. 19. If any of the presbyters wishes to send his nephew or other relative to school, in the church of the Holy Cross, or in the monastery of Saint Aignan, or of Saint Benedict, or of Saint Lifard, or in others of those monasteries which it has been granted us to rule, we grant him permission to do so. 20. Let the presbyters keep schools in the villages and hamlets, and if any of the faithfial desires to entrust his small children to them to be taught their let- ters, let them not refuse to receive and teach them, but let them teach them with the greatest love, noticing what is written: “They, however, who shall be learned shall shine as the splendor of the firmament, and they who instruct many to righteousness shall shine as the stars forever and ever.” When, there- fore, they teach them, let them demand no fee for this instruction, nor take anything from them, except what the parents shall offer them freely through zeal for loveCHAPTER TWO: THE TIME OF CHARLEMAGNE (768-814) 21. Since, therefore, the pages of all the Holy Scriptures are crammed full of the instruments of good works, and on the fields of the Holy Scriptures can be found the arms with which vices may be suppressed and virtues nourished, it has pleased us to insert into this our prescript the opinion of a certain father [Benedict] about the instruments of good works which contains with great brevity what ought to be done and what avoided: In the first place, to love the Lord thy God from the whole heart, the whole soul, and the whole power, then, thy neighbor as thyself. Then, not to kill; not to commit adultery; not to steal; not to covet; not to give false testimony; to honor all men, and what anyone does not want to be done to himself, not to do to another. To deny himself to himself that he may follow Christ. To castigate the body, not to embrace pleasures; to love fasting; to restore the poor; to clothe the naked; to visit the sick; to bury the dead; to be helpful in tribulation; to comfort the sorrowing. To keep oneself separate from the doings of this life. To place nothing before the love of Christ; not to execute anger; not to reserve a time for wrath; not to hold treachery in the heart; not to give false peace; not to cease loving. Not to swear, lest perchance you swear falsely. To utter truth from the heart and lips; not to return evil for evil; to do no wrong, but to suffer one done to oneself in patience. To love enemies, not to curse those who curse you, but rather to bless. ‘To bear persecution in return for justice, Not to be proud, drunken, gluttonous, drowsy, lazy, grum- bling, a disparager. To place one’s hope in God. When he sees something good in himself, let him connect it with God, not himself, but let him always know that the bad has been done by himself and let him attribute it to himself. To fear the Day of Judgment; to dread hell; to desire life eternal with every spiritual desire; to keep death daily before one’s eyes. To guard the actions of one’ life at every hour. ‘To know that in every place God is certainly watching. To dash at once evil thoughts as they come into one’s mind to Christ and to lay them before one’s spiritual elder. To guard one’s mouth from evil or wicked speech; not to love to speak much; not to speak vain words or those fit to laugh at; not to love much laughter or hilarity. Gladly to hear sacred readings, to dwell con- tinually in prayer, to confess daily in prayer to God one’s own past mis- deeds with tears and groans. To reform from the very misdeeds them- selves of another, not fulfill the desires of the flesh. To hate one’s own will, to obey the teachings of the priest and teacher in all things, even if he himself does otherwise— which God forbid—mindful of that pre- cept of the Lord:“Do what they say, but do not do what they do.” Not to wish to be called holy before one is, but first to be it so that it may be said more truly. To fulfill daily with deeds the teachings of God, to loveCAROLINGIAN CIVILIZATION: A READER purity, to hate no one, not to have jealousy or envy, not to love strife, to avoid self-exaltation, to respect those older and to love those younger. In love of Christ to pray for enemies. To return to peace with those who disagree before the sun sets, and never to despair of God’s mercy. See, these are the tools of the spiritual art which, when they have been employed by us unceasingly, night and day, and on the Day of Judgment are marked again, we shall be recompensed by the Lord with that reward which he himself has promised:‘Which eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor has it ascend- ed into the heart of man, which God has prepared for those who love him.” 22. The faithful must be reminded that all of them together, from the least to the greatest, should learn the Lord’s Prayer and the Creed, and they must be told that upon these two propositions the whole foundation of the Christian faith rests and unless anyone shall remember these two propositions and believe them with his whole heart, and repeat them very often in prayer, he cannot be catholic. For it has been established that none shall be anointed, nor baptized, nor be lifted up from the water of that fountain, nor can he hold anyone before the bishop to be confirmed, unless he has committed to memo- ry the Creed and the Lord’ Prayer, save only those whose age has not yet taught them to speak. 23. They must be told that every day he who cannot pray more often should at least pray twice, that is, in the morning and evening, saying the Creed or the Lord’s Prayer or the “O Thou who hast fashioned me,” or even, “God, be mer- ciful to me a sinner” and, “Thanks be to God,” in return for the provisions of daily life and because He has deigned to create him after his own image and distinguish him from the beasts. When this has been done and God the sole creator has been adored, let him call upon the saints that they may deign to intercede on his behalf with the divine majesty. Let those near a church do this in a church; he who, however, is on a journey or for some reason is in the forests or the fields, wherever the morning or evening hour itself finds him, let him do so, knowing that God is present everywhere, as the Psalmist says: “In every place of his dominion” and “If I should ascend into heaven, thou art there.” 24. On the Lord’s Day, however, because on it God established light, on it rained manna in the desert, on it the Redeemer of the human race voluntarily for our salvation rose again from the dead, on it he poured forth the Holy Spirit upon his disciples, there should be so great an observance that besides prayers and the solemnization of the Masses, and those things which pertain toCHAPTER TWO: THE TIME OF CHARLEMAGNE (768-814) eating, nothing else should be done, For if there should also be need of sailing or traveling, permission is given provided that on these occasions the Mass and prayers are not passed by. Each Christian must come on the Sabbath Day to church with lights; he must come to the night vigils or to the morning office. He must come also with offerings for the solemnization of Masses. And while they come to church, no case should be pleaded or heard, no lawsuits may be held, but the time must be free for God alone, namely, in the celebration of the holy offices, and in the offering of alms, and in feasting spiritually on praise of God with friends, neighbors, and strangers. 25. They must be exhorted to love hospitality and to refuuse to furnish shelter to no one, and if by chance they should supply shelter to anyone, not to take pay from him, unless perhaps the recipient gives something of his own accord. ‘They must be told how many have pleased God through the duty of hospitali- ty, as the apostle says: “For by this some have pleased God, having received angels under their roof” And again, “Hospitable without grumbling.” And the Lord himself will say at the Judgment, I was a stranger and you made me your guest.” Let them know also that whoever loves hospitality receives Christ in the guests. For that limitation of hospitality is not only inhuman but even cruel, in which a guest is never received unless the one who gives the hospital- ity is first paid, and what the Lord has bidden to do in regard to receiving the heavenly kingdom, let this be done in regard to receiving earthly possessions. 26. You must preach also that the faithful beware of perjury and to refrain from it absolutely, knowing that this is a great crime both in the Law and the Prophets, and prohibited in the Gospels. For we have heard that some people think this crime of no importance and somehow place upon perjurers a small measure of penance. They ought to know that the same penance should be imposed for perjury as for adultery, for fornication, for homicide, and for other criminal vices. If anyone, however, who has committed perjury or any crimi- nal sin, and, being afraid of the pain of long penance, is unwilling to come to confession, he ought to be expelled from the church, from both Communion and association with the faithful, so that no one eats with him, nor drinks, nor speaks, nor takes him into his house. 27. They must be told to abstain from false testimony, knowing that this is also a very serious crime, and forbidden by the Lord himself on Mount Sinai, when the same Lord said:Thou shalt not give false testimony.” and, “A false witness will not be unpunished.” Let whoever has done this know that he must be purified by such penance as was stated above concerning perjury, or he must be condemned by the same condemnation and excommunications as was stat-CAROLINGIAN CIVILIZATION: A READER ed, They must be told that it is the highest —T shall not say stupidity but— wickedness, to incur guilt for so great a crime on account of a desire for silver and gold, or clothing, or any other thing, or, as very frequently happens, because of drunkenness, so that he be kept in close confinement for seven years, or be expelled from the church, as the Lord says, “What does it profit a man if he shall gain the whole world and cause the loss of his soul?” Although he may seem more cruel to others, let him really be cruel to himself, 28. We exhort you to be ready to teach the people. He who knows the Scrip~ tures, let him preach the Scriptures, but he who does not know them, let him at least say to the people what is very familiar, that they “turn from evil and do good, seek peace and pursue it, because the eyes of the Lord are upon the right- cous and his ears are turned to their prayers,” etc. No one can therefore excuse himself because he does not have a tongue which he can use to edify someone. For when he shall see anyone in error, he can at once, to the best of his ability and powers, by arguing, pleading, reproving, withdraw him from his error, and exhort him to do good works. But when, with the Lord’ help, we assemble together for a synod, let each man know how to tell us how much he has accomplished. And if any man perhaps needs our aid, let him tell us this in love, and we with no less love will not postpone bringing aid to him as we are able. 29. You ought to admonish the faithful to be constant and zealous in prayer. The prayer, however, ought to be of this kind that, when the Creed has first been said, as if the constant foundation of his faith, let him say, whoever he is, three times the “O Thou who hast fashioned me, have mercy upon me” and three times the “O God be merciful to me a sinner,” and let him complete the Lord’s Prayer. If, therefore, the place and time should permit, let him pray to the holy apostles and martyrs to intercede for him, and, having armed his fore- head with the sign of the cross, let him lift up his hands and eyes with his heart and give thanks to God. But if the time should be insufficient to do all this, let so much suffice: “O Thou who hast fashioned me, have mercy upon me,” and “© God, be merciful to me a sinner,” and the Lord’s Prayer, but with groaning and contrition of heart. 30. For every day in our prayer to God, either once or twice or more often as we can, we ought to confess our sins, as the prophet says: “I have acknowl- edged my sin to thee, and my unrighteousness I have not hid. I said, I shall confess against myself my unrighteous acts to the Lord? and Thou didst forgive the guilt of my sin.” For when confession has been made to the Lord in prayer with a groan and tears, the fiftieth or the twenty-fourth or the thirty-first Psalm should be recited, or others pertaining to the same subject, and so the prayer should be completed. Because the confession which we make to priests m4