Western Civilization.p

Rome’s Successors: Byzantium, Islam, and the Germanic West 135

Many of these foundations were unparalleled in their
size and magnificence (see illustration 7.6). The parish
system, long established among the Franks to provide
spiritual care in rural areas, was extended throughout
Europe, and parish priests were firmly subordinated to
their bishops. Bishops, in turn, were forced to obey the
pope. To further secure the work of conversion he es-
tablished new dioceses, reformed old ones, and intro-
duced a compulsory tithe for their support. His efforts,
though not always popular, became the model for the
medieval church.
None of these measures could have been imposed
by religious authority alone. They required the threat
of military force wielded by a ruthless and dedicated
monarch. Charlemagne had become the chief sup-
porter of the papacy and the mainstay of its efforts to
convert the Slavs and Germans. His assumption of the
imperial title at the hands of Pope Leo III on Christmas

Day in 800 reflected only what had become obvious to

many: He, not the pope, was the true leader of western

Christendom. In spite of this, the motives and conduct

of everyone involved in the coronation have been the

subject of controversy, and even its practical conse-

quences remain unclear. It seems to have meant little to

the governing of Charlemagne’s empire or to his rela-

tions with other princes. Even the Byzantine emperor,

after initial protests, acknowledged the title in 811.

Regardless of its impressive achievements, the em-

pire of Charlemagne rested in the last analysis on the

personal authority of its ruler. The Frankish custom

of divided or partible inheritence ensured that his

DOCUMENT 7.6

The Missi Dominici

The following instructions are taken from one of Charle-

magne’s capitularies (decrees) dealing with official conduct.

Like most such documents, it describes an ideal, not actual

practice.

And let the missithemselves make a diligent investi-

gation whenever any man claims that an injustice

has been done him by any one, just as they desire

to deserve the grace of an omnipotent God and to

keep their fidelity pledged to him, so that in all

cases, everywhere, they shall, in accordance with

the will and fear of God, administer the law fully

and justly in the case of the holy churches of God

and of the poor, of wards and widows, and of the

whole people. And if there should be anything of

such a nature that they, together with the provin-

cial courts, are not able of themselves to correct it

and do justice concerning it, they shall, without

any reservations, refer this, together with their re-

ports, to the judgment of the emperor. The straight

path of justice shall not be impeded by any one on

account of flattery or gifts, or on account of any re-

lationship, or from fear of the powerful.

Robinson, James Harvey, ed. Readings in European History,

vol. 1. Boston: Ginn, 1904.

Illustration 7.6

Plan for the Monastery of St. Gall.This is a modernized

and redrawn version of a plan devised late in the reign of Charle-

magne. The original, which still exists, was apparently a monk-

architect’s vision of an ideal monastic facility. Though the great

Swiss monastery of St. Gall was not rebuilt precisely along these

lines, the drawing reflects, on a grand scale, the basic layout fa-

vored by the Benedictine monks. It also indicates something of

the size and scope of monastic ambitions in the Carolingian age.