The Presbyters Project

X.7

In supradicta vero urbe Childeberthus rex omnem tributum tam eclesiis quam monasteriis vel reliquis clericis, qui ad eclesiam pertinere videbantur, aut quicumque eclesiae officium excolebat, larga pietate concessit. Multum enim iam exactores huius tributi expoliati erant, eo quod per longum tempus et succedentum generationes, ac divisis in multis partibus ipsis possessionibus, colligi vix poterat hoc tributum; quod hic, Deo inspirante, ita praecipit emendare, ut, quod super haec fisco debitur, nec exactore damna percuterent nec eclesiae cultorem tarditas de officio aliqua revocaret.

(ed. Krusch 1937: 488)

X.7

In this same city [Clermont] King Childebert, out of great piety, remitted all [arrears of] tribute due from churches, monasteries, clerics who were attached to the Church, or anyone who cultivated the land belonging to the Church. For the collectors of this tribute suffered significant losses, because as the time went by and the subsequent generations succeded one another, and the property was divided into many pieces, the tax could be collected only with difficulty. By God's inspiration, King Childebert ordered [the situation] to be remedied in such a way, that, because of the money that was due to the royal treasure (fisco), at the same time no tax collector would be at a loss and no person would be revoked from the Church land he cultivates.

(trans. Thorpe 1974: 553, altered by J. Szafranowski)

Discussion:

Judging by the place of this passus in Gregory's narrative, King Childebert took this decision in 590.

Place of event:

Region

Gaul

City

Clermont

About the source:

Author: Gregory of Tours
Title: The History of the Franks, Gregorii episcopi Turonensis historiarum libri X, Histories
Origin: Tours (Gaul)
Denomination: Catholic/Nicene/Chalcedonian

Gregory of Tours (Gaul) wrote his ten books of Histories (known commonly in English as the History of the Franks) during his episcopal reign in Tours between 573 and 594. The books vary in scope and length. The first book covers 5,596 years from the creation of the world to AD 397, that is the death of Saint Martin of Tours, Gregory`s predecessor in bishopric. The second book deals with the history of Gaul between 397 and 511, the latter being the year of death of King Clovis I. The third and fourth books cover the next 64 years till the death of Austrasian King Sigibert II in 575. Finally, the following six books describe exclusively the sixteen years from 575 to 591. Probably in 594, Gregory added the list of bishops of Tours in the end of the Histories, with brief accounts of their actions.

Edition:

B. Krusch ed., Gregorii Episcopi Turonensis Historiarum Libri X [in:] Monumenta Germaniae Historica, Scriptores rerum Merovingiciarum 1.1, Hannover 1884 (repr. 1951): 1-537.

Translation:

Gregory of Tours, The History of the Franks, trans. L. Thorpe, London 1974.

Categories:

Described by a title - Clericus

Attributes of clerical status

Public law - Secular

Administration of justice - Secular

Economic status and activity - Taxes and services

Please quote this record referring to its author, database name, number, and, if possible, stable URL: J. Szafranowski, Presbyters in the Late Antique West, ER1934, http://www.presbytersproject.ihuw.pl/index.php?id=6&SourceID=1934