TWO EXAMPLES OF THE TRUCE OF GOD
Below are two examples of attempts on the part of the Christian Church
to limit and regulate violence in society. From these documents one
gets some insight into the nature and extent of the violence in society.
I. The Peace of God from the Synod of Charroux
This decree was issued by the Synod Charroux, a church governing body in France, in A.D. 989.
Following the example of my predecessors, I, Gunbald, archbishop of
Bordeaux, called together the bishops of my diocese in a synod at
Charroux, . . . and, we, assembled there in the name of God, made the
following decrees:
1. Anathema [1] against those who break into
churches. If anyone breaks into or robs a church, he shall be anathema
unless he makes satisfaction.
2. Anathema against those who rob the
poor. If anyone robs a peasant or any other poor person of a sheep, ox,
ass, cow, goat, or pig, he shall be anathema unless he makes
satisfaction.
3. Anathema against those who injure clergymen. If
anyone attacks, seizes, or beats a priest, deacon, or any other
clergyman, who is not bearing arms (shield, sword, coat of mail, or
helmet), but is going along peacefully or staying in the house, the
sacrilegious person shall be excommunicated and cut off from the church,
unless he makes satisfaction, or unless the bishop discovers that the
clergyman brought it upon himself by his own fault.
II. Truce for the Bishopric of Terouanne (1063)
Drogo, bishop of Terouanne, and count Baldwin [of Hainault] have
established this peace with the cooperation of the clergy and people of
the land.
Dearest brothers in the Lord, these are the conditions
which you must observe during the time of the peace which is commonly
called the truce of God, and which begins with sunset on Wednesday and
lasts until sunrise on Monday.
1. During those four days and five
nights, no man or woman shall assault, wound, or slay another, or
attack, seize, or destroy a castle, burg, or villa, by craft or by
violence.
2. If anyone violates this peace and disobeys these
commands of ours, he shall be exiled for thirty years as a penance [2],
and before he leaves the bishopric he shall make compensation for the
injury which he committed. Otherwise he shall be excommunicated by the
Lord God and excluded from all Christian fellowship.
3. All who
associate with him in any way, who give him advice or aid, or hold
converse with him, unless it be to advise him to do penance and to leave
the bishopric, shall be under excommunication [3]until they have made
satisfaction.
4. If any violator of the peace shall fall sick and
die before he completes his penance, no Christian shall visit him or
move his body from the place where it lay, or receive any of his
possessions.
5. In addition, brethren, you should observe the peace
in regard to lands and animals and all things that can be possessed. If
anyone takes from another an animal, a coin, or a garment, during the
days of the truce, he shall be excommunicated unless he makes
satisfaction. If he desires to make satisfaction for his crime, he shall
first restore the thing which he stole or its value in money, and shall
do penance for seven years within the bishopric. If he should die
before he makes satisfaction and completes his penance, his body shall
not be buried or removed from the place where it lay, unless his family
shall make satisfaction for him to the person whom he injured.
6.
During the days of the peace, no one shall make a hostile expedition on
horseback, except when summoned by the count, and all who go with the
count shall take for their support only as much as is necessary for
themselves and their horses.
7. All merchants and other men who pass through your territory from other lands shall have peace from you.
8. You shall also keep this peace every day of the week from the
beginning of Advent to the octave of Epiphany, and from the beginning of
Lent to the octave of Easter, and from the feast of Rogations [the
Monday before Ascension Day] to the octave of Pentecost.
9. We
command all priests on feast days and Sundays to pray for all who keep
the peace, and to curse all who violate it or support its violators.
10. If anyone has been accused of violating the peace and denies the
charge, he shall take the communion and undergo the ordeal of hot iron.
If he is found guilty, he shall do penance within the bishopric for
seven years.
------------------------------
[1] An anathema was a formal ecclesiastic curse upon a person which
excluded them from the Church and condemned them to damnation.
[2] Penance was one of the sacraments in which one asked for and received forgiveness.
[3] Excommunication meant to be forbidden to take the Lord's Supper.
This effectively excluded one from the Church and, by extension,
condemned one to damnation.
------------------------------
From: O. J. Thatcher and E. H. McNeal, trans., A Source Book for
Medieval History, (New York: Charles Scribner's, 1905) pp. 412, 417-418.
Reprinted in Brian Tierney, ed., The Middle Ages, Vol. I: Sources of
Medieval History, 4th ed., (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1983) pp.
135-136.
Below are two examples of attempts on the part of the Christian Church to limit and regulate violence in society. From these documents one gets some insight into the nature and extent of the violence in society.
I. The Peace of God from the Synod of Charroux
This decree was issued by the Synod Charroux, a church governing body in France, in A.D. 989.
Following the example of my predecessors, I, Gunbald, archbishop of Bordeaux, called together the bishops of my diocese in a synod at Charroux, . . . and, we, assembled there in the name of God, made the following decrees:
1. Anathema [1] against those who break into churches. If anyone breaks into or robs a church, he shall be anathema unless he makes satisfaction.
2. Anathema against those who rob the poor. If anyone robs a peasant or any other poor person of a sheep, ox, ass, cow, goat, or pig, he shall be anathema unless he makes satisfaction.
3. Anathema against those who injure clergymen. If anyone attacks, seizes, or beats a priest, deacon, or any other clergyman, who is not bearing arms (shield, sword, coat of mail, or helmet), but is going along peacefully or staying in the house, the sacrilegious person shall be excommunicated and cut off from the church, unless he makes satisfaction, or unless the bishop discovers that the clergyman brought it upon himself by his own fault.
II. Truce for the Bishopric of Terouanne (1063)
Drogo, bishop of Terouanne, and count Baldwin [of Hainault] have established this peace with the cooperation of the clergy and people of the land.
Dearest brothers in the Lord, these are the conditions which you must observe during the time of the peace which is commonly called the truce of God, and which begins with sunset on Wednesday and lasts until sunrise on Monday.
1. During those four days and five nights, no man or woman shall assault, wound, or slay another, or attack, seize, or destroy a castle, burg, or villa, by craft or by violence.
2. If anyone violates this peace and disobeys these commands of ours, he shall be exiled for thirty years as a penance [2], and before he leaves the bishopric he shall make compensation for the injury which he committed. Otherwise he shall be excommunicated by the Lord God and excluded from all Christian fellowship.
3. All who associate with him in any way, who give him advice or aid, or hold converse with him, unless it be to advise him to do penance and to leave the bishopric, shall be under excommunication [3]until they have made satisfaction.
4. If any violator of the peace shall fall sick and die before he completes his penance, no Christian shall visit him or move his body from the place where it lay, or receive any of his possessions.
5. In addition, brethren, you should observe the peace in regard to lands and animals and all things that can be possessed. If anyone takes from another an animal, a coin, or a garment, during the days of the truce, he shall be excommunicated unless he makes satisfaction. If he desires to make satisfaction for his crime, he shall first restore the thing which he stole or its value in money, and shall do penance for seven years within the bishopric. If he should die before he makes satisfaction and completes his penance, his body shall not be buried or removed from the place where it lay, unless his family shall make satisfaction for him to the person whom he injured.
6. During the days of the peace, no one shall make a hostile expedition on horseback, except when summoned by the count, and all who go with the count shall take for their support only as much as is necessary for themselves and their horses.
7. All merchants and other men who pass through your territory from other lands shall have peace from you.
8. You shall also keep this peace every day of the week from the beginning of Advent to the octave of Epiphany, and from the beginning of Lent to the octave of Easter, and from the feast of Rogations [the Monday before Ascension Day] to the octave of Pentecost.
9. We command all priests on feast days and Sundays to pray for all who keep the peace, and to curse all who violate it or support its violators.
10. If anyone has been accused of violating the peace and denies the charge, he shall take the communion and undergo the ordeal of hot iron. If he is found guilty, he shall do penance within the bishopric for seven years.
------------------------------
[1] An anathema was a formal ecclesiastic curse upon a person which excluded them from the Church and condemned them to damnation.
[2] Penance was one of the sacraments in which one asked for and received forgiveness.
[3] Excommunication meant to be forbidden to take the Lord's Supper. This effectively excluded one from the Church and, by extension, condemned one to damnation.
------------------------------
From: O. J. Thatcher and E. H. McNeal, trans., A Source Book for Medieval History, (New York: Charles Scribner's, 1905) pp. 412, 417-418. Reprinted in Brian Tierney, ed., The Middle Ages, Vol. I: Sources of Medieval History, 4th ed., (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1983) pp. 135-136.
![TWO EXAMPLES OF THE TRUCE OF GOD
Below are two examples of attempts on the part of the Christian Church to limit and regulate violence in society. From these documents one gets some insight into the nature and extent of the violence in society.
I. The Peace of God from the Synod of Charroux
This decree was issued by the Synod Charroux, a church governing body in France, in A.D. 989.
Following the example of my predecessors, I, Gunbald, archbishop of Bordeaux, called together the bishops of my diocese in a synod at Charroux, . . . and, we, assembled there in the name of God, made the following decrees:
1. Anathema [1] against those who break into churches. If anyone breaks into or robs a church, he shall be anathema unless he makes satisfaction.
2. Anathema against those who rob the poor. If anyone robs a peasant or any other poor person of a sheep, ox, ass, cow, goat, or pig, he shall be anathema unless he makes satisfaction.
3. Anathema against those who injure clergymen. If anyone attacks, seizes, or beats a priest, deacon, or any other clergyman, who is not bearing arms (shield, sword, coat of mail, or helmet), but is going along peacefully or staying in the house, the sacrilegious person shall be excommunicated and cut off from the church, unless he makes satisfaction, or unless the bishop discovers that the clergyman brought it upon himself by his own fault.
II. Truce for the Bishopric of Terouanne (1063)
Drogo, bishop of Terouanne, and count Baldwin [of Hainault] have established this peace with the cooperation of the clergy and people of the land.
Dearest brothers in the Lord, these are the conditions which you must observe during the time of the peace which is commonly called the truce of God, and which begins with sunset on Wednesday and lasts until sunrise on Monday.
1. During those four days and five nights, no man or woman shall assault, wound, or slay another, or attack, seize, or destroy a castle, burg, or villa, by craft or by violence.
2. If anyone violates this peace and disobeys these commands of ours, he shall be exiled for thirty years as a penance [2], and before he leaves the bishopric he shall make compensation for the injury which he committed. Otherwise he shall be excommunicated by the Lord God and excluded from all Christian fellowship.
3. All who associate with him in any way, who give him advice or aid, or hold converse with him, unless it be to advise him to do penance and to leave the bishopric, shall be under excommunication [3]until they have made satisfaction.
4. If any violator of the peace shall fall sick and die before he completes his penance, no Christian shall visit him or move his body from the place where it lay, or receive any of his possessions.
5. In addition, brethren, you should observe the peace in regard to lands and animals and all things that can be possessed. If anyone takes from another an animal, a coin, or a garment, during the days of the truce, he shall be excommunicated unless he makes satisfaction. If he desires to make satisfaction for his crime, he shall first restore the thing which he stole or its value in money, and shall do penance for seven years within the bishopric. If he should die before he makes satisfaction and completes his penance, his body shall not be buried or removed from the place where it lay, unless his family shall make satisfaction for him to the person whom he injured.
6. During the days of the peace, no one shall make a hostile expedition on horseback, except when summoned by the count, and all who go with the count shall take for their support only as much as is necessary for themselves and their horses.
7. All merchants and other men who pass through your territory from other lands shall have peace from you.
8. You shall also keep this peace every day of the week from the beginning of Advent to the octave of Epiphany, and from the beginning of Lent to the octave of Easter, and from the feast of Rogations [the Monday before Ascension Day] to the octave of Pentecost.
9. We command all priests on feast days and Sundays to pray for all who keep the peace, and to curse all who violate it or support its violators.
10. If anyone has been accused of violating the peace and denies the charge, he shall take the communion and undergo the ordeal of hot iron. If he is found guilty, he shall do penance within the bishopric for seven years.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[1] An anathema was a formal ecclesiastic curse upon a person which excluded them from the Church and condemned them to damnation.
[2] Penance was one of the sacraments in which one asked for and received forgiveness.
[3] Excommunication meant to be forbidden to take the Lord's Supper. This effectively excluded one from the Church and, by extension, condemned one to damnation.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: O. J. Thatcher and E. H. McNeal, trans., A Source Book for Medieval History, (New York: Charles Scribner's, 1905) pp. 412, 417-418. Reprinted in Brian Tierney, ed., The Middle Ages, Vol. I: Sources of Medieval History, 4th ed., (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1983) pp. 135-136.](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_tEc67YhS5M5PfpeNWLNh-uzHeKdY-vghbFg5AIfM5ltBRAkEp48Uu0ao2aF4CgDbSl3CiFt4b0Pu02FHQoMI0UQ6zQS8PhrkoMDELyrvmIFFBLFsOfpXEm54pKhm4CTX2B9b-TmN5OoJ1gtPXBT9SuhcKXALQN66K32RNYtgwvqmW6=s0-d)
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