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E06224: An authentic Merovingian royal diploma records the gift of the forest of Cormeilles by Childebert III, king of the Franks, to the women's monastery at Argenteuil (northern Gaul) dedicated to *Mary (mother of Christ, S00033), the Apostles *Peter (S00036) and *Paul (S00008) and other *unnamed saints (S00518). Written in Latin, probably at Compiègne (northern Gaul), 697.

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posted on 2018-08-20, 00:00 authored by bsavill
MGH DD Mer. 150 (excerpt)

Childeberthus rex Franc(orum) v(iris) inl(ustrebus). Se oportuna beneficia ad loca s(an)c(t)orum, quod pro iuvameni servorum vel ancillarum D(e)i pertinit, libenti hanimo prestam(us), et hoc nobis ad aeterna retribucione pertenire confidemus. Ideoque cognuscat magnetudo seu hutiletas vestra, q(uo)d nus silva nostra, qui vogatur Corni[oletum] , sup(er) fluvium Sequena in pago Parisiaco [...] ad monasthirio s(an)c(t)i Mariae, s(an)c(t)i Petri et Pauli vel citerorum s(an)c(t)orum, que est constructus in villa Argentoialo, ubi pre[es]t inl(ustri)s D(e)o sacrata Leudesinda abb(atis)s(a), pro mercidem nostri augimentum vel pro consolacione ancillarum D(e)i inibi referenti plena et integra gracia visi fuaemus concessisse [...] D[a]t(um) quod ficit min[sis] Abrilis diaes tres, an(no) tercio rign(i) n[ostri], Compendio, in D(e)i f[eliciter].

'Childebert, king of the Franks, to his noble men. If, with a free heart, we furnish the places of the saints with appropriate gifts, aiding the servants or handmaidens of God, we are sure that this pertains to our eternal reward. Therefore let your magnitude and humility recognise that we have been seen to grant fully and completely our forest, which is called Cormeilles, on the river Seine in the country of Paris ... to the monastery of Saint Mary, Saint Peter, Paul and other saints, which is constructed in the villa of Argenteuil, where the illustrious Abbess Leudesind, dedicated to God, presides ... Given on the third day of the month of April, in the third year of our reign, happily in God's name at Compiègne.'

Text: Kölzer 2002, 376-8. Translation: B. Savill.

History

Evidence ID

E06224

Saint Name

Mary, Mother of Christ : S00033 Peter the Apostle : S00036 Paul, the Apostle : S00008

Saint Name in Source

Maria Petrus Paulus

Related Saint Records

Image Caption 1

Paris, BnF, Lat. 9007, n. 1 (source: gallica.bnf.fr)

Type of Evidence

Documentary texts - Donation document Documentary texts - Charter or diploma Late antique original manuscripts - Parchment sheet

Language

  • Latin

Evidence not before

697

Evidence not after

697

Activity not before

697

Activity not after

697

Place of Evidence - Region

Gaul and Frankish kingdoms

Place of Evidence - City, village, etc

Compiègne

Place of evidence - City name in other Language(s)

Compiègne Tours Tours Toronica urbs Prisciniacensim vicus Pressigny Turonorum civitas Ceratensis vicus Céré

Cult activities - Places

Cult building - monastic

Cult activities - Non Liturgical Practices and Customs

Bequests, donations, gifts and offerings

Cult Activities - Protagonists in Cult and Narratives

Women Ecclesiastics - abbots Ecclesiastics - monks/nuns/hermits Monarchs and their family

Source

According to the judgement of their most recent editor, 54 authentic or substantially authentic royal diplomas/charters survive from Merovingian Gaul which are dated or datable to the period up to ad 700. Of these, 34 appear to relate directly to the cult of saints, and are included in our database. All but one, possibly two (E06133, E06141), of the charters included here date from the 7th century, mostly its final quarter. Although a number of these diplomas have come down to us only in later cartulary copies, a remarkably large proportion (21 of our 34) survive as single-sheet, original manuscripts, the great majority of which come from the monastery of Saint-Denis. Due to the nature of western archival survivals, all these documents concern either land, legal immunities, or rights to tolls, and are preserved exclusively through interested religious institutions. For a hint, however, of the kind of Merovingian documents we may have lost, the scribal templates found in the Formulary of Marculf are suggestive (see e.g. E06231, E06233). This Argenteuil diploma survives as an original parchment manuscript, now Paris, BnF MS Lat. 9007 n. 1 (see 'Images').

Discussion

This diploma and several others seem to suggest a pattern by which prominent 7th century Franco-Gallic women's monasteries tended to be dedicated to Mary.

Bibliography

Edition: Kölzer, T., Die Urkunden der Merowinger, 2 vols. (Monumenta Germaniae Historica, Diplomata; Hannover, 2001). Further reading: Brühl, C., Studien zu den merowingischen Königsurkunden, ed. T. Kölzer (Cologne, 2001). Kölzer, T., Merowingerstudien, 2 vols (Hannover, 1998-1999).

Usage metrics

    Evidence - The Cult of Saints in Late Antiquity

    Categories

    Keywords

    S00033S00036S00008History

    Licence

    CC0

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