(b) Text in Monumenta Germaniæ Historica, Leges (Pertz ed.), Vol. II., p. 287. Adapted from translation in Ephraim Emerton, Introduction to the Study of the Middle Ages (new ed., Boston, 1903), p. 246.
(a)
We believe that we give our royal authority its full splendor if, with benevolent intentions, we bestow upon churches—or upon any persons—the favors which they merit, and if, with the aid of God, we give a written assurance of the continuance of these favors. We wish, then, to make known that at the request of a prelate, lord of —— [the estate named] and bishop of —— [the church named], we have accorded to him, for the sake of our eternal salvation, the following benefits: that in the domains of the bishop's church, both those which it possesses A formula for a grant of immunity to-day and those which by God's grace it may later acquire, no public official shall be permitted to enter, either to hold courts or to exact fines, on any account; but let these prerogatives be vested in full in the bishop and his successors. We ordain therefore that neither you nor your subordinates,[301] nor those who come after you, nor any person endowed with a public office, shall ever enter the domains of that church, in whatever part of our kingdom they may be situated, either to hold trials or to collect fines. All the taxes and other revenues which the royal treasury has a right to demand from the people on the lands of the said church, whether they be freemen or slaves, Romans or barbarians, we now bestow on the said church for our future salvation, to be used by the officials of the church forever for the best interests of the church.
(b)
Charles, by the grace of God King of the Franks and Lombards and Patrician of the Romans, to all having charge of our affairs, both present and to come:
By the help of the Lord, who has raised us to the throne of this kingdom, it is the chief duty of our clemency to lend a gracious ear to the need of all, and especially ought we devoutly to regard that which we are persuaded has been granted by preceding kings to church foundations for the saving of souls, and not to deny fitting benefits, in order that we may deserve to be partakers of the reward, but to confirm them in still greater security.
Now the illustrious Hubert, bishop and ruler of the church of St. Marcellus, which lies below the citadel of Châlons,[302] where the The old immunity enjoyed by the monastery at Châlons precious martyr of the Lord himself rests in the body, has brought it to the attention of our Highness that the kings who preceded us, or our lord and father of blessed memory, Pepin, the preceding king, had by their charters granted complete immunities to that monastery, so that in the towns or on the lands belonging to it no public judge, nor any one with power of hearing cases or exacting fines, or raising sureties, or obtaining lodging or entertainment, or making requisitions of any kind, should enter.
Moreover, the aforesaid bishop, Hubert, has presented the original charters of former kings, together with the confirmations of them, to be read by us, and declares the same favors to be preserved to the present day; but desiring the confirmation of our clemency, he prays that our authority may confirm this grant anew to the monastery.
Wherefore, having inspected the said charters of former kings, we command that neither you, nor your subordinates, nor your successors, nor any person having judicial powers, shall presume to enter into the villages which may at the present time be in possession of that monastery, or which hereafter may have been bestowed by God-fearing men [or may be about to be so bestowed].[303] The immunity confirmed Let no public officer enter for the hearing of cases, or for exacting fines, or procuring sureties, or obtaining lodging or entertainment, or making any requisitions; but in full immunity, even as the favor of former kings has been continued down to the present day, so in the future also shall it, through our authority, remain undiminished. And if in times past, through any negligence of abbots, or luke-warmness of rulers, or the presumption of public officers, anything has been changed or taken away, removed or withdrawn, from these immunities, let it, by our authority and favor, be restored. And, further, let neither you nor your subordinates presume to infringe upon or violate what we have granted.
But if there be any one, dominus,[304] comes [count], domesticus,[305] vicarius,[306] or one vested with any judicial power whatsoever, by the indulgence of the good or by the favor of pious Christians or kings, who shall have presumed to infringe upon or violate these Penalties for its violation immunities, let him be punished with a fine of six hundred solidi,[307] two parts to go to the library of this monastery, and the third part to be paid into our treasury, so that impious men may not rejoice in violating that which our ancestors, or good Christians, may have conceded or granted. And whatever our treasury may have had a right to expect from this source shall go to the profit of the men of this church of St. Marcellus the martyr, to the better establishment of our kingdom and the good of those who shall succeed us.