Council Of Paris (829)
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The
Frankish church The Kingdom of the Franks (), also known as the Frankish Kingdom, or just Francia, was the largest post-Roman barbarian kingdom in Western Europe. It was ruled by the Frankish Merovingian and Carolingian dynasties during the Early Middle A ...
held four
synod A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word '' synod'' comes from the Ancient Greek () ; the term is analogous with the Latin word . Originally, ...
s simultaneously throughout the
Frankish Empire The Carolingian Empire (800–887) was a Frankish-dominated empire in Western and Central Europe during the Early Middle Ages. It was ruled by the Carolingian dynasty, which had ruled as kings of the Franks since 751 and as kings of the Lomba ...
on the
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of
Pentecost Pentecost (also called Whit Sunday, Whitsunday or Whitsun) is a Christianity, Christian holiday which takes place on the 49th day (50th day when inclusive counting is used) after Easter Day, Easter. It commemorates the descent of the Holy Spiri ...
in 829. These were held in
Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...
,
Mainz Mainz (; #Names and etymology, see below) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, and with around 223,000 inhabitants, it is List of cities in Germany by population, Germany's 35th-largest city. It lies in ...
,
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
and
Toulouse Toulouse (, ; ; ) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Haute-Garonne department and of the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania region. The city is on the banks of the Garonne, River Garonne, from ...
. They were followed by an imperial diet in
Worms The World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) is a taxonomic database that aims to provide an authoritative and comprehensive catalogue and list of names of marine organisms. Content The content of the registry is edited and maintained by scien ...
in August. According to Gerhard Schmitz, the synods of 829 mark a break in the history of Frankish legislation. Until then, Louis the Pious's government was characterised by continuity with his father's. Carine van Rhijn, however, emphasises the similarity of the 829 synods to the reform
councils of 813 A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or nation ...
.


Convocation

The emperors
Louis the Pious Louis the Pious (; ; ; 16 April 778 – 20 June 840), also called the Fair and the Debonaire, was King of the Franks and Holy Roman Emperor, co-emperor with his father, Charlemagne, from 813. He was also King of Aquitaine from 781. As the only ...
and
Lothar I Lothair I (9th. C. Frankish language, Frankish: ''Ludher'' and Medieval Latin: ''Lodharius''; Dutch language, Dutch and Medieval Latin: ''Lotharius''; German language, German: ''Lothar''; French language, French: ''Lothaire''; Italian language, ...
convoked the synods in December 828. The text of their convocation, known as the ''Constitutio de synodis'', survives. Four archbishops were summoned to Mainz: Otgar of
Mainz Mainz (; #Names and etymology, see below) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, and with around 223,000 inhabitants, it is List of cities in Germany by population, Germany's 35th-largest city. It lies in ...
, Hadbold of
Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...
,
Hetto Hetto (died 847) was the Archbishop of Trier from 814 until his death. In this capacity, he was both a political and ecclesiastical leader. Life Louis the Pious confirmed to Hetto the privilege of immunity from the saecular courts. This had been ...
of
Trier Trier ( , ; ), formerly and traditionally known in English as Trèves ( , ) and Triers (see also Names of Trier in different languages, names in other languages), is a city on the banks of the Moselle (river), Moselle in Germany. It lies in a v ...
and Bernoin of
Besançon Besançon (, ; , ; archaic ; ) is the capital of the Departments of France, department of Doubs in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. The city is located in Eastern France, close to the Jura Mountains and the border with Switzerland. Capi ...
; four to Paris:
Ebbo Ebbo, Ebo or Epo ( – 20 March 851) was the Archbishop of Rheims from 816 until 835 and again from 840 to 841. He was born a German serf on the royal demesne of Charlemagne. He was educated at his court and became the librarian and counc ...
of
Reims Reims ( ; ; also spelled Rheims in English) is the most populous city in the French Departments of France, department of Marne (department), Marne, and the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, 12th most populous city in Fran ...
, of
Rouen Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine, in northwestern France. It is in the prefecture of Regions of France, region of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy and the Departments of France, department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one ...
, Lantramn of
Tours Tours ( ; ) is the largest city in the region of Centre-Val de Loire, France. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Indre-et-Loire. The Communes of France, commune of Tours had 136,463 inhabita ...
and the
Sens Sens () is a Communes of France, commune in the Yonne Departments of France, department in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in north-central France, 120 km southeast from Paris. Sens is a Subprefectures in France, sub-prefecture and the second la ...
; five to Lyon:
Agobard Agobard of Lyon (–840) was a Spain, Spanish-born priest and archbishop of Lyon, during the Carolingian Renaissance. The author of multiple treatises, ranging in subject matter from the Byzantine Iconoclasm, iconoclast controversy to Spanish Ado ...
of
Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...
,
Bernard Bernard ('' Bernhard'') is a French and West Germanic masculine given name. It has West Germanic origin and is also a surname. The name is attested from at least the 9th century. West Germanic ''Bernhard'' is composed from the two elements ''be ...
of
Vienne Vienne may refer to: Places *Vienne (department), a department of France named after the river Vienne *Vienne, Isère, a city in the French department of Isère * Vienne-en-Arthies, a village in the French department of Val-d'Oise * Vienne-en-Bessi ...
, Andrew of Tarentaise, Benedict of
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and
Agaricus ''Agaricus'' is a genus of mushroom-forming fungi containing both edible and poisonous species, with over 400 members worldwide and possibly again as many disputed or newly discovered species. The genus includes the common ("button") mushroom ...
of Embrun; and four to Toulouse: of
Arles Arles ( , , ; ; Classical ) is a coastal city and Communes of France, commune in the South of France, a Subprefectures in France, subprefecture in the Bouches-du-Rhône Departments of France, department of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Reg ...
, Bartholomew of
Narbonne Narbonne ( , , ; ; ; Late Latin:) is a commune in Southern France in the Occitanie region. It lies from Paris in the Aude department, of which it is a sub-prefecture. It is located about from the shores of the Mediterranean Sea and was ...
, Adelelm of
Bordeaux Bordeaux ( ; ; Gascon language, Gascon ; ) is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde Departments of France, department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the Prefectures in F ...
and
Agilulf Agilulf ( 555 – April 616), called ''the Thuringian'' and nicknamed ''Ago'', was a duke of Turin and king of the Lombards from 591 until his death. A relative of his predecessor Authari, Agilulf was of Thuringian origin and belonged to t ...
of
Bourges Bourges ( ; ; ''Borges'' in Berrichon) is a commune in central France on the river Yèvre (Cher), Yèvre. It is the capital of the Departments of France, department of Cher (department), Cher, and also was the capital city of the former provin ...
. The agenda of the synods was to identify what in the empire fell short of God's standards and to correct it. The morals of the clergy and the abuse of authority by officials were especially in focus. The synods were a response to major military failures in 827. Duke
Baldric of Friuli Baldric or Balderic (''Bald icus'') was the Duke of Friuli (''dux Foroiuliensis'') from 819, when he replaced Cadolah according to Thegan of Trier in his '' Vita Hludowici imperatoris'', until 828, when he was removed from office: the last Duke of ...
had been removed from office for his failure to stop a Bulgarian invasion by
Omurtag Omurtag (or Omortag) (died 831) also known as Murtag or Murtagon (; Веселин Бешевлиев, Първобългарски надписи. 2ed. София 1992. Chapter: VI. Възспоменателни надписи, Inscriptio) was a ...
and Counts Matfrid of Orléans and
Hugh of Tours Hugh (or Hugo) ( – 837) was the count of Tours and Sens during the reigns of Charlemagne and Louis the Pious, until his disgrace in February 828. Hugh had many possessions in Alsace, as well as the County of Sens. He also held the convent of ...
were likewise dismissed after failing to meet the invasion of Abu Marwan.


Proceedings

Of the canons generated by the synods, only those from the meeting in Paris have survived. Events at Mainz are known through a collection of letters from
Fulda Abbey The Abbey of Fulda (; ), from 1221 the Princely Abbey of Fulda () and from 1752 the Prince-Bishopric of Fulda (), was a Benedictine abbey and ecclesiastical principality centered on Fulda, in the present-day German state of Hesse. The monastery ...
, themselves preserved in the 16th-century ''
Magdeburg Centuries The ''Magdeburg Centuries'' is an ecclesiastical history, divided into thirteen ''centuries'', covering thirteen hundred years, ending in 1298; it was first published from 1559 to 1574. It was compiled by several Lutheran scholars in Magdeburg, k ...
''. The synod was well attended by bishops from east of the Rhine. The bishops heard the case of the monk Gottschalk of Fulda against his abbot,
Hrabanus Maurus Rabanus Maurus Magnentius ( 780 – 4 February 856), also known as Hrabanus or Rhabanus, was a Frankish Benedictine monk, theologian, poet, encyclopedist and military writer who became archbishop of Mainz in East Francia. He was the author of th ...
, alleging that he had been unlawfully
oblate In Christianity (specifically the Roman Catholic, Orthodox, Lutheran, Anglican and Methodist traditions), an oblate is a person associated with a Benedictine monastery or convent who is specifically dedicated to God and service. Oblates are i ...
d to the monastery. The bishops agreed with the complainant and released Gottschalk from his vows. Nothing is known of what took place in Lyon or Toulouse.


Diet of Worms

The bishops presented a joint report to the emperors at an assembly in Worms in August. This ''Relatio episcoporum'' was written by Bishop
Jonas of Orléans Jonas (c. 760–843) was Bishop of Orléans and played a major political role during the reign of Emperor Louis the Pious. Jonas was born in Aquitaine. Probably a cleric by the 780s, he served at the court of Louis the Pious, who ruled as K ...
and thus relies heavily on the canons of the Paris synod. The ''Relatio'' is addressed to Louis the Pious alone. The ''Relatio'' takes up about 25 pages in modern printed editions, but the canons of Paris were over twice as long. It is divided into chapters (''capitulae'') and includes one ''petitio'' (request) addressed to Louis. The
political theology Political theology is a term which has been used in discussion of the ways in which Theology, theological concepts or ways of thinking relate to politics. The term is often used to denote religious thought about political principled questions. Scho ...
of the ''Relatio'' is based on the letter ''
Famuli vestrae pietatis , also known by the Latin mnemonic ('there are two'), is a letter written in 494 by Pope Gelasius I to Byzantine Emperor Anastasius I Dicorus on the relationship between religious and secular officials. Description is a letter written in 49 ...
'' of
Pope Gelasius I Pope Gelasius I was the bishop of Rome from 1 March 492 to his death on 21 November 496. Gelasius was a prolific author whose style placed him on the cusp between Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages.The title of his biography by Walter Ullma ...
. It states that the "whole holy church of God is made up of two ''personae'': the sacerdotal riestlyand the regal, of which the sacerdotal is the weightier".: ''Quod eiusdem aecclesiae corpus in duabus prinicpaliter dividatur eximiis personis''. The bishops thus asserted their authority to judge the king in spiritual matters. They also criticized themselves for ''avaritia'' (
love of money In Christian tradition, the love of money is condemned as a sin primarily based on texts such as Ecclesiastes 5:10 and 1 Timothy 6:10. The Christian condemnation relates to avarice and greed rather than money itself. The Christian texts (scriptures ...
), the root of all kinds of evil.


Notes


Bibliography

* * * * * *{{cite thesis , first=Carine , last=Van Rhijn , title=Shepherds of the Lord: Priests and Episcopal Statutes in the Carolingian Period , institution=University of Utrecht , year=2003 , type=PhD diss. 829 9th-century church councils