Capitulare Saxonicum
The Capitulare Saxonicum is a legal text enacted on October 28, 797 by Charlemagne in his Palatinate in Aachen , which was intended to further pacify the Lower Saxony areas that were subject to him .
In this function, it replaced the Capitulatio de partibus Saxoniae, which had been in effect since 782 , and replaced many of the draconian death penalties contained therein with fines (also for robbery , arson and acts of violence ). In addition, the Saxons were politically equated with the other peoples of the Franconian Empire, whereby they were even allowed to keep their own legal forms with the 802 in the Lex Saxonum written down their customary law .
The Capitulare Saxonicum is part of Charlemagne's dual strategy to master the Saxon uprising, which has flared up again since 793. The Saxons, who had previously been Christianized by force , and who were additionally exposed to the harsh collection of their unfamiliar church tithe, rebelled against the Frankish suzerainty and returned to their pagan customs. This was accompanied by the looting and destruction of numerous churches.
Charlemagne reacted with a series of extremely violent campaigns and subsequently with mass deportations of Saxon sub-tribes deep into the Frankish Empire. At the same time, he met the rebels with the Capitulare Saxonicum and continued to appoint Franconian but also loyal Saxon counts . The rapprochement between Franconia and Saxony that was thus initiated should prove successful in the future, even if the conflict continued locally until 804.
literature
- Lutz E. v. Padberg : Capitulare Saxonicum . In: Concise Dictionary of German legal history I . 2nd Edition. 2008, col. 812-813 (mwLit.).