Institutiones Aquisgranenses

The Institutiones Aquisgranenses or Institutio canonicorum or Aachen rule (s) was (s) an extensive set of rules for canons passed in 816 at the Imperial Synod in Aachen , which was created analogously to the Regula Benedicti and Consuetudines of the monastic religious communities. It was decreed by Ludwig the Pious and enforced as a law that was generally binding for the entire Frankish Empire . His successor, Charles the Bald , extended its scope further. Despite the Gregorian reform in the 11th century, which found the Aachen rules to be too generous, these remained valid in most secular canonical and canonical pens until modern times.

In the Aachen rule (s) , parts of the resolutions of the Mainz Synod from 813 were adopted, which were supplemented by the necessary reforms for canonical life . Among other things, the statutes dealt with the spiritual administration, the daily routine including the mandatory choir prayers, nutrition and the private property of the canons. In addition, rules for criminal proceedings, the responsibilities of public officials and regulations for caring for the poor and aliens were issued. In contrast to the forerunner statutes, value was placed in the Aachen rules on the ideal of monastic life and a consciously wanted poverty.

literature

• Lexicon of the Middle Ages , Vol. 5, pp. 451f.
• Georg Schwaiger: monasticism, orders, monasteries. From the beginning to the present. A lexicon. CH Beck, Munich 2003, page 136ff. ( Digitized version )