Royal messenger

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In the Middle Ages, the Latin term missus generally referred to a representative of a great person in his own area; The missi dominici (also missi fiscales , missi regales , missi regis ), German royal messengers , represent the most important group.

Even among the early Carolingians a regular broadcast of missi dominici began . They were chosen from among the royal vassals . Their main task was to control the royal estate . In addition, they had several other tasks:

  • Function as a link between the spiritual and worldly greats
  • Supervision and execution of royal orders
  • Elimination of defects
  • Report violations

In 802, the institution of the royal messengers was reorganized under Charlemagne . It was not a question of a social change, i.e. the displacement of poorer vassals by the more powerful loyalists of Charles, because the king's agents had always belonged to the elite of the empire (see research article by J. Hannig). Rather, Charles's reform referred to the establishment of missile districts in the core areas of Frankish power, which were linked to existing administrative districts such as counties or metropolises. The incumbents appointed there received special powers from the ruler.

The system worked well under Charlemagne. Soon, however, difficulties arose due to the increasing self-interest of the nobility . As a result, the system deteriorated in the 9th century and disappeared in the 10th century.

literature

  • François Louis Ganshof : What were the capitularies? Scientific Book Society, Darmstadt 1961.
  • Jürgen Hannig: Pauperiores de infra palatio? On the formation of the Carolingian royal messenger organization . In: Mitteilungen des Institut für Österreichische Geschichtsforschung , Vol. 91 (1983), pp. 309–374.
  • Karl Ferdinand Werner : Missus - Marchio - Comes. Entre l'administration centrale et l'administration locale de l'Émpire carolingien. In: Ders .: From the Frankish Empire to the development of Germany and France. Origins, structures, relationships; selected contributions. Celebration for his 60th birthday. Thorbecke, Sigmaringen 1984, ISBN 3-7995-7027-6 , pp. 108-156.
  • Matthias Hardt : Royal Messenger. In: Concise dictionary on German legal history . Edited by Albrecht Cordes, Hans-Peter Haferkamp, ​​Heiner Lück, Dieter Werkmüller and Christa Bertelsmeier-Kierst as a philological advisor. 2nd, completely revised and expanded edition, 17th delivery, Berlin 2013, Sp. 31–33.