[Maire du palais : “C’était d’abord le grand-maître de la Maison du Roi, qui avait commandement sur tous les officiers domestiques.” (Trévoux)]
[Maire du palais : “C’était d’abord le grand-maître de la Maison du Roi, qui avait commandement sur tous les officiers domestiques.” (Trévoux)]
We had seen so far the nation showing signs of impatience and flightiness about the choice or the conduct of its masters ; we had seen it settle the disputes of its masters amongst themselves, and impose on them the necessity of peace. But what we had not yet seen, the nation now did : it cast (…)
I have said that Clotaire II had committed himself not to take away Warnachar’s position as mayor while he lived. The revolution had a different effect : before this time, the mayor was mayor of the king ; he became mayor of the kingdom ; the king used to choose him, now the nation does. (…)
A government in which a nation which had a king elected the man who was to exercise the royal authority, seems quite extraordinary ; but independently of the circumstances they found themselves in, I think the Franks took their ideas on this matter from the distant past.
They had descended (…)
While the kings commanded the armies, the nation did not think about choosing itself a leader. Clovis and his four sons commanded the French, and led them from victory to victory. Thibault, son of Theodebert, a young prince, weak and ill, was the first of the kings to remain in his palace. He (…)
Since the execution of Brunhilde, the mayors had been the administrators of the kingdom under the kings ; and though they had the conduct of war, the kings nonetheless led the armies, and the mayor and the nation fought under them. But the victory of the duke Pépin against Theodoric and his (…)
The mayors of the palace were not about to restore the impermanency of charges and offices ; they reigned only by the protection they granted in this regard to the nobility ; thus high offices continued to be assigned for life, and this practice became more and more firmly established.
But I (…)
The manner of changing an allod into a fief is found in a formula of Marculfus One gave his land to the king ; he gave back it as usufruct or benefice to the donor, and the donor named his heirs to the king.
To discover the reasons they had for thus denaturing one’s allod, I have to search as (…)
Fiscal assets should have had no other destination than to serve as presents which the kings could make to invite the Franks to new enterprises, which at the same time increased the fiscal assets ; and such was, as I have said, the spirit of the nation ; but the presents took another turn. We (…)
The clergy took in so much that, in the three dynasties, it must have been given all the properties in the kingdom several times over. But if the kings, the nobility, and the people found the means of giving them all their property, they no less found the means of taking it away. Churches were (…)