Peace and Truce of God

The Past and Present Society
The Peace and the Truce of God in the Eleventh Century

Author(s): H. E. J. Cowdrey
Source: Past & Present, No. 46 (Feb., 1970), pp. 42-67
Published by: Oxford University Press on behalf of The Past and Present Society
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/649794 .
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THE PEACE AND THE TRUCE OF GOD

THE ELEVENTH CENTURY
IN
DURING THE LAST HUNDRED YEARS OR SO, HISTORIANS HAVE DEVOTED
muchstudyto the attempts

to promotethePeace of God whichwas
firstproclaimedin Burgundyand Aquitaineduringthefinalquarter
ofthetenthcentury,
and theTruceofGod whichmadeitsappearance
or so later. To beginwith,it was largelyfromthe
therea generation
thatthissubjectwas approached.'
pointofviewofthelegalhistorian
More recently,
itsideological,socialand economicaspectshave been
well to the fore.2 The purposeof thisarticleis to consider,in the
lightof moderndiscussion,the natureof the Peace and the Truce,
to the structures
of
and to suggestwhattheymayhave contributed
ecclesiastical
and secularauthority
whichbeganto be renewedin the
eleventhcentury.
I
The purposeofthePeace of God, in itsoriginalform,was to place
underspecial ecclesiasticalprotectioncertaincategoriesof persons,
such as monks,the clergy,and the poor; and certaincategoriesof
materialthings,like churchbuildings,churchproperty,and poor
people's means of livelihood. It was no new thingfor those in
to thosewho facedthe
to offertheirpeace and protection
authority
violenceofpowerfuland lawlessmen. In theheydayof Carolingian
the
ruleand forfarintoitsdecline,thisdutyhad been pre-eminently
of King CharlestheBald
king's. When,forexample,in 857 a missus
with
soughton hisbehalfto protectclergyand churchlands,together
I E.g., L. Huberti, Studien zur Rechtsgeschichte
der Gottesfrieden
und Landin Frankreich(Ansbach, 1892), which remains
frieden,i, Die Friedensordnungen
the most usefulcompendiumof sources.
2 Particular mention
may be made of the followingworks: R. BonnaudDelamare, "Fondement des institutionsde paix au xie siecle", Mdlangesd'histoire
de Louis Halphen (Paris, 1951), PP. 19-26, and
du moyendge dddidsa la mdmoire
"Les Institutions de paix en Aquitaine au xie siecle", Recueils de la socidtd
Jean Bodin, xiv (I96I), pp. 415-87; G. Duby, "Les Laics et la paix de Dieu",
I laici nella "societaschristiana"dei secolixi e xii (Miscellanea del centrodi studi
und Treuga
medioevali,v, Milan, 1968), pp. 448-69; H. Hoffmann,Gottesfriede
Dei (Schriftender Monumenta Germaniae Historica [hereafterM.G.H.], xx,
GottesStuttgart,1964); B. T6pfer, Volk und Kirche zur Zeit der beginnenden
im Frankreich(Berlin, 1957) - a particularlystimulatingand
friedensbewegung
valuable Marxist interpretation;E. I. Strubbe, "La Paix de Dieu dans le nord
da la France", Recueils... Jean Bodin, xiv (I96I), pp. 489-501.

THE ELEVENTH-CENTURYPEACE AND TRUCE OF GOD
43
nuns,widows,orphansand thepoor,he providedforjustsuchneeds

as did the laterPeace of God.3 The Peace differed
onlybecauseits
sanctionswerethebishops',nottheking's;even in thisitfolloweda
still older usage wherebychurch councils excommunicatedthe
was resumed
invadersofchurchlandsand property.4This tradition
of royalauthority
in westernFrancia. The
withthe enfeeblement
dialogueDe statusanctaeecclesiaelookedto the
earlytenth-century
frombishopsupwardsthroughmetropolitans
ecclesiastical
hierarchy,
of those
and primatesto the pope himself,forthe excommunication
who sacrilegiouslyseized church endowments.5In practice,at
variouscouncilsthe bishopsbegan to tryto protectthe lands of the
churchand of the poor.6 A familiarexampleis the Burgundian
and ninebishopsforbade
councilofAnse(994),whentwoarchbishops
churches
of the monasteryof
to
violate
the
lands
or
lay magnates
thatmightthreatenit, or to
Cluny,to build castlesor fortifications
plunderits livestock.7
the
Such measuresas thiscan scarcelybe regardedas proclaiming
Peace of God, fortheyembodiedno generalpeace forwholeclassesof
societyor categoriesof thing. But duringthe last quarterof the
tenthcenturysuch peaces werealreadyappearing. The councilsof
Le Puy (975) and Charroux(989 or 990) providethe firstclear
examples of which evidence survives. At Le Puy Bishop Guy
assembledan open-airmeetingof the knightsand peasantsof his
"to hearfromthemwhatadvice
diocesein thefieldofSaint-Germain,
to
about
had
give
keepingpeace". He soughtto enforcean oath
they
andhe overcame
torespectthegoodsofthechurchandofthepauperes,
theresistance
thathe encountered
by callingupon thearmedsupport
of his kinsmenthe countsof Brioudeand Gevandan. The council
of Charrouxwas attendedby ArchbishopGumbaldof Bordeauxand
his suffragans.Althoughthewordpax does notoccurin therecord
thosewho brokeinto
of its dealings,its threecanonsanathematized
3 AllocutiomissicuiusdamDivionensis,M.G.H., Capitularia regumFrancorum,
ed. A. Boretius and V. Krause, ii, pt. i (Hanover, 1890), no. 267, caps. 1-2,
pp.1 291-2.
E.g. Orleans (538), cap. xxv, M.G.H., Concilia, i, pp. 8o-I; Paris (556-73),
cap. i, ibid., pp. 142-3.
5 E. Diimmler, "Uber den Dialog De statu sanctae ecclesiae", Sitzungsberichtederk6niglichpreussischen
Akademieder Wissenschaften
zu Berlin,ph.-hist.
Classe, xvii (1901), pp. 362-86, esp. pp. 38I-2.
6 E.g. Fimes (88I), cap. v, J. D. Mansi, Sacrorum conciliorumnova et
amplissimacollectio [hereafterMansi], xvii, cc. 541-5; Vienne (892), cap. i,
Mansi, xviii, c. I2I; Trosly (909), caps. v, vii, ibid., cc. 275-86. For the
significanceof such councils, see H. Maisonneuve, "La Morale d'apr's les
xviii (1961), pp. 1-46.
conciles du xe et xie siecles", Milanges de sciencereligieuse,
7
Mansi,xix,cc. 99-102.

44
PAST AND PRESENT
NUMBER 46
and robbed churches,those who made offwiththe beasts of lawabidingpeasantsand poor men, and those who attackedunarmed
clerks.8 Therefollowedmanysimilarcouncilsin or nearAquitaine:
notablyat Narbonne (99o), Le Puy (c. 990-3), Limoges (994),
Poitiers (c. o1011-I4), Charroux (1027-8), Limoges (1028), Poitiers

(1029-31), and Bourges (1031); also in Burgundy, as at Verdun-surle-Doubs (1019-21) and Anse (1025); and so forth. With remarkable
vulnerablecategories
of
speed,theworkofthesecouncilsin protecting
personsand goodswas takenup in mostpartsofFrance,includingthe
royaldemesne.
The Truce was a further
stagein thesedevelopments.Whereas
thePeace soughtto protectcertainclassesand theirgoodsat all times,
the Truce was an attemptto stop all violenceat certaintimes. Its
firstappearancewas at thecouncilofToulouges(10o27),in thecounty
of Roussillon. A pactumvel treugawas swornthat,"in orderto
enableeverymanto showproperrespectfortheLord's Day", no one
should attackhis enemybetweenSaturdayeveningand Monday
morning. During the I30os and I040s, the Truce as an attemptto
forbidviolenceon an everlongerlistofdaysand seasonswas rapidly

disseminated
as partof churchmen's
endeavoursto propagatepeace.
The canonsofthe councilofNarbonne(1054) wellillustrate
thefull
of legislationregarding
the Peace and the Truce in the
development
firsthalfoftheeleventhcentury.9
II
werethePeace and theTruce during

Such,to themodernobserver,
wouldhavewantedto set
theirformative
periods. A contemporary
themin a fullerand lesslegalcontext. The chronicler
RalphGlaber,
forexample,gave a chronologically
telescopedaccountof the Peace
whenhe was describingthetimeof peace and plentywhichtheyear
of Christ's
withthemillennium
1033usheredin, howevertransiently,
passion. He told how the tempests,faminesand plaguesof recent
years - notoriouslyyears of generaldearththroughoutwestern
Europe - wereat lastabated. Thereforethe bishopsof Aquitaine
and Burgundyassembledcouncils at which they associatedwith
themselvesabbotsand laymenof all social classes. To the councils
were broughtinnumerablerelicsof saints,and rulingswere made
1
de Saint-Pierredu Puy, in C. Devic
For Le Puy, see Chroniquedu monastere
and J. Vaissete, Histoiregingralede Languedoc,v (Toulouse, 1875), c. 15; for
Charroux,Mansi, xix, cc. 89-90.
1 For the council of Toulouges (or Elne), see Mansi, xix, cc. 483-4; for the
council of Narbonne, ibid., cc. 827-32.

45
of our holy
"concerningthe renewalof peace and the establishment
faith". There were numerousmiraclesof healing. Led by the
bishops,all presentcriedin unisonto God, "Pax, pax, pax", foran
signof the promisesthathad been made betweenthemeverlasting
selvesand God.10
Ralph Glaber'spictureof generalenthusiasmand the background
of deliverancefromnaturaldisastersagainstwhich he set Peace
indicatethatthePeace of God was a morecomplexmatter
legislation,
thanconciliarcanonsby themselvessuggest. This is borneout by
other evidence, such as hagiography,chronicles,sermons,and
of
similarliterature;and, indirectly,
investigations
by archaeological
churches and monasteries. Of outstandingimportanceare the
ofAdhemarof Chabannes,whonotonlywrotean important
writings
chroniclebut also lefta corpusof othermaterialaboutsuch councils
describes." A completepictureof the
as Ralph Glabersummarily
of
the
and
nature
Peace of God mustbe drawnfromall
sponsorship
such evidence.
thatit was
The literary
sourcesconfirm
Ralph Glaber'stestimony
turned. This is to
thebishopsuponwhomthePeace councilschiefly
be expected, for, as Carolingianauthoritycrumbled away, the
and functions. It was
episcopalorderremainedintactin itsstructure
whichled up
thebishopswho convenedthetenth-century
gatherings
to thePeace councils. Above all it was thebishops,as distincteven
fromthemonks,whoexclusively
disposedoftheold judicialsanction
of excommunication
and the new judicial sanctionof interdictby
whichthePeace was imposed:it was, afterall, to theapostleswhose
successorsthe bishopswere,not to the monksand stillless to lay
rulers,thatChristhad leftthepowerto bindand to looseuponearth.
Nevertheless,as Ralph Glaber again suggests,the monks were
prominentat the Peace assemblies. There emerged no Peace
"o Historiarum,iv.5.I4-I6: Raoul Glaber, Les Cinq Livres de ses histoires
ed. M. Prou (Paris, 1886), pp. 103-5.
(9oo-o1044),
I IAdhemar was born c. 988 near Limoges,
wherehe enteredthe monasteryof
Saint-Martial. Although he soon migrated to Saint-Cybard, Angouleme, of
which he remained a monk until his death on pilgrimageto Jerusalemin lo34,
he was a lifelongzealot for Saint-Martial and its interests. For his chronicle,
completed c. 1028, see Ademar de Chabannes, Chronique,ed. J. Chavanon
(Paris, 1897). The principal collection of his other writingsis L. Delisle,
"Notices sur les manuscrits originaux d'Ademar de Chabannes", Notices et
extraitsdes manuscritsde la Bibliothequenationale et des autres bibliotheques,
xxxv (1896), pp. 241-358. See also J. P. Migne, Patrologia Latina [hereafter
P.L.], cxli, cc. 79-124; E. Sackur, Die Cluniacenserin ihrerkirchlichenund
Wirksamkeit(Halle, 1892-4), ii, pp. 479-87, cf. i,
allgemeingeschichtlichen
pp. 392-6; C. de Lasteyrie,L'Abbaye de Saint-Martial de Limoges(Paris, 1901),
und TreugaDei, pp. 257-9.
pp. 422-6; Hoffmann,Gottesfriede

46
PAST AND PRESENT
NUMBER 46
propagandistmorezealous thanthe monkAdhemarof Chabannes.

It was the monkswho broughtthe relicsthatdrewthe crowdsand
renown of the
performedthe miracles,and the ever-mounting
monasteriesas places of pilgrimagewas harnessedto the cause of
resortedto by laityof
peace.12 The councilswere enthusiastically
all classes. In Aquitaine, the dukes were prominentat them.
Ralph Glaber's testimonyto their eclectic social compositionis
supportedby Adhemarof Chabannes. Accordingto him,thePeace
thenobilesand
at Limogeswereattendedby theprincipes,
gatherings
the vulgarisplebs.13 The councilsmade a further
impactupon the
laitybecausetheircanonswerepublishedlocallybythebishopsofthe
variousdioceses.
The principalconcernof the councilswas forthe protectionof
unarmedlaymen,and theirgoods. From thisangle it
churchmen,
was no accidentthatthelaterdecadesofthetenthcenturywitnessed
the new departureof the Peace. The juncturewas determined
by
ofpublicauthority
in France. Whereas
deterioration
theprogressive
and ofthecentral
theninthcentury
saw thecollapseofroyalauthority
organs of secular government,the local unit of Carolingian
the pagus,remainedlargelyintactuntilthe second
administration,
halfofthetenthcentury. Then overwide areasit,too,beganmore
to disintegrate.It was replacedby a multiplicity
or less completely
of local lordswho builtcastlesand who vied witheach otherforthe
hand
whiletheyknewtherestraining
controloftheirneighbourhoods,
ofno superiorlayauthority.The problemsto whichthedisintegraacutein Francesouthof
tionofthepagusgave risewereparticularly
the Loire,wherethe adventof theCapetiansin 987 markedthefinal
end of royalcontrol.4 The Peace councilswere the churchmen's
so faras anywas possible.
self-defence,
Three specificproblemswere particularly
pressing. First, the
werethevictimsofdepredations
churches,bothsecularand monastic,
by local lordswho ignoredall humanlaws. The authorof the De
statu sanctae ecclesiaealready appreciatedthe threatwhich they
of churchmen.l5
presentedto the possessionsand the jurisidiction
By the end of the tenthcentury,his fears were evidentlywell
12 Relics and miracles were importantas early as Charroux: Delatio corporis
sanctij unianiin synodumKarrofensem,
P.L., cxxxvii,cc. 823-6. For monasteries
and pilgrimage,see, besides TOpfer, Volk und Kirche, pp. 38-57, the work of
J. Hubert, esp. "La Place faiteaux laics dans les 6glisesmonastiques et dans les
cath6dralesaux xie et xiie siecles", I laici nella "societaschristiana",pp. 470-87.
13 Delisle, art. cit., p. 291.
14For an analysisof these developments,see G. Duby, La Socitde aux xie et
xiie sidclesdans la rdgionmdconnaise(Paris, 1953), esp. pp. 150-71.
15 Diimmler, art. cit., pp. 382, 384.

47
grounded. Cluny's troublesin 994 illustratethe predicamentof

many churchmenless influentialthan Abbot Odilo who found
themselvesface to face withnew castlesand theirlords.16 As the
foundationand endowmentof such monasteriesas Cluny often
reveals,such lords were sometimesin terrorof spiritualsanctions.
Charrouxand latercouncilssoughtto constrainthemto respectthe
to bearthethreatsof
peace ofthechurchand ofthepoorby bringing
excommunication
and interdict.
of public
Secondly,thevacuumleftby the creepingdisintegration
gave a new vitalityto the feudas a kindof "wild justice"
authority
wherebythe lay classes,and especiallythe lords of castles,might
and seta limitto theworstconsequencesof
defendtheirowninterests
a
Such
means
ofself-vindication
and self-defence
was
lawlessness.1
not so readilyavailableto churchmen
as it was to laymen,and they
neededto contrivea remedyof theirown. Moreover,in a society
wherefighting
wasthepastimeoftheupperclasses,thelegitimate
feud
all tooreadilyspilledoverintomeredisorderly
violence,whichcaused
generaldevastation,not least upon churchlands. As the Peace
councilsgatheredmomentum,
a principalconcernofthebishopswas
at least to restrictthe feud to its acceptablefunctionof upholding
justice,and so to imposea limituponunbridledviolenceand disorder.
The sacramentum
pacis which,as the councilsspread northwards,
of
Beauvais
Warin
Bishop
proposedin Io23 to King RobertthePious,
well illustrates
thisconcern.18 So, too, does theabortiveattemptin
c. 1033 by ArchbishopAimo of Bourgesto declarea kind of "war
upon war",by mobilizingthewholeadultmale populationto coerce
aristocratic
peace-breakers.19
Thirdly,the mountingdisorderof societyfell with particular
severityupon the peasantry. It did so the moreas timewenton,
because the militaryand social upgradingof the knightin the
feudalsocietyof France- itselfin parttheresultofthe
burgeoning
church'sincreasingwillingness
to bless his profession
ofarms- was
the
between
the
milites
the
and
rapidlywidening gap
pauperes. This
distinction
made evermoreserious
significant
earlyeleventh-century
the defencelessness
of the poor.20 Furthermore,
in the south of
16 The churchmen's outlook is well illustrated
by Fulbert of Chartres,
Hymniet carminaecclesiastica,no. xx, P.L., cxli, c. 349.
For the feud in medieval society, see 0. Brunner, Land und Herrschaft,
17
4th edn. (Vienna and Wiesbaden, 1959), pp. I-IIo.
18 C. Pfister,1tudes sur le
regnede Robertle Pieux (996-1031) (Paris, 1885),
Diplomes in6ditsde Robert, no. xii, pp. ix-lxi.
19 Andrew of Fleury, Miracula sancti Benedicti,ii-iv, Les Miracles de saint
ed. E. de Certain(Societe de l'histoirede France, Paris, 1858), pp. 192-8.
Benoit,
20
See Duby's remarks,art. cit., I laici nella "societaschristiana",pp. 453-5.

48
PAST AND PRESENT
NUMBER 46
of allodialholdingsof all sizes and with

France,withits multiplicity
itsvineyards
and horticulture,
thepoorweremorevulnerablethanin
thefeudallybetter-organized
northwherelayand ecclesiasticallords
had a greaterinterestin the defenceof a moredependentpeasantry.
Like the otherunprotected
and
classes,such as women,merchants
pilgrims,peasantshad similarneeds of protectionto thoseof the
wentabout unarmed.
clergywho, in obedienceto theirprofession,
Such protection
thecouncilsaspiredto ensureforthem. The reasons
were partlyreligious:the dutyof protecting
the poor had forlong
been insistedupon by such influentialwritersas Abbot Odo of
forattacksupon the
Cluny.21 They werealso partlyself-interested,
peasantsas upon the otherunprotectedclasses were bad for the
ecclesiastical
incomethatcamefromthembothin cashand bywayof
services. And themorethatchurchesthemselves
amassedlandsand
wealth,thegreatertheirown problemsbecame.
ThereforethePeace councilslegislatedto bringsecurityto certain
classesof personsand theirgoods. But if theevidenceabout them
is consideredas a whole,theywereby no meansonlyconcernedwith
theviolenceand disorderof a disintegrated
society. They also took
accountof otherscourgeswhich,whiletheywerenot so appropriate
forpositivelegislation,
werecloselybound up in men's mindswith
the problemof peace. Ralph Glaberintroducedthe Peace councils
in a contextofdeliverance
fromsuchrecurrent
faminesas werecaused
bystormand floodin theearlyIo30s. Worsestillweretheepidemics
that followedsuch crop failure. The sourcesfor the earlyPeace
councilsarefullofreferences
to thedreadedvisitation
knownby such
namesas theignissacer. It is nowknownto havebeen a gangrenous
formof ergotism,
the resultof eatingbreadmade fromtaintedryeflour.22Accordingto theprevalenceupon damp cornof the mould
knownas ergot,its mentaland bodilytorments
came and wentwith
a suddennessforwhicheleventh-century
men knewneithernatural
explanationnor humanremedy. In theireyes,like the stormand
faminewhichwent beforeit, it fracturedthe orderof humanlife
muchas did warfareand plunder. Lackingthemeansaliketo prop
21 E.g. in his portraitof a pattern
lay lord, Vita sancti Geraldi Auriliacensis
comitis,P.L., cxxxiii, cc. 639-702.
22 For a medical and historicalaccount of this
epidemic, see H. Chaumartin,
Le Mal des ardents et le feu Saint-Antoine(Vienne-la-Romaine, 1946); also
J. Rauch, "Der Antoniterorden",Archivfiir mittelrheinische
Kirchengeschichte,
ix (1959), PP. 33-50. The modern drug L.S.D. is a derivativeof ergot,and the
takingof these substanceshas many effectsin common,particularlypsychologically. For a possible modern outbreakof ergotismin France, see J. G. Fuller,
The Day of St. Anthony'sFire (London, 1969).

THE ELEVENTH-CENTURY
PEACE AND TRUCE OF GOD
49
natural
up a crumblingsocial orderand to mitigateoverwhelming
disaster,theylooked fora peace whichwas a deliverancefromall
mannerof scourgesthatdestroyedtheirwelfare- humanviolence,
of the cultus
storm,famineand epidemic.23 Hence theprominence
of the saintsand the bringingof relicsto the Peace councils. To
borrowsomewordsof ProfessorSouthern:
When the machinery of government was simple or non-existent,these
in publiclife
tangibleagentsofspiritual
power[i.e. relics]had an importance
in human
whichtheylost in a more complicatedage. The deficiencies
resources were supplied by the power of the saints. They were the great
power-housesin the fightagainstevil; theyfilledthe gaps leftin the structure
of human justice.24
The Peace councilslookedto thesaintsand assembledtheirrelicsin

fromnaturaldisasterand to provide
orderbothto securedeliverance
guarantorsof men's own pledges of mutual peace and justice.
Animatedby theirpresence,the councilswere times of religious
to a repentanceand conversionof life
enthusiasmand of exhortation
forhishealing.
whichwouldturnawayGod's wrathandshowgratitude
Thanksto Adhemarof Chabannes,it is at Limogesthatthewhole
patternof the quest forpeace can be mostfullyseen. Adhemar's
writings
repeatedlyreferto the Peace councilof 994. Accordingto
his Chronicle,it was convenedbecausetheignissacerwas everywhere
raging. Abbot Geoffreyof Saint-Martial,Limoges, called for a
a greatopen-airassemblymet upon
three-dayfast,and afterwards
a hilloutsidethe city:
All the bishops of Aquitaine assembled togetherat Limoges. The bodies
and relics of the saintswere solemnlyconveyedtherefromall parts,while the
body of St. Martial, the patronof Gaul, was borne fromits sepulchre,so that
everyonewas filledwithimmeasurable joy. All sicknesseverywhereceased,
and the duke [of Aquitaine] and the principesconcluded a mutual pact of
peace and justice.25
Adhemar'ssermonsof lateryearsrepeatedlydrewout the moralof

formen'ssins,
theseevents. The ignissacerwas God's punishment
and especiallyfor the violence of powerfullaymen. The fiery
did, it was true,fallupon the poor,not the rich. But
punishment
"the righteousoftendies forthe ungodly": it was God's vicarious
warningto the unrighteousrich that theyshould repent. At St.
God had mercifully
Martial'sintercession,
stayedhis angerfromhis
23 Adhemar of Chabannes could claim that, at Limoges in 994, not only had
an outbreakof the ignissacer just miraculouslyceased, but "within a shorttime
warfarewas turned into peace, disasterinto safety,barrennessof the land into
and famineinto sufficiency":Delisle, art. cit.,p. 270.
fertility,
24 R. W. Southern, The Making of theMiddle Ages (London, 1953), P. 137.
25
Chronique,iii. 35, P. 158; cf. ComrmemoratioabbatumLemovicensium,
P.L.,
cxli, cc. 82-3.

PAST AND PRESENT
50
NUMBER 46
to answerby obeyingthe
people. In returnit behovedtheprincipes
bishops', or ratherGod's, call to promise peace and justice.26
The
concludingof peace under episcopalsanctionswas thus part of a

patternofeventswhichbeganwiththesignofGod's wrath,continued
withhealingby theintervention
ofthe saints,and endedwithmen's
contract
ofpeace and justice.
answering
Adhemar'swritings
leave littleroomfordoubtingthat,at leastin
the minds of churchmen,the search for peace took the formof
a religiousmovementwhichsoughtmuchmorethanthe integrity
of
churchpropertyor even a respitefromsocial disorder. It came to
embody somethingapproachingtheir total view of Christianity.
Adhemardescribedhow the clergyof Aquitaine,at theirregular
councilsat Limoges,made quasi-liturgical
commemoratwice-yearly
tionsof peace, as a meansof propagating
it throughout
society:
The principal bishop arises; then, kneelingwith all the clergy,he prays for
the king and all set in authority,and forthe peace and salvationof the whole
the sevenpenitential
church,beginning
psalms. Next he saysappropriate
and prayers
fortheabsolution
ofsinners. Then all,kneeling
down,
prayers,
bow in silence. Afterwards
theystandup and thebishopbeginsto givethe
thekissofpeace to one anotheras at mass,so that
peace,and theyall offer
concord,and that
theymayremainin the peace of Christand harmonious
peacemaybe uponthemall and uponall thepeople.27
In much of the Peace propaganda,the Peace of God was thus

as a renewalofthepeacewhichChristhimself
represented
bequeathed
to the churchand of the pristinecustomsof apostolicChristianity.
Adhemar,forexample,rejoicedthat,whenit obeyedthebishops'call
to refrainfromviolence,thegensAquitaniaehad been made thefilia
pacis. For the peace of the bishopswas the same peace thatChrist
himselfcommittedto his apostles. It was renewedwheneverthe
bishops fulfilledhis word to the seventy,"Say, 'Peace be to this
house!' And if a son of peace is there,yourpeace shall restupon
him".28
Upon the basis of the need to providefor physicalpeace and
ofthepreachingand
securitytherewas thuserecteda superstructure
of peace in an ideal sense as the planting
liturgicalcommemoration
upon earthof the orderthatGod willedto prevail. The meansto
26
Delisle, art. cit.,p. 290; cf.pp. 293-6.

27Delisle, art. cit., p. 271; cf. Sackur, Die Cluniacenser,i, pp. 392-6. Such
passages should be read in the light of the prayersconcerningpeace following
the canon of the Latin mass, the frequentrepetitionof which was clearlycrucial
in shapingthe outlookof eleventh-century
clergy.
28Luke x. 5-6. For thesermon,see P.L., cxli,c. 115. This and the following
sermons are often regarded as apocryphal, but the matter deserves a fresh
examination. Their probable date is c. 1031. See Bonnaud-Delamare, art.
cit., Recueils. . . Jean Bodin, xiv (1961), pp. 433-7.

51
this was the renewalof the peace that Christcommittedto the

apostlesat the beginningof the church- the peace of the church
churchmen
had taughtwas brokenby gravesin
which,forcenturies,
and restoredwhen transgressors
returnedto it by wayof penance.
Such an understanding
of peace linkedit withall the associationsof
the wordpax in Augustinianand laterthought.29From its more
of freedomfromhumanviolence,peace gained,
limitedconnotation
or recovered,
a positivemeaningin termsof divinely-sustained
order,
healing,and righteousness.
Adhemar'swritingsalso provideevidenceof anotherand related
developmentto whichthe quest forpeace at Limoges contributed.
His powerto securedeliverancefromtheignissacerwon St. Martial
greatfameas the protectorof Aquitaine,and his tombat Limoges
became a much-soughtcentre of pilgrimage.30 He became the
of peace in all its aspects. Now, in thelightof
patronpar excellence
the developingideologyof peace, the nearerin historyhe could be
as standingto Christthegiverofpeace,and to St. Peter
represented
as the head of the apostlesto whomChristcommitted
it, the more
impressivehis patronagewould be. So, with Adhemaras their
themonksofSaint-Martial
tirelessprotagonist,
theclaims
putforward
thattheirpatronhad been Christ'scompanionin his Ministry,
at the
Last Supper,and at the Ascension;thathe was one of the seventy
whomChristhad sentoutwiththegiftofpeace; that,as such,he was
an apostle; and that,afterthe Ascension,St. Peterhimselfhad sent
him to evangelizeAquitaine.31 The bishopsand secularclergyof
but Bishop
Limoges at firstresistedthis monasticlegend-building;
forit at once
Jordanat lengthconceded St. Martial'sapostolicity,
added lustreto his see and, especiallyin Adhemar'sannual commemorativesermons,gave new credibility
to St. Martial'sespecial
power to mediatethe peace which Christleft behind him upon
earth.32
This vintageexampleof eleventh-century

about
legend-building
ofa specialcase. But
a patronsaintmarksout Limogesas something
its prestigeas a pilgrimage
centrecaused theideas thatwerecurrent
thereto be widelydisseminated. Moreover,thePeace propagandaof
Limogeswas onlyan especiallyelaborateexampleof whatwas being
France and beyondin places whichhad no
put about throughout
H.-X. Arquillibre,L'Augustinismepolitique(Paris, 1934), PP. 9-17, 144-50.
Chron.,iii. 49, PP. 171-2.
31 The
legends figure in Adhemar's works, passim, the most elaborate
statementbeing his Epistola de apostolatuMartialis, P.L., cxli, cc. 89-112.
32 The apostolicitywas affirmed
by various councils: e.g., Bourges (1031),
canon i, Mansi, xix, c. 503.
29
30

52
PAST AND PRESENT
NUMBER
46
prophetso eloquentas Adhemarof Chabannes. His characteristic

patternof ideas, which linked epidemicsof the ignissacer, the
of saintsand theirrelics,and theconcluding
miraculousintervention
in response of pacts of peace and justice, seems to have been
particularlywidespread.33So, too, was his convictionthat the
purposeof Peace legislationwas to renewthe peace thatChristleft
withhis apostles. For instance,at Poitiers(c. o11-I14)thepreamble
to the canonsran:
How fairis the name of the peace and how beautifulis the reputeof the unity
which Christ leftto his disciples when he ascended into heaven.
The councilsaw its taskas beingto restorethispeace and unity:it

met"fortherenewingofthechurch",and it concludeda "renewalof
peace and justice".34 It was becausethePeace councilsproclaimed
such a peace as this that,accordingto Ralph Glaber, those who
attendedthemansweredthe bishopswiththeircriesof "Pax, pax,
pax". Peace amongmenwas butone aspectofa widerPeace ofGod.
Such werethe ideas thatwere developedin connectionwiththe
Peace of God. Bothby reasonof the safeguardswhichit promised
againstnaturaland humandisasters,and of thereligiousenthusiasm
whichit generatedand canalized,it has everytitleto be regardedas
a coherentmovement,and as one which involvedall grades of
society.35 The Truce of God, whichdevelopedwithinit,was more
themilitary
aristocratic.Its primary
purposewas to restrain
strictly
classesfromthe exerciseof armsat certaintimes. The wordtreuga
was in no waycalculatedto attractto itselfsuch a wealthofreligious
meaningas almostinevitably
gatheredabout the wordpax, withits
overtones. Nevertheless,
biblical,theologicaland liturgical
religious
ideas centringupon the Peace had their effectupon the Truce,
quickly makingit more than just a negativeban upon certain
activities. The simple prohibitionof Toulouges, which,for the
betterkeepingof the Lord's Day, forbadethe sheddingof blood on
Sunday,was soon extendedto Thursday,Fridayand Saturday,for
oftheLast Supper,theCrucifixion,
and the
thesedayswerereminders
of Christ. The Truce was also proclaimedupon the
Entombment
des Gaules
Recueildeshistoriens
33 Miracula sanctiAdalhardi abbatisCorbiensis,
et de la France, x (Paris, 1760), pp. 378-9; Hugh of Flavigny,Chronicon,ii,
viii, p. 403; Landulf Senior, HistoriaMediolanensis,ii. 30,
M.G.H., Scriptorum,
ibid., p. 67.
34 Mansi, xix, c. 267. A similarunderstandingof peace is clear in Adhemar's
account of the suppression of the Manichaean heresy at Charroux (IO027-8):
Chron.,iii. 69, p. 194.
35
Tipfer's insistence upon this point was partly anticipated by
L. C. MacKinney, "The People and Public Opinion in the Eleventh-Century
Peace Movement", Speculum,v (1930), pp. 18I-2o6.

53
greatersaints'days and duringsuch solemnseasonsas Adventand

Lent.36 As it was rightforall lay Christiansto abstainat certain
timesfromfood,or fromservilelabour,or fromsexualintercourse,
so too it was a reasonableasceticpreceptthatthe militaryclasses
should sometimesabstainfromtheirfavourite
pastimeof arms.
But this was a logic thatdemandedto be carriedfarther. If, in
the nameof Christianobservance,menshouldkeepthemselves
from
sheddingChristianblood at sometimes,oughttheynotto do so at all
times? It did not take the proponentsof the Truce verylong to
drawsucha conclusion. In 1054, at thecouncilofNarbonne,it was
laid down that "no Christianshould kill anotherChristian,for
whoeverkillsa Christianundoubtedlyshedsthe blood of Christ".37
At leastin theory,
theTruce had broughtthePeace movement
to the
where
it
should
internal
point
logicallyrequirecomplete
peace to be
maintainedin thewholeof Christiansociety. It was a criticalpoint
in morewaysthanone. The churchmen
who werecallingupon the
to
set theirblessingupon the
internal
had
also
knights practise
peace
weapons of their warfare. The Peace movementcould scarcely
unlessa voicewithsufficient
developfurther
authority
complemented
thepreceptofinternalpeace byfinding
an appropriate
externaloutlet
for those whose vocationwas Christianwarfare. Moreover,the
internalpeace towardswhichthe Truce was pointingwas thevainest
of hopesunlessit werereinforced
by theactivevigilanceoftemporal
rulers- unless,thatis to say,it becametheirpeace.
By 1054, the Peace movementwas hardlycapable of further
lead frompopes and lay
developmentunlessit had an authoritative
rulers,and unless it exchangedits originalautonomyunder the
bishops for a place in more solid structuresof ecclesiasticaland
temporalgovernment.
III
If it be judged by its legislationand the ideas to whichit gave
themovement
forthePeace and theTruce ofGod up to the
currency,
councilofNarbonnewas a remarkable
one; butin faceoftheendemic
lawlessnessof French society,its practicaleffectiveness
was less
impressive. Underthe shadowof famineor of theignissacer,such
preachingas thatof Adhemarof Chabannescommandedattention,
and menpromisedto upholdpeace and justice;whensuch disasters
seemedremotetheyno doubtslippedbackintotheirformer
ways.
36
The extension of the Truce and its aspect as a religious discipline are
evidentin a council probablyat Arles (c. 1042): Mansi, xix, cc. 593-6.
37 Canon i, ibid.,c. 827.

54
PAST AND PRESENT
NUMBER 46
seemsin generalto havelost

AfterNarbonne,thePeace movement
ofthechurchand
someofitsimpetusand coherence. The structures
of lay societywere not yetreadyto takeup the opportunities
with
whichit presentedthem,and so to giveit new life. The patternof
epidemic,healing,and the concludingof agreementsof peace and
thecloseconnecjustice,seemsto havedisintegrated.In particular,
tion betweenthe ignissacer and endeavoursto ensure peace was
relaxed. This was especiallyso afterc. 1070,whenCountJocelinII
of Dauphine broughthomefromByzantiumthe bodyof one of the
most famous of miracle-working
saints, Antonyof Egypt. St.
AntonyreplacedSt. Martialas thehealerofthefirewhichhenceforth
borehisname,buthe did notbecomea patronofpeace. Nor did the
Peace of God again findso eloquenta spokesmanas Adhemarof
Chabannes. The recordsof the Peace, whichbecome fewerafter
fromthenorthofFrance,withitsmore
Narbonne,comeincreasingly
feudalizedsocialstructure. There,theemphasisfell,not
thoroughly
butupon
upon thePeace as suchwithitslavishideologicalovertones,
the morelegaland disciplinary
Truce. Withthisshiftof emphasis,
of Ivo of Chartres
however,the lettersand canon-lawcompilations
to
the
the
Peace
and
the Truce as an
of
testify
continuingvitality
institution
of Frenchlifeup to and beyondtheend of the century.38
and disorderof the
If theyhad theirbeginningsin the morcellement
contriCarolingiandecline,theysurvivedto makean ever-increasing
butionto the buildingup of ecclesiasticaland temporalstructures.
They did so, not onlyin France,but also outsideit in lands which
were in variousways open to Frenchinfluences. It is possibleto
of
followat leastsomeofthethreadswhichranfromtheinstitutions
thePeace and theTruce to thegrowingstructures
ofthehighMiddle
Ages.
The church
The Peace and the Truce did not contributedirectlyto the rein the head and membersof the church
assertionof papal authority
whichtookplace in the Gregorianage. But theyplayeda vitalpart
by creatingin France a milieuwithinwhichthe reformedpapacy
came to be, on the whole,quietlyacceptedby the Frenchchurch,
and within which Urban II in 1095 could demonstratepapal
ascendencyoverFrenchfeudalsocietyin the successfulpreachingof
the FirstCrusade.
VII, withits
They preparedthegroundforthe papacyof Gregory
ed. J. Leclercq, i (Paris, 1949), nos. 28,

Yves de Chartres,Correspondance,
3s
44, 62, pp. 118-20, 174-84, 258; Panormia,lib. viii,cap. cxlvii,P.L., cxli, c. 1343.

55
of St. Peterand his vicar,

insistenceupon the universaljurisdiction
and upon the apostolicsee as the apex of an ecclesiasticalhierarchy.
ideas ofthe ForgedDecretalsbehindit,eventhe
Withtheinfluential
De statu sanctae ecclesiaespoke with remarkable
tenth-century
clearness,in dealingwiththeproblemsto whichthePeace movement
was to attemptan answer,of the clerical hierarchyof bishops,
and primates,withits supremeauthority
at Rome.39
metropolitans
thepapacycould occasionallyfigureas
Earlyin theeleventhcentury,
of thePeace whichthecouncilsmade.40 But
theultimateguarantor
in the longtermit was moreimportant
thatthe widespreadreliance
upon spiritualsanctionsas imposedbythebishopsorganizedin their
provinces,was already accustomingmen to such an exerciseof
as thepapacywas soon to claimforitself. The
spiritualjurisdiction
episcopal order was consciouslyand with much accompanying
to renewthe peace ofthe apostolicchurchas
propagandaattempting
Christhad leftit in thehandsofSt. Peter. By itsactivities
and byits
a milieuwithinwhich,as the apostolicsee
ideas, it was establishing
the vicarof St. Peter could look withconfidence
became stronger,
to his claimsand foran understanding
of his functions.
forattention
as eventsat Limogesreveal,thesupernatural
Furthermore,
powers
thanthejudicialactivities
ofthe saintswereofgreatersignificance
of
the bishops. The higherthe statusof a saint,the greaterwas the
advantageto a localityof his patronage. Hence, St. Martialaffords
in theeleventh
a classicexampleof theprocess- widelyexemplified
century- wherebylesser saints tended to be overshadowedby
greatersaints,lavishclaimswereadvancedforpatronsand prodigies
were performedto back them up, until at last
of legend-building
lesserand greatersaintsalike were set in due subordination
to St.
Peter,theprinceof the apostlesand patronof the see of Rome. At
Limoges,St. Martial'sreputationas a delivererfromepidemicand
as an upholderofpeace led to his meteoricrisefromlocal saintto at leastin the eyesof the Limousin- thepatronusGalliae. Then
therearose the questionof his apostleship. While the monksand
thesecularsofLimogeswerelockedin controversy
aboutit,Adhemar
of Chabannesinsistedyearin, yearoutupon St. Martial'snearnessto
St. Peter,both throughtheircommonapostleshipin Christ'sdays
watchedoverAquitaine.41
upon earth,and also now as theytogether
St. Peterwas madeto matterto theLimousin;and evenin Adhemar's
day his vicar began to matter,too. On the issue of St. Martial's
For the Forged Decretals, esp. Pseudo31 Diimmler, art. cit., pp. 381-2.
Isidore, see W. Ullmann, The Growthof Papal Governmentin the Middle Ages
(London, 1955), pp. 180-4.
4o Adhemar of Chabannes, Sermon i, P.L., cxli, cc.
II117-8.
41 Delisle, art. cit.,passim,esp.
pp. 254-5, 294-

56
PAST AND PRESENT
NUMBER 46
both sides in turnappealed to Rome - the reluctant

apostolicity,
to Pope BenedictVIII, buttheenthusiastic
monks
bishopabortively
to
his
successorJohnXIX.42 As the Peace movement
successfully
grewand withit thelegendof St. Martial,St. Peterand theapostolic
see thus both impressedthemselveson the consciousnessof the
Limousin. It was the firststep in a processwhichnext saw the
of Saint-Martial
in St. Peter'sfamilyat Cluny. With
incorporation
the legatinevisitof CardinalPeterDamiani (Io63), thisin its turn
stillmoreeffectively
to bear on Limoges,at
broughtpapal authority
ofthe Gregorianera.43
thethreshold
The Peace movement
thusbroughtSt. Peternearto the Limousin
and in generalit emphasizedtheactivitiesofthe episcopalhierarchy
of whichhis vicarwas alwaysthe head and was soon to be the very
activehead. It also helpedto createa favourablemilieuforUrban
II's Frenchjourneyof1095-6. Therecan be littledoubtthat,in the
as the holywar and
genesisof the FirstCrusade,such institutions
for
counted
more
than
the
Peace
of God. But
did
pilgrimage
Urban's preachingfoundits overwhelming
responsein the southof
France,wheretheoriginalPeace of God had accustomedmento hear
thepreachingoftherenewalofChristianlife. As a Frencharistocrat
by birthand as a formergrand priorof Cluny, Urban was well
placed to appreciatethe use to the papacy of the Peace of God;
throughhimthepapacyforthefirsttimeeffectively
proclaimedit for
its own purposes.44
A comparisonbetweenClermontand the earlierPeace councils
shows how considerably
theyset the stageforhim. At Clermont,
therewas a similarbackgroundof faminesand epidemics,including
theignissacer,whichcreatedanxietyand made mentakethoughtfor
theirsins and forthe needs of the times.45 When Urban made his
42 For an appeal to Benedict VIII
to rule that,while St. Martial was one of
the seventy,he was stillonly a confessor,see Bishop Jordanof Limoges's letter,
Ep. iv, P.L., cxli, cc. 1158-60; Benedict died beforeit arrived. For JohnXIX's
affirmation
of St. Martial's apostolicity,which he emphasized by assigninghim
an altar in St. Peter's basilica, see Ep. xv, ibid., cc. 1149-50. Adhemar laid
weight upon papal authority:Delisle, art. cit., p. 299; Hoffmann,Gottesfriede
und Treuga Dei, pp. 258-9.
book,
43 I discuss these developments at Saint-Martial in my forthcoming
The Cluniacs and the GregorianReform.
was
Nicholas
The
of
the
reformed
principal peace legislation
early
papacy
44
II's (Io59): Ep. viii, Mansi, xix, c. 873; canons xv-xvi,ibid.,c. 915. But it was
exceptional.
cc. 224-5; Orderic
45 Sigebertof Gembloux, Chronica,s.a.
lo89-95, P.L., clx,
Vitalis, Hist., ix. 2, ed. le Prevost,iii (Paris, 1845), p. 463. According to the
earliest historianof the Hospitallers of St. Antony,Urban II on his French
journeyand at Clermontwas much concernedwith the foundingof his order,
which devoted itselfto the victimsof the ignissacer,and with reformingthe cult
of St. Antony: A. Falco, Antonianae historiaecompendium
(Lyons, 1534), fols.
xliiiv-xlivv,xlviir-v.

PEACE AND TRUCE OF GOD
57
summonsto the Crusade, the circumstanceswere familiar. He

addresseda greatconcourseof bothclergyand laity. As at so many
Peace councilsfromLe Puy (975) and Limoges(994) onwards,they
assembledin the open. Their answeringcries of "Deus le volt"
recalltheearliercriesof "Pax, pax, pax".
Urban almostcertainly
spokeat lengthabout peace. Thereis no
authenticrecordof whathe actuallysaid, but Fulcherof Chartres
describeshimas havingbeendeeplymovedbytheinternalturmoilof
Christendom:
He saw how the Christianfaithwas trampledunder foot by all, both clergy
and people, and how the warfare and strifeof the princes of the world
endlesslybroughtabout the destructionof peace.
Accordingto Fulcher,he revivedthe themeof the Peace movement

as it was preachedin earliertimes,by callingupon Christiansto
renewthepeace oftheChurchin itspristinequality.46 The versions
of Urban'sspeechagreethathe urgedan end to men'sstrifeagainst
their Christianneighbours,and the dedicationof theirarms to a
salutarywarfareagainstthe heathen.47 As the canonsof Clermont
were preservedby Bishop Lambert of Arras, they accordingly
prescribe,for the firsttime in the historyof the Peace of God,
a perpetualpeacewithinthewholeofChristendom.48The Crusading
propagandathat followedClermontseems to have taken up this
call.49
In all this,the Crusade in effectresumedthe Peace movement

whereit was leftby the canons of Narbonne(1054). Narbonne
enunciatedthe principlethatChristiansoughtnot to shed Christian
blood; Urban drew the conclusionof proclaiminga generalpeace
withinChristendom. The churchhad increasingly
givenitsblessing
to the warfareof knightsand had begunto use themto keep peace;
Urban directedthemto a new fieldof battlein the holywaragainst
the pagansofthe east. The Truce of God was as it werean ascetic
discipline;Urban associatedwiththe keepingof peace at homeand
the journeyto liberateJerusalemthe spiritualbenefitsthat had
previouslybeen reservedfor pilgrims.50His Crusade was the
46 Historia Iherosolymitana,
i. I, Recueil des historiensdes croisades,historiens
occidentaux,iii (Paris, I866), p. 321; cf. i. 4, P. 325.
47 The best study of the chroniclers' record of Urban's speech is
D. C. Munro, "The Speech of Pope Urban II at Clermont,1095", Amer.Hist.
Rev., xi (1906), pp. 231-42; esp. p. 239.
48 Canon i, Mansi, xx, c. 816.
49 A. Gieysztor,"The Genesis of the Crusades; the Encyclical of Sergius IV
Medievalia etHumanistica,v (1948), pp. 3-23; vi (1950), pp. 3-34;
(I009-I2)",
esp. lines 26-31 of the textof the "Encyclical".
50 C. Erdmann, Die Entstehungdes Kreuzzugsgedankens
(Weimar, 1935), is
still the best analysis of the originsof the First Crusade.

58
PAST AND PRESENT
NUMBER 46
complementof the Peace movement. He did not therebysucceed

in bringing
peace to France,but by makinghimselftheproponentof
peace he claimedthe churchand societyof France forthe papacy
morefullythanever before.
Lay government
to buildingup the
The Peace of God also made its contribution
of lay society. But whereasin the case of the churchit
structures
provideda milieuin whichthepopescouldasserttheirheadshipofan
summonFrench chivalryto the
existinghierarchyand effectively
was a more
its contribution
Crusade,in the case of lay government
drewupon
directone. As in theearlydaysofthePeace churchmen
and adaptedthemto meet
theexpedientsof Carolingiangovernment
theirown needs in protecting
clerks,churchpropertyand church
so in thecourseoftheeleventhcenturylayrulersbegan
dependents,
to claim fromchurchmenthe Peace and the Truce in orderto use
oncemore.
themto buildup theirownauthority
It becametheeasierforlayrulersto claimthem,becausefromthe
in manycountriesof Europe,theforms
end of theeleventhcentury,
robbersandthelike,
ofcriminaljusticebeganto change. Murderers,
in
suffered
whatevertheirsocial condition,increasingly
punishment
forseriouscrimesbecame
theirbodies,whilefinancialcompositions
unusual. Popularjusticetendedto giveplace to the justiceof lords
thesource
madethemselves
and lordsaccordingly
and theirofficials,
of peace in theirown lands. The traditionsof the Peace and the
forwhenlay lords
to such developments,
Truce of God contributed
own
of
their
name
in
the
crimes
serious
peace theyoften
punished
drew upon these traditionsin orderto justifythemselvesand to
providea sanctionforwhattheyweredoing.
assisted
In such waysas thisthePeace and the Truce increasingly
the process,sometimesepitomizedas "concentricconcentration",51
by which temporalauthoritywas slowlyrehabilitatedin western
the
Europe. Thus in France,thehomelandofthePeace movement,
the
of thepagusroundaboutthe yearIooo represents
disintegration
low-watermark of temporalauthority. From this conditionof
weaknessits politicalstructures
began to be renewedwhen growth
and
of
graduallyappearedin the lesser
jurisdiction
authority
points
and greaterfiefs,whoselordsused the resourcesthattheyfoundto
hand. The kingsin due coursefollowedsuitand so movedtowards
51See H. Mitteis, Lehnrechtund Staatsgewalt (Weimar, 1933), Pp. 282-3,
300-9; Der Staat des hohen Mittelalters,5th edn. (Weimar, 1955), PP. 136,
208-9, 240-I.

PEACEANDTRUCEOF GOD
59
the balancedfeudalpolityof thethirteenth

century. In the lightof
suchdevelopments
as thisthecontribution
ofthePeace and theTruce
was made at graduallyhigherlevelsof society- firstin a greatfief
like Aquitainebut afterwards
in the monarchiesnot onlyof France
but also of Germanyand elsewhere. At the same timetherewas
a movementawayfromthe southof Franceto regions,especiallyto
the northand north-eastof the Loire, wheretherewas a firmer
institutional
basis forthe maintenanceof justiceand public order.
In theduchyofAquitaine,thesecularrulerbeganto use thePeace
movementat a veryearlydate, duringthe rule of Duke WilliamV
Le Grand(990-1029). Williamwas a zealous sponsorof the Peace
councils,and it was his intention
by theirmeansto winfortheducal
some of the prestigethatpeace activitiesweresecuringfor
authority
prelateslike ArchbishopGumbaldof Bordeaux.52 It was the duke
who summonedthe council of Poitiers(c. 1011-14). Its canons,
designedto secure the "renewalof peace and justice", were not
but peace-breakers
onlysanctionedby threatsof excommunication,
were to appear beforethe lord of theirregionor the iudexof their
secularjusticewas thuslinkedwith
pagus.53 Earlyeleventh-century
the Peace movement,
and it gainedin strength
by beingexercisedin
so timelya cause. A further
hintof theduke'smethodsis provided
of Saint-Maixent. It shows
by a charterof the Poitevinmonastery
how he presidedat further
councilswherethe measuresof Poitiers
were renewed. As a consequenceof his zeal, therein due course
came beforehis son, Duke WilliamVI Le Gras (1029-38),certain
fromthemonksof Saint-Maixent
and of Saint-Lagerthat
complaints
his local iudiceshad invadedtheirlands and wrongfully
oppressed
tookstepsto set mattersrightby
poor men. The duke,therefore,
takingswornevidenceabout the rightful
jurisdictionof the iudices
from"the elders of the regionand those who knew its ancient
customs". Their findings
werewrittendown in a formaldescriptio
of the respectiverightsof the monksand the duke's officers,
which
was swornto by theprincipes
and nobileswho werepresent.54
This attemptin pursuanceof thePeace of God to rehabilitate
and
ducalauthority
did notlongsurviveDuke WilliamV. But in
rectify
the secondhalfofthe centuryit was imitatedwithgreatereffect
and
permanenceto the northin the duchyof Normandy. There ducal
powerhad leftno footholdforthePeace in itsearlydays,whenit was
52 See
Bonnaud-Delamare, art. cit., Recueils... Jean Bodin, xiv (1961),
PP. 415-87.
53 Mansi, xix, c. 267.
l'histoire de Saint-Maixent, ed.
64 Chartes et documentspour servir c
A. Richard (Archiveshistoriquesdu Poitou, xvi, 1886), no. cxi, pp. Io9-II.

PAST AND PRESENT
60
NUMBER
46
an episcopal remedyfor near anarchy. It firstappeared,almost

certainlyupon ducal initiative,in the time of Duke Williamthe
Bastard (1035-87) at the council of Caen (1047) which marked the
revivalof his fortunesfollowingthe battleof Val-es-Dunes. The

Normanmeasuresseemto havedrawnbutlittleupontheolderPeace
withitsdependenceuponepiscopalguidanceandauthority.
movement
of disciplineupon fighting
They imposeda Truce as an instrument
offighting
on certaindays
men,butinthespecialsenseofa prohibition
whichforbadeall warfare
savetheduke'sown. In Normanusagethe
wordspax and treugawere synonyms
forsuch a Truce, whichwas
enforced
as wellas bythesanctionsofa church
bytheduke'sauthority
whichwas loyalto him. Thus fromthe startthe Truce servedto
build up ducal power over the church and over the Norman
aristocracy.55
Afterio66, the Truce as thus firstestablishedin the continental

part of the Anglo-Normankingdomwas the basis of important
developmentsthere. While evidence is scanty,it is enough to
suggestthatthe Truce was the meansby whichducal controlwas
builtup overcriminaljustice,and theleverbywhichducal authority
was raisedhighabove thatof all otherlords. A majorstepforward
was taken at the council of Lillebonne(io8o), when, as Orderic
Vitalisexpressedit,
counselwas takento thecommonadvantageby theking'swisdom,withthe
adviceof his barons,forthe good orderof God's churchand of thewhole
realm.
The firstcanonofLillebonnedealtwiththe"Peace ofGod, commonly

hisearlierlegislation
and
calledtheTruce". In it Williamreaffirmed
added a new machinery
forenforcing
it:
to thebishop,letthebishopshowthematter
If anyoneshouldbe disobedient
to thelordin whoselandhe dwells,and letthelorddeliverhimto episcopal
be calledin
justice. If thelordshouldneglectto do so,lettheking'svicomte
by thebishopand let himactwithoutmakinganyexcuse.56
Never beforein the historyof the Peace of God had the temporal
rulerprovidedso strongand automatica sanctionforits observance.
Much, indeed,was stillleftin thehandsof thebishops. Moreover,
with the weakerrule of Duke Robert Curthose(lo87-IIo6), the
councilofRouen(Io96) imposedthePeaceandtheTrucein pursuance
of episcopal
of the decrees of Clermontwith a clear affirmation
tendencywas forthe duketo take
jurisdiction.57 But the prevailing
55 M. de Bouard, "Sur les origines de la trave de Dieu en Normandie",
Annales de Normandie,ix (1959), pp. 169-89.
66 Hist., v. 5, ed. le Prevost,ii (1840), pp. 315-6.
Norman bishops held placita treugae into the
67 Mansi, xx, cc. 921-6.
thirteenthcentury.

61
of
over the keepingof public peace. The Norman Consuetudines
et iustitiaeof the duchy as
Io91, which set in writingthe consuetudines
theywerein WilliamI's day,showhowthedukehimselfassumedthe

right to vindicatecrimes that the Truce legislationfrom 1047
onwardshad soughtto put down.58 AfterKing HenryI ofEngland
had securedthe duchyin Ilo6, he resumedhis father'swork. The
and
mainevidenceforthisis providedby the Tresanciencoutumier,
in it particularly
by Henry'sordinanceof 1135whichsummedup the
ofhis reign.59 Fromthisit seemsclearthatthetrend
developments
had continued. The duke's courtswere
set by the Consuetudines
tryingmanycases ofbreachesoftheTruce and merelypayingcertain
of the incidentsof justiceto the bishops. In effectthe Truce was
providingthe materialfromwhichthe duke'speace was beingbuilt,
and criminaljurisdictionwas being concentrated
upon the duke in
a waythatraisedhimabove all othersourcesof justice.60 Such, on
was theNormanlegacyto laterAngevinrule.
thecontinent,
In the Norman lands of the south,the Peace of God and its
consequences for the structureof temporal governmentshow
withNormandyitself.61 It was not until
considerablesimilarities
afterthedeathin io85 ofthestrongrulerRobertGuiscardthatthere
is clearevidenceforit. In Sicily,wherea fairlyrapidand thorough
of a strongcentralauthority,
conquestfavouredthe establishment
CountRogerI may,perhaps,have proclaimeda generalpeace of his
own under lay authorityas early as c. Io91-4,62 although if he did,
no detailsof it survive. In Apulia and Calabria,the Normanshad

penetratedpiecemeal,and the problemsof peace and order were
moreintractable. The Truce of God seemsto have been
therefore
58 C. H. Haskins, NormanInstitutions
(Cambridge, Mass., 1918), pp. 277-84;
cf. pp. 30-9.
59E.-J. Tardif, Coutumiersde Normandie, i, Le tres ancien coutumierde
Normandie(Rouen, 1881), no. lxxi, pp. 65-8.
60 The
subject of Normandy is discussed by J. Goebel, Felony and Misdemeanour,i (New York, 1937), PP. 280-335. The increasingconcern of the
counts of Flanders withPeace measureswhich were in manyways similarto the
earlier Norman ones is outlined by Bonnaud-Delamare, "La Paix en Flandre
pendantla premierecroisade", Revue du Nord,xxxix(1957), PP. 147-52.
61 See
esp. E. Jamison, "The Norman Administration of Apulia and
Calabria", Papers of the British School at Rome, vi, no. 6 (London, 1913),
pp. 239-43; C. Cahen, Le Rdgimefdodal de l'Italie normande(Paris, 1940),
pp. 107-10.
62 Such an inferenceis commonlydrawn fromthe words "I have established
a lastingpeace throughall Sicily" in a charterof Roger's to the churchof Patti:
R. Pirro, Sicilia sacra, in Thesaurus antiquitatumet historiarumSiciliae, ed.
J. G. Graevius,iii (Leyden, 1723), c. 840. But comparisonwiththe language of
similar charterssuggests that they might simply referto the expulsion of the
Saracens.

62
PAST AND PRESENT
NUMBER 46
introducedand developedthereby the directactionof the papacy.

Urban II establishedit at the councilsof Melfi (lo89) and Troia
(lo93);63
and Paschal II renewed it at the council of Troia (1115).64
So faras the evidencegoes,theseTruces dependedupon episcopal

sanctions. Theirscope was graduallyextended,so thattheTruce of
III15 notonlyprotectedcertainseasons,but also soughtto introduce
a continuouspeace forthreeyears.
But in due course Roger II used the Truce which was thus
introducedto build up his own authority.Justbeforehe assumed
the Siciliancrownin 1130,he establisheda peace of his own which
was verysimilarto thatdevelopedin Normandyby WilliamI and
HenryI. At an assemblyof magnatesat Melfiin 1129 he issuedan
edictprohibiting
privatewaramonghisvassals. Atthesametimehe
compelledthemto swearpeace amongstthemselves. They wereto
co-operatein maintaining
peace and justiceby bringingmalefactors
to his courts,and theywere chargedto protectthe clergyand the
lay classes.65 Rogerthusestablished,and as kingwas
non-military
to maintain,a generalpeace whichmade his own justicethe basis of
the publicorderforwhichthe earlierTruce had striven.
The appropriation
of the Peace of God by a territorial
rulerof
comitalor ducal standing,of whichthe Normanlands providethe
best examples,was also a featureof the regionof Spain whichhad
onceformedpartofthe Carolingian
Empire- the SpanishMarchof
Catalonia. Its continuinglinks with the south of France had
ensuredthatit quicklycame withinthe ambitof the FrenchPeace
movement. After the council of Toulouges (1027),
numerous
councilsthereproclaimedthe Peace and the Truce.66 Both the

papacyand the countsof Barcelonasoughtto gain advantagefrom
theirintroduction.At thecouncilof Gerona(io68), CardinalHugh
themand extendedthe scope of
Candidusas papal legateconfirmed
the Truce.67 In 1079 GregoryVII instructed
Bishop Berengarof
Geronato assembleclergyand laymen,and to establishunderpapal
63Mansi, xx, cc. 724-5, 790. Gregory VII, Ep. ix. 4, Registrum,ed.
E. Caspar, M.G.H., Epistolae selectae, ii (Berlin, 1920-3), pp. 577-9, may
provide evidence forthe Truce at an earlierdate.
4 Mansi, xxi, cc. 139-40.
65 Alexander of Telesia, De rebus
gestis Rogerii Siciliae regis,i. 21, Rerum
Italicarum scriptores,ed. L. A. Muratori, v (Milan, 1724), c. 620. Roger's
detailed prohibition,at thistime,of privatewar and brigandagemay be inferred
fromcap. xxxi of the Assize of Ariano ( 140): F. Brandileone,II dirittoromano
nellelegginormannee suevenel regnodi Sicilia (Turin, 1884), p. I13.
66 For a fine
und
example of a Catalan Peace, see Hoffmann,Gottesfriede
Treuga Dei, pp. 260-2.
"6Mansi, xix, c. 1072; cf. the council of Vich, ibid.c. 1076.

63
sanctiona peace betweenthe sons of CountRaymondBerengarI of

Barcelona.68
of
If the Peace thus occasionallyservedto increasethe authority
to thestructure
withmorelastingeffect
of
thepapacy,it contributed
of the countsof Barcelona.
by feedingthe authority
lay government
There is evidenceforthisin the Usaticiof Barcelona,a collectionof
lawsforthecounty,partsofwhichgo backto the Io6os. Even in the
earliestmaterialthecounttooka considerable
partin upholdingpeace
and justice, especiallyin the region of Barcelona itself. As in
Normandyso in the SpanishMarch,thetemporalrulerearlybegan
to drawuponthePeace of God in orderto buildup his ownpeace in
the land.69
In the long run kingswere able to imitatethe examplewhich
counts and dukes had set. The Peace firstbecame a significant
whenfromthemiddle
factorforthebuildingup ofCapetianauthority
of the eleventhcenturypeace arrangements
upon the royaldemesne
had in commonwithearlyNormanlegislationsome of the features
whichfavouredthe ruler'sauthority.70It was in the nextcentury,
whenpapal endeavourswerealso directedtowardsbuildingup peace
in France,71that Kings Louis VI (11o8-37) and Louis VII (1137-80)
followedmoreresolutely
thepathofthedukesofNormandy. In the
demesne
used
the Truce to establisha peace whichwas
royal
they
essentiallythat of the king. As Capetian power grew,this peace
becamestronger
and morewidelydiffused.72
The Emperor,too, in the long run drewupon the legacyof the
Peace movement
to his own considerableadvantage. This was,it is
true,a fairlylatedevelopment. If thePeace of God as it was at first
inAquitaineandtheduchyofBurgundy
had quicklyspread
proclaimed
into the kingdomsof Burgundyand Italy, it had no appreciable
consequencestherefor the structureof temporalauthority.73In
oftheSaxonand earlySalianmonarchy
and its
Germanythestrength
and the place of the bishops in the imperialchurch
institutions,
vi.I7, ed. Caspar, pp. 423-4.
68 Register,
6" E. Wohlhaupter,Studien zur Rechtsgeschichte

der Gottes-und Landfrieden
in Spanien (Heidelberg, 1933), PP. 351-9. I have not been able to see a textof
the Usatici.
70 Bouard, art. cit.,Annalesde Normandie,ix (1959), PP. 176-89.
71 At the councils of Rheims (1119): Mansi, xxi, cc. 236-7; Clermont(II30),
canon viii: ibid.,c. 439; and Rheims (1148), canon xi: ibid.,c. 716.
developmentsare traced by A. Grabois, "De la trove de
7" Twelfth-century
Dieu ia la paix du roi. Etude sur les transformations
du mouvementde la paix
au xiie siecle", Melanges offerts
a' Rend Crozet, ed. P. Gallais and Y.-J. Riou
(Poitiers, 1966), i, pp. 585-96.
i, nos. 419-21, 423, PP. 596-7, 602.
73 M.G.H., Constitutiones,

PAST AND PRESENT
64
NUMBER 46
system,were so much in contrastwithconditionsin the south of

Francethatthe Peace movementcould scarcelyhave founda place
there. So faras the integrity
of churchlands was concerned,even
in the tenthcenturythe De statu sanctaeecclesiae,if somewhat
contrastedFrance with the happy state of affairsin
idealistically,
Germany:there,farfromrushingto despoila vacantsee, episcopal
tenantsdutifully
placed theirlands at the feetof a new bishopand
humblyawaitedhis will.74 In c. 1024, when a groupof northern
Frenchbishopstriedto commendthePeace of God to BishopGerard
of Cambrai,whosedioceselaywithintheEmpire,he forlongargued
againstthem. The keepingof the peace, he said, was the king's
nota bishop's:
function,
The bishop's task is to pray; it is forthe king to fight. Thus, kings should
curb strifeby force,end wars, and promotethe concernsof peace. Bishops
should exhortthem to fightmanfullyfor the public safetyand should pray
for them to be victorious.75
Furtherto theeast and especiallyin Germaniatheembeddingofthe

churchand its jurisdictionin the imperialstructureat once gave
ecclesiasticaljusticefirmbackingand enabledthe kingto use it in
reinforcement
of his own. Thus the objectsof the westernPeace
movementas regardspublic order were pursued under imperial
authority:of this his biographer'sstrikingaccount of the future
Bishop Benno II of Osnabriick,wieldingauthorityunder Henry
of the royalpalace,
III at Goslaras botharchpriest
and vicedominus
providesa vividif perhapsan extremeexample.76
But withthe minority
of HenryIV (1056-65)the bonds of order
and stability
in theEmpirebeganto be seriously
relaxed. The Saxon
risingof 1073 and Henry'sstrugglewithPope GregoryVII, and the
feudswhichtheystimulated,
made mattersworse. The exampleof
theFrenchPeace becamehighlyrelevant:menaskedforthekindsof
reliefthatit afforded
and it beganto findseriousimitators.77It was
the bishopswho firstsoughtto use it in orderto mitigatedisorder.
They proclaimedthe Peace of God in councilsat Liege (Io82),
74 Diimmler, art. cit., pp.
385-6.
iii. 27, M.G.H., Scriptorum,

vii, p. 474.
Cameracensium,
75 Gesta episcoporum
6-8, ed. H. Bresslau (Scriptores

76 Vita BennonisII episcopi Osnabrugensis,
rerumGermanicarum,
Hanover, 1902), pp. 6-io.
own somewhat idiosyncraticzeal for peace, which may have
77 Henry III's
been partly inspired by French models, had made no real imprint upon
2nd edn.
Germany: G. B. Ladner, Theologieund Politikvor demInvestiturstreit,
(Darmstadt, 1968), pp. 70-8.

65
Cologne (lo83) and Mainz (1085).78 At the last of them the king
himselfwas present,and thePeace thatit announcedwas intendedto

be observedin thewholeEmpire.
of the Peace of God was quicklyfollowedby
This introduction
werepromulgalocalassembliesat whichgeneralpeaces(Landfrieden)
ted by lay authorities. Their purpose was to combat and limit
feuds,and to put down robberiesand otheroffencesthat
knightly
infringedpublic security. The whole populace was broughtinto
them and, withoutrespectfor the distinctions
of freeand unfree
conditionthatwerestillobservedin thefirstGermanPeaces of God,
of lifeand limb wereimposedupon all who offended
punishments
A lost Swabian Landfriede
of 1083 was followedby
them.
against
one forBavaria(1094) and byan undatedPeace forAlsace; Bernold's
Chronicleprovidesfurther
evidenceof endeavoursto establishpeace
by theanti-imperial
side.79
The kinghimselfwas quick to followsuit. HenryIV's imperial
of Mainz (1103) had the same generalscope as the Peace
Landfriede
of God of lo85, but, in content,it put forwardthe characteristic
The authorof
measuresoftheLandfrieden
underimperialauthority.80
in regarding
theReichslandfriede
the VitaHeinriciIV waswelljustified
ofI 103 as theculminating
pointofHenry'sreign.81 For it embodied
to all classesof society,to
a coherentplan to extendroyalprotection
and to bindit morecloselyto
checkthelawlessnessofthearistocracy
thecrown,and to subjectall classesto a criminallawwhosebasiswas
thepeace oftheEmpire. In thiswayHenryIV's measuresbeganthe
whichwas continuedby HenryV,
greatseriesof Reichslandfrieden
FrederickBarbarossaand FrederickII.8 If othercircumstances
in
itmightwellhavebeenthebeginning
theirtimeshad beenfavourable,
8 The textofthe Liege Peace has not survived,but an account of it whichmay

be basically reliable is given by Giles of Orval, Gesta episcoporum
Leodiensium,
iii. 13, M.G.H., Scriptorum,xxv, pp. '89-90; but cf. A. Joris,"Observations sur
la proclamationde la trove de Dieu Liege a la findu xie siecle", Recueils...
7ean Bodin, xiv (1961), pp. 505-45. Peace measuresmay have been introduced
at Liege from as early as c. io66. For Cologne and Mainz, see M.G.H.,
Constitutiones,
i, nos. 424-5, pp. 602-8. The Mainz text closely followsthat of
Cologne.
"I M.G.H., Constitutiones,
i, nos. 427, 429, pp. 609-Io; Bernold, Chronicon,
s.a. 1093, M.G.H., Scriptorum,v, p. 457.
80
i, no. 74, PP. 125-6.
M.G.H., Constitutiones,
81Cap. 8, ed. W. Eberhard, Quellen zur GeschichteKaiser HeinrichsIV, ed.
F.-J. Schmale (Berlin, 1963), pp. 438-40.
82 I follow here the
im
judgements of H. Hirsch, Die hohe Gerichtsbarkeit
deutschenMittelalter, 2nd edn. (Graz and Cologne, 1958), pp. 232-5; and
in der Zeit der Salier und Staufer, Ioth
K. Hampe, Deutsche Kaisergeschichte
edn., ed. F. Baethgen (Heidelberg, 1949), pp. 81-2. The Peace institutionsof
Germanyare comprehensivelystudied by J. Gernhuber,Die Landfriedensbewegung in Deutschland bis zum Mainzer Reichslandfriedenvon 1235 (Bonner
Rechtswissenschaftliche
Abhandlungen,xliv, Bonn, 1952).

PAST AND PRESENT
66
NUMBER 46
of such a strong monarchicalpower, based upon judicial and

as grewup in Franceand in the Norman
administrative
superiority,
lands.
This briefsurveyof lay government
suggeststhat,so faras the
ofthePeace ofGod and ofitseffects
is concerned,it was
distribution
churchmen
and
proclaimedby
increasingly
adaptedby lay rulersfor
theirownpurposes,to theirconsiderable
advantage. The Peace and
withintheboundariesoftheformer
itsconsequencesspreadprimarily
Carolingian
Empire. Thereweregoodreasonswhythisshouldbe so.
It was in this Empire that the generalmaintenanceof peace had
becomethedutyof the layruler,whilechurchmen
had filledout the
idea of peace withAugustinianconceptionsof divinelywilled and
sustainedorderand righteousness.There too,and (as themeasures
of its dukes illustrate)especiallyin Aquitaine,such Carolingian
devicesas thesworninquestwereremembered
and wereavailableto
layrulersin theserviceofpeace and justice.
The Carolingianboundariesof the Peace developmentsof the
eleventhcenturyare especiallyclearin Spain: there,thePeace was of
importancein the formerSpanish March, but not as yet in the
Christiankingdomsfurtherto the west. The major exceptionis
Norman Italy. There the Normans- "supremelythe men who
madethingswork,theassimilators
whotookoverexistinginstitutions
and gavethema newefficiency
unattainable
bytheiroriginators""83
foundit expedient,at the prompting
of a Frenchpope, to deal with
the disordersof Apuliaand Sicilyafterthedeathof RobertGuiscard
by employingthe means withwhichtheyhad become familiarin
Neustria. The Normansin Italyare the exceptionprovingthe rule
whichis so wellillustrated
bytheirkinsmenwhoconqueredEngland.
In this land whichwas neverunder the Carolingiansway and by
contrastwithNormandy,therewas no real traceof thePeace or the
Truce of God beforelo66.84 By thestandardoftheFrenchchurch
with its firmstructure
of bishopsand archdeacons,its regularand
the Englishchurch
jurisdiction,
busy councils,and its well-defined
for promotingpeace even had the
was no ready-madeinstrument
of
Normanswishedso to use it. Instead,the remarkablestrength
and of the local organizationof
Anglo-Saxonroyaladministration
shiresand hundredsputadmirablealternative
meansofpeace-keeping
into the Normans'hands. If, as RichardFitzNigelwrotethatthe
Conqueror'snephewBishopHenryof Blois had told him,WilliamI
had added to nativeEnglishlaws "thoseNormanlawsfromoverseas
R. Loyn, The Norman Conquest(London, 1965), p. 30.
Treuga Dei, pp. 254-6. Domesday Book
contains a referenceto a treuva regis at Dover in Edward the Confessor's
day from29 Sept. to 30 Nov. (the wordpax is interlinedover treuva): i, f. Ir.
83 H.
84 Hoffmann, Gottesfriedeund

67
whichseemedto himmosteffective
thepeace (ad regni
in preserving
thePeace and the Truce of God werenotamong
pacemtuendam)",85
them.86 They wereand remainedas unimportant
upon the soil of
Englandas theywerevitalupon thesoil ofNeustria.87
But therewere differences
among the regionsof the sometime
itself:
the
Peace began in the west and only
CarolingianEmpire
later did it penetrateinto the east. This reflectedthe long-term
fortunes
of thedifferent
regions. The east,evenbeforetheimperial
churchsystemof the Ottos and Salians was establishedthere,had
- a discardingof manyof the
undergonean Entfrankungsprozess
ideas and institutionsof the Carolingianheyday - which was
energetically
pursued by Louis "the German" (843-76) and his
thedivisionsofthetreatyofVerdun,
successors. Roughlyfollowing
the Carolingianlands split into threeas regardstheirattitudesto
Carolingiantraditionsof government.88Only in Aquitaine and
Neustriadid the bishopstransmitthemin a fairlystraightline to
of the Peace of
eleventh-century
lay rulers,as by theirproclamation
God. So whenthe crisisof royalauthority
brokein latereleventhcenturyGermanyit was expedientto look westwardsformodelsin
devisingnew peace institutions.Yet the burgeoningcultus of
Charlemagnein high medieval Germanyis a reminderthat this
borrowingwas facilitatedby the commonCarolingianheritageof
east and west. Regardedin this light,the Peace movementof the
eleventhcentury
is evidenceofthepotencyofthisheritagein shaping
much of continentalEurope at its medievalapogee, and especially
theinstitutions
whichpromotedpeace, justiceand socialorder.
St. EdmundHall, Oxford
H. E. J. Cowdrey
Dialogus de Scaccario, xvi, ed. C. Johnson(London, 1950), p. 63.
But the procedure of inquiry which the duke of Aquitaine used at SaintMaixent in the Io30s may well have been used in France on otheroccasions and
could have been known to those who planned the vaster descriptioof England,
Domesday Book, of which Henry of Blois went on to speak.
English evidence is thatof the so-called Leges Edwardi
87 The only significant
Confessoris(c. 1135), which Maitland stigmatizedas "private work of a bad and
untrustworthykind". It speaks of a pax Dei et sanctae ecclesiae granted to
clerks and their possessions, and to the whole kingdom at certain seasons:
I.I-2.8a, Die Gesetze der Angelsachsen,ed. F. Liebermann, i (Halle, 1903),
pp. 628-9. It is perhaps the result of an individual's revision in the light of
continentalpractice of Anglo-Saxon legislationwhich prescribeda special royal
peace at "holy tides" (e.g., v Ethelred 19, vI Ethelred 25, I Canute 17: Liebermann, op. cit.,i, pp. 243, 253-5, 296-7).
88 E. Ewig, in the course of a valuable discussion,has epitomizedthe situation
as " 'Entfrankung'im Osten, Fortbildungdes hochkarolingischenStaatsgedankens im Westen, Stagnation in der Mitte": Die mittelalterliche
Kirche, i, Vom
kirchlicheFramittelalterzur gregorianischen
Reform (Handbuch der Kirchened. H. Jedin,iii/i, Freiburg, 1966), p. 146.
geschichte,
85
88


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The Past and Present Society

The Peace and the Truce of God in the Eleventh Century

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THE PEACE AND THE TRUCE OF GOD

DURING THE LAST HUNDRED YEARS OR SO, HISTORIANS HAVE DEVOTED

muchstudyto the attempts

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THE ELEVENTH-CENTURYPEACE AND TRUCE OF GOD

nuns,widows,orphansand thepoor,he providedforjustsuchneeds

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PAST AND PRESENT

Poitiers (c. o1011-I4), Charroux (1027-8), Limoges (1028), Poitiers

forbidviolenceon an everlongerlistofdaysand seasonswas rapidly

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THE ELEVENTH-CENTURYPEACE AND TRUCE OF GOD

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propagandistmorezealous thanthe monkAdhemarof Chabannes.

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THE ELEVENTH-CENTURYPEACE AND TRUCE OF GOD

grounded. Cluny's troublesin 994 illustratethe predicamentof

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PAST AND PRESENT

of allodialholdingsof all sizes and with

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