Administrator commissioned by the Frankish king or Holy Roman Emperor
"Missi" redirects here. For the American actress and singer, seeMissi Pyle. For the poet, seeŞeşpĕl Mišši. For the 1976 film, seeMissi (film).
Amissus dominicus (pluralmissi dominici),Latin for "envoy[s] of the lord [ruler]", also known inDutch asZendgraaf (German:Sendgraf), meaning "sentGraf", was an official commissioned by the Frankish king orHoly Roman Emperor to supervise the administration, mainly of justice, in parts of his dominions too remote for frequent personal visits.[1] As such, themissus performed important intermediary functions between royal and local administrations. There are superficial points of comparison with the original Romancorrector, except that themissus was sent out on a regular basis. Four points made themissi effective as instruments of the centralized monarchy: the personal character of themissus, yearly change, isolation from local interests and the free choice of the king.[2]
Based onMerovingianad hoc arrangements,[3] using the formmissus regis (the "king's envoy") and sending a layman and an ecclesiastic in pairs,[4] the use ofmissi dominici was fully exploited byCharlemagne (ruling 768–814), who made them a regular part of his administration,[5][6][7] "a highly intelligent and plausible innovation in Carolingian government",Norman F. Cantor observes,[8] "and a tribute to the administrative skill of the ecclesiastics, such asAlcuin andEinhard". Themissi were at first chosen from Charlemagne's personal, most trusted entourage, of whatever social degree. Soon they were selected only from the secular and ecclesiastical nobility: the entry for 802 in the so-calledLorsch Annals (794–803) states that instead of relying on "poorervassals",[9] Charlemagne "chose from the kingdom archbishops and bishops and abbots, with dukes and counts, who now had no need to receive gifts from the innocent, and sent them throughout his kingdom, so that they might administer justice to the churches, to widows, orphans and the poor, and to all the people."[10] Presumably the same year thecapitulary usually known as theCapitulare missorum generale was issued, which gives a detailed account of their duties and responsibilities. They were to execute justice, to ensure respect for the king, to control the government of the militarydukes and administrativecounts (then still royal officials), to receive their oath of allegiance,[11] to let the king's will be known, at times by distributing capitularies around the empire, and to supervise the clergy of their assigned region.[5] In short, they were the direct representatives of the king orHoly Roman Emperor. The inhabitants of the district they administered had to provide for their subsistence, and at times they led the host to battle.[5] Themissi were protected by a triplewergeld and resistance to them was punishable by death.[12] In addition special instructions were given to variousmissi, and many of these have been preserved.[5]
Asmissi became a conventional part of court machinery,missus ad hoc came to signifymissi sent out for some particular purpose.[13][14] The districts placed under the ordinarymissi, which it was their duty to visit for a month at a time, four times a year, were calledmissatici orlegationes[5] (a term illustrating the analogy with apapal legate); themissatica (singularmissaticum) avoided division along the lines of the existingdioceses orprovinces.[12][15] Themissi were not permanent officials, but were generally selected from the ranks of officials at the court, and during the reign of Charlemagne high-standing personages undertook this work.[5] They were sent out collegially, usually in twos, an ecclesiastic and a layman, and were generally complete strangers to the district which they administered,[5] to deter them from putting out local roots and acting on their own initiative, as the counts were doing. In addition extraordinarymissi represented the emperor on special occasions, and at times beyond the limits of his dominions.[16] Even under the strong rule of Charlemagne it was difficult to find men to discharge these duties impartially, and after his death in 814 it became almost impossible.[5][17]
Under Charlemagne's surviving legitimate son,Louis the Pious (ruling 813–840),the process of disintegration was hastened.[18] Once the king associated the choice ofmissi with the assembly of nobles, the nobles interfered in the appointment of themissi. Themissi were later selected from the district in which their duties lay,[19][20][5] which led to their association with local hereditary filiations and in general a focus upon their own interests rather than that of the king.[21][22] The 825 list ofmissi reveals that the circuits of themissatica now corresponded with provinces, strengthening local powers. The duties ofmissi, who gradually increased in number, became merged in the ordinary work of the bishops and counts,[23] and under the emperorCharles the Bald[5] (ruling 843–877), who was repeatedly pressured by bishops to send outmissi, they took control of associations for the preservation of the peace.[5]Louis the German (ruling 843–876) is not known to have sent outmissi.[24] About the end of the ninth century, with the implosion of Carolingian power, themissi disappeared from France and during the 10th century from Italy.[5][25]
Themissi were the last attempt to preserve centralised control in theHoly Roman Empire. In the course of the ninth century, the forces which were making forfeudalism tended to produce inherited fiefdoms as the only way to ensure stability, especially in the face of renewed external aggression in the form ofViking attacks, to which the impaired central power was demonstrated to be impotent.
^Kikuchi, Shigeto (2013).Untersuchungen zu den Missi dominici. Herrschaft, Delegation und Kommunikation in der Karolingerzeit. pp. 58–66.OCLC950017512.
^Points noted in James Laurence Laughlin, "The decline of themissi dominici in Frankish Gaul",Credit4.1 (1903:1–22) p. 5.
^Michael Frassetto,Encyclopedia of barbarian Europe: society in transformation, 2003,s.v, "Missi Dominici";
^Kikuchi, Shigeto (2013).Untersuchungen zu den Missi dominici Herrschaft, Delegation und Kommunikation in der Karolingerzeit. pp. 220–229.OCLC950017512.
^Tr. Henry R. Loyn and J. Percival,The Reign of Charlemagne. London, 1975. p. 44.
^"They were most likely used to administer oaths of fidelity to Charlemagne in 789 and 792–93" (Encyclopedia of Barbarian Europe: Society in Transformation)
^Werner, Karl Ferdinand (1980).Missus-Marchio-Comes entre l'administration centrale et l'administration locale de l'Empire carolingien. Artemis. p. 210.OCLC690511467.
^Werner, Karl Ferdinand (1980).Missus-Marchio-Comes entre l'administration centrale et l'administration locale de l'Empire carolingien. Artemis. pp. 196–205.OCLC690511467.
^Scior, Volker (2009).Bemerkungen zum frühmittelalterlichen Boten- und Gesandtschaftswesen. Forschungen zur Geschichte des Mittelalters|Der frühmittelalterliche Staat Denkschriften der philosophisch-historischen Klasse 386. Band|. oeaw. pp. 315–317.OCLC757169049.
^James Laurence Laughlin, "The decline of themissi dominici in Frankish Gaul",Credit4.1 (1903:1-).
^Kikuchi, Shigeto (2013).Untersuchungen zu den Missi dominici Herrschaft, Delegation und Kommunikation in der Karolingerzeit. pp. 229–231.OCLC950017512.
^Werner, Karl Ferdinand, (1924-2008), Auteur. (1980).Missus-Marchio-Comes entre l'administration centrale et l'administration locale de l'Empire carolingien. Artemis.OCLC690511467.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
^Depreux, Philippe. "L'absence de jugement datant du règne de Louis le Pieux: l'expression d'un mode de gouvernement reposant plus systématiquement sur le recours aux missi".Annales de Bretagne et des Pays de l'Ouest.108:7–20.
^Bougard, François (1995).La justice dans le royaume d'Italie: de la fin du VIIIe siècle au début du XIe siècle. Ecole française de Rome. pp. 177–203,296–305.ISBN2728303258.OCLC906746189.
Capitulare missorum generale ("General Capitulary of the Missi"), Spring 802, ed. G. Pertz,MGH Cap. 1, no. 33; ed.Boretius, no. 60, p. 147; tr.H.R. Loyn and J. Percival,The Reign of Charlemagne. London, 1975. pp. 73–9; tr. D.C. Munro, "General Capitulary of the Missi (802) [no. 5]". InTranslations and Reprints from the Original Sources of European history. Vol. 6. Philadelphia, University of Pennsylvania Press, 1900. pp. 16–8.Available online
Capitularia missorum speciale, ed. G. Pertz,MGH Cap. 1, no. 34; tr.H.R. Loyn and J. Percival,The Reign of Charlemagne. London, 1975. pp. 79–82.
Lorsch Annals, ed.G. Pertz, MGH Scriptores 1. entry for 802, pp. 38–9.
Bougard, François.La justice dans le royaume d'Italie de la fin du VIIIe siècle au début du XIe siècle Rome, École française de Rome, 1995.ISBN2-7283-0325-8
Davis, Jennifer R. "Inventing the Missi. Delegating Power in the Late Eighth and Early Ninth Centuries." InThe ʿAbbasid and Carolingian Empires. Comparative Studies in Civilizational Formation, ed. Tor D.G., Brill, 2017. 13–51.doi:10.1163/9789004353046_003
de Clercq, Charles.Neuf capitulaires de Charlemagne concernant son œuvre réformatrice par les « Missi » Milano, 1968
Depreux, Philippe. "L’absence de jugement datant du règne de Louis le Pieux: l’expression d’un mode de gouvernement reposant plus systématiquement sur le recours aux missi."Annales de Bretagne et des Pays de l'Ouest 108:1, (2001): 7-20.
Eckhardt, Wilhelm A. "Die Capitularia missorum specialia von 802."Deutsches Archiv für Erforschung des Mittelalters 12 (1956):498-516
Ganshof, François LouisFrankish Institutions under Charlemagne (tr. Bryce and Mary Lyons). Providence (Rhode Island), 1968. 566–7 and 14–20.
Gravel, Martin. "Du rôle des missi impériaux dans la supervision de la vie chrétienne. Témoignage d’une collection de capitulaires du début du IXe siècle."Memini. Travaux et documents 11, (2007): 99–130.doi:10.4000/memini.128
Grunin, Andrey. "Réseau politique des agents du pouvoir central: l'exemple des missi dominici."Journal of Interdisciplinary Methodologies and Issues in Science 5 (2019):1-35.doi:10.18713/JIMIS-180719-5-4arXiv:1907.09612
Hannig, Jürgen. "Pauperiores de infra palatio? Zur Entstehung der karolingischen Königbotenorganisation."MIÖG 91 (1983): 309–74.doi:10.7767/miog.1983.91.34.309
Hannig, Jürgen. "Zentrale Kontrolle und regionale Machtbalance: Beobachtungen zum System der karolingischen Königsboten am Beispiel des Mittelrheingebietes."Archiv für Kulturgeschichte 66:1 (1984):1-46.doi:10.7788/akg-1984-0102
Hannig, Jürgen. "Zur Funktion der karolingischen «missi dominici» in Bayern und in den südöstlichen Grenzgebieten."Zeitschrift der Savigny-Stiftung für Rechtsgeschichte, Germanistische Abteilung 101 (1984):256-300.doi:10.7767/zrgga.1984.101.1.256
Kaiser, Reinhold. "Les évêques de Langres dans leur fonction de Missi dominici." InAux origines d'une seigneurie ecclésiastique. Langres et ses évêques VIIIe-XIe siècles. Langres, 1986. 91–113
Kikuchi, Shigeto.Untersuchungen zu den Missi dominici. Herrschaft, Delegation und Kommunikation in der Karolingerzeit. (Doktorgrades der Philosophie), Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, 2013.
Krause, Victor. "Geschichte des Instituts dermissi dominici."MIÖG 11 (1890). 193–300.
McKitterick, Rosamond. "Charlemagne's missi and their books." InEarly medieval studies in memory of Patrick Wormald, ed. S. Baxter, C. Karkov, J. Nelson, & D. Pelteret, Aldershot, 2009. 253–268.doi:10.4324/9781315257259
Scior, Victor. "Bemerkungen zum frühmittelalterlichen Boten- und Gesandtschaftswesen". InDer frühmittelalterliche Staat – europäische Perspektiven, ed. W. Pohl, V. Wieser, Wien, 2009. 315–331.ISBN978-3-7001-6604-7.
Werner, Karl Ferdinand. “Missus – Marchio – Comes. Entre l'administration centrale et l'administration locale de l'Émpire carolingien.” InHistoire Comparée de l'administration (IVe-XVIIe siècles), ed. W. Paravicini and K.F. Werner. Beihefte der Francia 9. Munich, 1980. 191–239. Reprinted inVom Frankenreich zur Entfaltung Deutschlands und Frankreichs. Ursprünge, Strukturen, Beziehungen; ausgewählte Beiträge; Festgabe zu seinem 60. Geburtstag, ed. K.F. Werner. Sigmaringen, 1984. 108–56.ISBN3-7995-7027-6.
