[20.] GENERAL PREAMBLE
FOR EMPERORS
[20.1] Retaining the monarchy of the world and
the excellence of the CIty, the Lord permitting, we should always maintain inviolate the
rights of all persons and protect all and each by imperial muniment, so that each person
can be wholly at peace and content with their own property.
[22.] DOCTRINE FOR
VARYING
[21.1] These
are general preambles and they can be fittingly placed for anyone. But it would seem
tedious to assiduously repeat them, since the imperial court ought to be adorned261 with a glorious army of dictators,260 so each in his class may be seen to
joyfully bring back to his own what he chooses. Every dictator must concentrate on
variation, so that he might appear copious in any subject.
[21.2] Furthermore, the aforesaid preambles can
be varied in many different ways for all those whom the emperor sometimes privileges:
kings, patriarchs, archbishops, bishops, dukes, marquises, palatine counts, other counts,262 leaders or other noblemen, provinces, cities, castles or burgs,
villages and lesser persons.
[21.3] The preamble may be first varied in this
way for kings, so that which is placed in the genus may be in this way extended to the
species.
[22.] ANOTHER PREAMBLE
FOR KINGS
[22.1] Since
it is right for imperial majesty to preserve unharmed the rights of all persons and
carefully nourish them with the muniment of its magnitude, it is fitting that we, who
preside over the Roman empire by the grace of divine favor, should defend the rights of
those illustrious kings who are the principal columns and members of the empire.263
[22.2] A second preamble can be varied for kings
in this way.
[23.] ANOTHER PREAMBLE
[23.1] Since thanks to divine favor we have
obtained the monarchy of the world and the excellence of the City, we must always to
maintain inviolate the rights of all persons, and especially of those illustrious kings
who are the principal columns and members of the empire.
[23.2] He only earns goodwill of kings by
delivering such a preamble; a descent from that preamble to all clergy and religious can
also be accomplished as follows.
[24.] ANOTHER PREAMBLE
FOR ECCLESIASIC PERSONS
[24.1] Since thanks to divine favor we have
obtained the monarchy of the world and the excellence of the City, we must always to
maintain inviolate the rights of all persons and especially the rights of those most holy
clerics and of religious persons, who are not allowed to make a temporal defense.
[24.2] A dictator can deliver preambles for
clerics and laymen in innumerable ways with such words. If he should be circumspect, he
could deliver a preamble for religious as follows.
[25.] ANOTHER PREAMBLE
[25.1] Divine clemency has placed us over the
entire world for this purpose, that we must protect the ministers of Christ and the
helpers of the ministries of God from assaults of the wicked, and that with our privileges
and with the temporal sword we especially defend those, who having spurned carnal desires
and the delights of this present life, strive to serve God, the king of all, and to please
the most high Creator with all their affections.
[25.2] For then our transitory empire will be
governed with divine muniment, and we will be able to securely expect the reward of
eternal blessedness, if we shall have taken care to protect those religious person who are
the members of Christ and of the church.
[25.3] This preamble is general enough for any
religious persons. But if the dictator wishes to appear copious, he can arrange a preamble
in another way, specifying the names of places as follows.
[26.] A SPECIAL PREAMBLE
FOR THE CAMALDOLESE
[26.1] Since
we are required to protect all religious men with an imperial muniment, we should guard
the brothers of the Camaldulensian264 order with greater forethought and
solicitously defend their rights, because these sparkle with the purity of religion and
show others a way to live according to rule.
[26.2] The order of Clairvaux, the Cistercians,
the Vallambrosians265 and other religious men can thus be
commended in the preambles of privileges.
[27.] A PREAMBLE FOR
CHURCHES ESTABLISHED BY THE EMPEROR
[27.1] Since we should strengthen all churches
established throughout the world with our protection and protect their rights with general
statutes and private laws, we are required to more attentively strengthen those churches
with our privileges and favors, which were directly endowed from the properties of the
empire and which look to our special protection in temporalities.
[28.] A PREAMBLE FOR THE
HOSPITALLERS
[28.1] It is
right that we love the sacrosanct hospital of Jerusalem266 and its hospitallers with the highest
affection and strengthen their rights with our privileges and protections in such a way,
that when we stand before the tribunal of the eternal Judge, we may boast that we had
honored that place in which the body of the Lord reposes.
[29.] A PREAMBLE FOR THE
TEMPLARS
[29.1] Since
it is right that imperial majesty should strengthen with its own solicitous protection all
regular clergy and brothers of the Temple267 serving God, who, spurning the secular
army have become soldiers of Jesus Christ, and, fighting for love of the Redeemer under
the Lord's banner and their Rule, do not fear delivering themselves unto death fighting
barbarian nations, he should in all things nurture them as attentively as they are known
to fight gloriously in the Lord's camp for defense of the Christian name.
[30.] A PREAMBLE FOR NUNS
[30.1] Since
imperial dignity should safeguard all types of religious under the sway of its protection,
we should the more willingly strengthen with our defense those virgins dedicated to God,268
who, spurning marital bonds, follow with lighted lamps the bridegroom, Jesus Christ, so
much more as their condition is feeble and more inclined to be susceptible due to their
feminine sex.
[31.] ANOTHER PREAMBLE
FOR THOSE IN FEALTY TO THE EMPEROR
[31.1] It befits imperial majesty to regard from
eyes of vision the services of those persons and to readily admit their requests, who bear
heavy burdens and carry out unbearable labors for the empire's sake, persevering always in
due resolve of fealty.
[32.] ANOTHER PREAMBLE
FOR THE SAME PURPOSE
[32.1] Since those established throughout the
world under protection of the Roman empire shall all continue in their existence and shall
not be permitted to suffer a defect in their rights, it is right that we always safeguard
those with a certain more special grace and strengthen their possessions, who are directly
subject to the empire and are especially assigned to our service.
[33.] A PREAMBLE FOR
THOSE IMMEDIATELY SUBJECT TO THE EMPEROR
[32.1] <...>
[33.2] After a general or special preamble you
may begin to narrate, distinguishing offices, proper names and names of places.
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260 For this
phrase, cf. Aulus Gellius 1.4.4 (agmen orationis); Tertullian De oratione PL
1.1149, CSEL 20.201 (non agmine verborum adeundum...ad Dominum);
Chalcidius Timaeus latinus transl. 19 (verborum agmine atque inundatione),
51 (verborum agmen <Plato: menos> addendum).
261 A play on the
incipit to Justinian's Institutiones: Imperatoriam maiestatem non solum armis
decoratam, set etiam legibus oportet esse armatam.
262 Although here
and above, Oliva 6.5, speaks of comites,
hereafter only comites palatinos are found (Oliva 34.12,
34.13, 34.16, 54.3-5, 55.2) with the exception of a
model charter at 34.5. On the title comes palatinus,
see Epistola mandativa ad comites palatinos §9, on the
comital title in general §11-§12.
263 For the Reichsfürsten
as membra imperii, see THEODOR MAYER Fürsten und Staat. Studien zur
Verfassungsgeschichte des deutschen Mittelalters (1950) 219ff., 231 ff.
264 Charters
granted to the Camaldolese by Frederick Barbarossa: DF.I.90, 409, 426, 427, 913, *1145; by
Henry VI: BB 20, 33, 176, (= Arengenverzeichnis nos. 2250, 207, 2490);
deperdita: BB 34, 48, 87, 655, 712. --- For Boncompagno's relation with the
Camaldolese order, see above Oliva 7.28.
265 Charters
granted to the Vallumbrosians by Frederick Barbarossa: DF.I.225, 245, 715, *925,
*1248; by Henry VI: BB 15, 46, 47, 131, 132, 133, 312, 359, (= Arengenverzeichnis
nos. 484, 295, 484, 394, 2581, 995, 467); deperdita: BB 630, 656, 664 . See
also BB 130 and 184. --- A Vallombrosian abbey (S. Salvatoris de Settimo) was
located only two kilometers from Signa, Boncompagno's birthplace.
266 Charters
granted to the Johanniters by Frederick Barbarossa: DDF.I.228, 923; by Henry VI: BB
383 (= Arengenverzeichnis no. 379); deperdita: BB 708. --- For the
hospitallers Cruciferorum, which had an important house outside of Bologna, see DF.I.641,
BB 56 (Arengenverzeichnis no. 2248), 671 dep., IP 5.284-9, FICKER FRRI
4.346-8.
267 Charters
granted to the Templars by Frederick Barbarossa: DF.I.887; by Henry VI: BB
433 (fragm.), 584 (frag.); deperdita: 678. --- For imperial relations with the
Templars and Johanniters in the thirteenth century, see HARTWIG CLEVE "Kaiser
Friedrich II und die Ritterorden" DA 49 (1993) 39-73.
268 So far as one
can judge by using the index of the Arengenverzeichnis zu den Königs- und
Kaiserurdunden von den Merowingern bis Heinrich VI. edd. FRIEDRICH HAUSMANN and ALFRED
GAWLIK (Munich 1987), by the end of the twelfth century only one imperial preamble had
been specifically written for nuns (DF.I.830). However, Boncompagnus 4.4.16 presents a petition sent by some nuns to the emperor,
asking that he renew their privilege.
***
© Steven M. Wight, Los Angeles 1998
Scrineum © Università di Pavia 1999