12. Establishment of the Tithes. The Spirit of the Laws | ||
Footnotes
In the civil wars which broke out at the time of Charles Martel, the lands belonging to the church of Rheims were given away to laymen; "the clergy were left to shift as well as they could," says the "Life of Remigius Surius," tome i, p. 279.
It is that on which I have descanted in the 4th chapter of this book, and which is to be found in Baluzius's edition of the "Capitularies," tome i, art. 11, p. 9.
The "Capitulary of Charlemagne" in the year 800, Baluzius's edition, p. 336, explains extremely well what is meant by that sort of tithe from which the church is exempted by Clotharius; it was the tithe of the swine which were put into the king's forests to fatten; and Charlemagne enjoins his judges to pay it, as well as other people, in order to set an example: it is plain that this was a right of seigniory or economy.
12. Establishment of the Tithes. The Spirit of the Laws | ||