Abstract:

This capitulary, prepared by the Carolingian emperor Charlemagne in 789 with the aim of giving instructions mostly about monachism, has 37 items. The first 16 items were based on the Rule (Regula) of The Benedictine Order, the most widespread monastery order of the Medieval Europe, and the rest of the items were about social, economic and cultural life. Thus, Benedictine Rule was used for the evaluation of the first part. When the capitulary is examined as a whole, we can see clues of both how important the religious and social life was for Charlemagne as a ruler and also clues about the religious and social life of the Medieval Europe. Through the capitulary, one can learn information such as: some illegal passage fees were charged in the Middle Ages, some people could get away from punishment by paying money, people tried to read the future from religious books, bribe was common and getting drunk was not approved. As a result, this capitulary contains valuable information about the religious and social life of the Middle Ages.

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