The New International Encyclopædia/Capitularies

​CAPIT′ULARIES (Fr. capitulaire, Med. Lat. capitulare, from capitulum, chapter, from caput, head). A term used for the orders and constitutions published by the Frankish kings. The name was derived from the fact that these constitutions were divided into chapters (Lat. capitula). It is probable that the capitularies were usually the personal work of the ruler, assisted by his councilors; but in some cases the assembly of nobles was consulted, and for one class (see below) the assent of the people was necessary. Only nine capitularies of the Merovingian rulers are extant. Those of the Carolingians, especially those of Charles the Great, are very numerous. They may be divided roughly into three classes: (1) Constitutions for the whole Empire, regulating the military service, administration, finance, and justice, the relations with the Church, and the personal conduct of the subjects. (2) Special constitutions intended to complete or modify the law of some one of the peoples in the Empire. These were called Capitula per se scribenda, and for them the assent ​of the people concerned was necessary. (3) Capitularies for the missi, i.e. the special itinerant officials whose duty it was to act as the immediate representatives of the Emperor. Sometimes these were personal instructions; at other times, general orders to be promulgated to the people.

During the reign of Louis the Pious, Ansegisel, Abbot of Fontenelle, made a collection of the existing capitularies. A little later (before 858), Benedict the Levite published a second collection, which purported to contain the capitularies and some canons of councils. In reality it is made up of extracts from many sources, chiefly canon law, Roman law, and capitularies. There has been much controversy about this subject, and there seems to be some connection between his collection and the False Decretals. There were three other incomplete collections of little importance made soon after. Of modern editions there are four: Baluze, Capitularia Regum Francorum (Paris, 1677 and 1780); Walter, Corpus Juris Germanici Antiqui (3 vols., Berlin, 1824), in which the capitularies are contained in the second and third volumes; Pertz, Monumenta Germania Historica, Leges, Vols. I and II. (Hanover, 1835–37); and Boretius, id. Legum Sectio II., Vols. I and II. (Hanover, 1883–97). The last is by far the best.