Bishop Aiglibert of Le Mans issues a privilege, in 683 and 700, for a monastery of *Mary (Mother of Christ, S00033) outside the walls of Le Mans (north-west Gaul), and in 692 orders tithes to be paid to it; charters written in Latin in Le Mans.
E08336
Documentary texts - Charter or diploma
Charters of Bishop Aiglibert of Le Mans:
Summary:
In two very similar charters (dated 683 and 700), both copied into the Actus pontificum Cenomannis in urbe degentium, Bishop Aiglibert grants to the monastery at the 'basilica of Mary, holy mother of God' (basilica sanctę Dei genitricis Marię), where his relative Adrehild is abbess, the right to appoint its abbesses, and enjoins his successors not to overburden the monastery with excessive dues. The monastery is described as 'built between the river Sarthe and the wall of the city' (constructa intra fluvium Sarte et murum civitatis).
In 692, Aiglibert issues a third charter, also known through the Actus pontificum, ordering the agents of ten cathedral estates to pay the tithes of these estates to the monastery of Mary.
Text: Havet 1896, 429-36.
Summary: Bryan Ward-Perkins.
Cult building - monastic
Non Liturgical ActivityBequests, donations, gifts and offerings
Protagonists in Cult and NarrativesEcclesiastics - bishops
Ecclesiastics - abbots
Source
The texts of these charters are known only through their being reproduced in a ninth-century history written in Le Mans, the Deeds of the bishops of Le Mans (Actus pontificum Cenomannis in urbe degentium). The Actus was compiled to justify the claims of the ninth-century bishops of Le Mans to extensive properties and rights. It quotes in full 86 royal, episcopal or private charters, including these three. Many of these documents are obvious forgeries, while others, almost certainly containing a genuine core, have clearly been altered and interpolated to favour the ninth-century bishops' claims. Aiglibert's charters for the monastery of Mary are, however, believed to be substantially authentic (Havet 1896, 394-400; Goffart 1966, 294-95 and 297).Why, if he did do so, Aiglibert issued two almost identically worded privileges for this monastery, the earlier one apparently witnessed by a host of bishops, has been much discussed (see Havet and Goffart, as above), but is an issue that extends well beyond the scope of our project.
For a full introduction to the Actus and the texts it purports to quote, see Goffart 1966.
Discussion
In Aiglibert's grants of privileges, the monastery is described as between the river Sarthe and the walls of the city, which fits with the description of the location of a monastery, dedicated to Mary, Peter and Paul, founded by Haregarius, Truda and Tenestina (E08330). These two monasteries may be the same institution, or could be different one: see the Discussion at E08330.Bibliography
Edition and discussion:Havet, J., 'Les actes des évêques du Mans', in J. Havet, Oeuvres de Julien Havet (1853-1893), I Questions Mérovingiennes, Paris 1896, 271-445; Latin text at 429-36 (Appendices VI-VIII).
Further reading:
Goffart, W., The Le Mans Forgeries: A Chapter from the History of Church Property in the Ninth Century, Cambridge Mass. (Harvard UP) 1966.
Bryan Ward-Perkins
02/09/2022
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S00033 | Mary, Mother of Christ | Maria | Certain |
|---|
Please quote this record referring to its author, database name, number, and, if possible, stable URL:
Bryan Ward-Perkins, Cult of Saints, E08336 - http://csla.history.ox.ac.uk/record.php?recid=E08336