NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Missus dominicus

A missus dominicus (plural missi dominici), Latin for "Envoy of the Lord [ruler]', also known as Sendgraf in German, Zendgraaf in Dutch, both meaning 'sent Graf', was an official commissioned by the Frankish king or emperor to supervise the administration, mainly justice, in a part of his dominions, not unlike the original Roman Corrector but on a regular basis, so rather preventively. Latin is an ancient Indo-European language originally spoken in Latium, the region immediately surrounding Rome. ... Graf is a German noble title equal in rank to a count (derived from the Latin Comes, with a history of its own) or a British earl (an Anglo-Saxon title derived from the Viking title Jarl). ... CORRECTOR is a Latin word, meaning he who practices correction (see that disambiguation page, also for etymology). ...

History

Their institution dates from the Carolingians Charles Martel and Pippin III the Short, who sent out officials to see their orders executed. When Pippin became king in 754 he sent out missi in a desultory fashion. The Carolingians were a dynasty of rulers that eventually controlled the Frankish realm and its successors from the 8th to the 10th century, officially taking over the kingdom from the Merovingian dynasty in 751. ... For the 13th century titular King of Hungary, see Charles Martel dAnjou. ... Pepin III (714 - September 24, 768) more often known as Pepin the Short (French, Pépin le Bref; German, Pippin der Kleine), was a King of the Franks (751 - 768). ... Events Pope Stephen III crowns Pepin the short King of the Franks at St. ...

Charlemagne made them a regular part of his administration, and a capitulary issued about 802 gives a detailed account of their duties. They were to execute justice, to enforce respect for the royal rights, to control the administration of the counts (then still royal officials), to receive the oath of allegiance, and to supervise the conduct and work of the clergy. They were to call together the officials of the district and explain to them their duties, and to remind the people of their civil and religious obligations. In short they were the direct representatives of the German king or Holy Roman Emperor. The inhabitants of the district they administered had to provide for their subsistence, and at times they led the host to battle. In addition special instructions were given to various missi, and many of these have been preserved. A portrait of Charlemagne by Albrecht DÃ¼rer that was painted several centuries after Charlemagnes death. ... Capitulary (Med. ... Events 31 October - Irene deposed as Emperoress of Byzantium and replaced by Nicephorus I. She is banished to Lesbos. ... The following list of German Kings and Emperors is one of several Wikipedia lists of incumbents. ... The Holy Roman Emperor was, with some variation, the ruler of the Holy Roman Empire, the predecessor of modern Germany, during its existence from the 10th century until its collapse in 1806. ...

The districts placed under the missi, which it was their duty to visit four times a year, were called missatici or legationes (a term illustrating the analogy with a papal legate). They were not permanent officials, but were generally selected from among persons at the court, and during the reign of Charlemagne personages of high standing undertook this work. They were sent out collegially, usually in twos, an ecclesiastic and a layman, and were generally complete strangers to the district which they administered. In addition there were extraordinary missi who represented the emperor on special occasions, and at times beyond the limits of his dominions. Even under the strong rule of Charlemagne it was difficult to find men to discharge these duties impartially, and after his death in 814 it became almost impossible. A papal Legate, from the Decretals of Boniface VIII (1294 to 1303). ... Events Louis the Pious succeeds Charlemagne as king of the Franks and Emperor. ...

Under the emperor Louis the Pious the nobles interfered in the appointment of the missi, who, selected from the district in which their duties lay, were soon found watching their own interests rather than those of the central power. Their duties became merged in the ordinary work of the bishops and counts, and under the emperor Charles the Bald they took control of associations for the preservation of the peace. About the end of the ninth century they disappeared from France and Germany, and during the tenth century from Italy. Louis the Pious, contemporary depiction from 826 as a miles Christi (soldier of Christ), with a poem of Rabanus Maurus overlaid. ... Charles the Bald - Detail from a painting in the First Bible of Charles the Bald, painted ca. ... (8th century - 9th century - 10th century - other centuries) Events Beowulf might have been written down in this century, though it could also have been in the 8th century Viking attacks on Europe begin Oseberg ship burial The Magyars arrive in what is now Hungary, forcing the Serbs and Bulgars south... ( 9th century - 10th century - 11th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 10th century was that century which lasted from 901 to 1000. ...

The missi were the last attempt to preserve centralised control in the Holy Roman Empire. In the course of the ninth century, the forces which were making for feudalism tended to produce inherited fiefdoms as the only way to ensure stability, especially in the face of renewed external aggression in the form of Viking attacks. The extent of the Holy Roman Empire in c. ... torin was here ... The term Viking commonly denotes the ship-borne explorers, traders, and warriors of the Norsemen (literally, men from the north) who originated in Scandinavia and raided the coasts of the British Isles, France and other parts of Europe as far east as the Volga River in Russia from the late...

Encyclopedia > Missus dominicus

History

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