It was compiled under Emperor Louis the Pious in 819, probably as a summation of the royal reform of the monasteries carried out following the councils of 816 and 817.
[5] The service of prayer, although specified in the Notitia, appears to have been considered a general obligation of all ecclesiastical institutions in the empire.
[7] The monastic reforms undertaken in the years preceding the Notitia's compilation were led by the monk Benedict of Aniane.
According to the Vita sancti Benedicti Anianensis, a biography of Benedict written by his disciple Ardo, the emperor Louis determined which monasteries in the realm were required to have a regular abbot, in order to prevent the abuse of monks by laymen.
[10] The first grouping of monasteries is "those which must make a gift and a militia" (haec sunt quae dona et militiam facere debent).
[11] Once again, the monasteries of East Francia and Bavaria, as well as Alemannia, are listed separately: The third grouping of monasteries is "those which neither a gift nor militia must they give, but only prayers for the health of the emperor, as well as his children, and the stability of the empire" (haec sunt quae nec dona, nec militiam dare debent, sed solas orationes pro salute imperatoris vel filiorum ejus et stabilitate imperii).