Synods of Aachen (816–819)

But they were also significant for the economic and intellectual integration of new territories, such as Saxony into the empire; several cloisters were closely connected with the ruling house.

[1] Louis the Pious appointed Benedict of Aniane to enforce the Benedictine Rule throughout the empire, shortly after his accession.

The synods were preceded by very intensive preparations, including a list of the issues to be addressed which Benedict of Aniane had collated.

According to the imperial capitulary in which the results were published, the discussion took place in the Royal Palace of Aachen.

The Abbots in attendance included Ando of Malmedy Stablo in Aachen and Helysacher of St Maximin in Trier, who was also in charge of the Imperial chancellery.

An important point was the plan to force monasteries' to conform to the liturgical practice of the Benedictines.

He explained the Benedictine Rule to the participants, clarified doubts, and refuted errors of interpretation.

He succeeded in making the Benedictine Rule the general norm for the monastic life in the Frankish realm.

Another important aspect was to define monks and canons in relation to one another and to end the mixing of the two lifestyles which had begun in the eighth century.

There had been attempts at this for some time already - the rule of Chrodegang of Metz issued around 755 had closely anticipated this standardisation - but there had been only limited success.

In Aachen, Louis the Pious demanded that the rules for the communal life of canons should be collected from the old books.

[3] On account of the numerous areas of the monastic life to be regulated, the discussions were not simple and they lasted for a long time, before the participants could summarise their decisions in thirty six canons and submit them to Louis for confirmation.

The enforcement, or rather the monitoring of implementation was carried out over the following years by missi dominici and ecclesiastical representatives.

On 10 July it adopted a capitulare monasticum (Monastic capitulary), containing the rulings of the previous year.

It produced the Notitia de servitio monasteriorum, a list of reformed monasteries and the services they owed the crown.

[4] Overall, the rulings marked the end of the variety of earlier monastic lifestyles in favor of a uniform standard.