King, Charlemagne: Translated Sources, 224). Significantly, however, ‘all rights and allodial property whatsoever in the duchy of the Bavarians which ought lawfully to belong to him or to his sons or daughters, he abandoned and renounced and, for the avoidance of all future dispute, surrendered irrevocably’ ( Capitulary of Frankfurt 794, c. The third clause of the capitulary sets out how Tassilo, before the large number of great men assembled at Frankfurt, begged and received, forgiveness for the offences committed against King Pippin and the kingdom of the Franks, as well as against Charlemagne himself. More rarely, do we have the written texts that accompany such public acts, but the capitulary of Frankfurt of 794 contains a detailed description of Tassilo’s submission and the documents drawn up. Suppression of such legitimacy and authority, and, in particular, of the ability to act independently – the hallmark of a ruler in an international context – was expressed through public acts such as ‘deditio’ (formal surrender). 780, inscribed at the base ‘Tassilo dux fortis: Liutpirc virga regalis’ to represent the male and female principles of dynastic ducal rule and authority.Īs discussed previously here, external recognition by other rulers was an important tool in establishing legitimacy and authority, as well as a jurisdiction that might be deemed territorial.
