ABSTRACT
The royal chancellor had informed Hincmar of Rheims in detail about the steps taken by the king in order to achieve the bishop’s capitulation. In the spring of 868, a disagreement broke out between Charles the Bald and Bishop Hincmar of Laon, the nephew of Hincmar of Rheims. Hincmar of Rheims lays out the entire legislation on ecclesiastical goods in order to remind Charles the Bald of the promises he made with regard to their protection. Hincmar lists all the promises Charles the Bald has already made to the ‘church’ at previous synods before the Frankish bishops. The conflict of authority with Rothad, Bishop of Soissons, after 860 may also have compelled Hincmar to contemplate further legal questions such as usurpation. By relying on Augustine and the mentioned Augustinian terms and concepts, Hincmar proves that God’s and the ruler’s orders are recognised as “just” by all humans.
