ABSTRACT
This chapter considers the basic evidence of the document as a precursor for intercession of a votive nature. It also considers the aims of some of the earliest Benedictine reformers, most notably Benedict of Aniane, and the resulting proliferation of liturgical accretions. Benedict of Aniane’s attempts to reform Frankish Benedictine houses were greatly aided by a close collaboration with the state. The project was supported by Charlemagne and his son Louis the Pious, both of whom cherished similar ideals: the imposition of a uniform liturgical and constitutional code amongst monasteries in Frankish territories. Much of Benedict’s work as a reformer is chronicled in Ardo’s biography. With the aim of achieving uniform observance, Benedict submitted the document to Louis the Pious who made it an official capitulary of the realm, and ordered that it be put to use in all Frankish monasteries within the space of one year.
