Emperor Otto II:
Grant of Freedom from River Tolls, 976
The generosity of this grant of freedom from toll on the rivers of a whole kingdom
was prompted by the friendly aid of the people of Passau. It does not follow that such
freedom was absolute, older grants of tolls probably taking precedence.
Otto, by favor of Divine clemency, Emperor. Be it known to all people that our
beloved and faithful Pilgrim, venerable bishop of the church of Passau, has intimated to
us that the fealty and goodwill of the people of Passau has been an aid to our rule, and
he has asked and demanded that, in every way, they might receive some security of life and
tenure by our imperial action lest in future they be constrained by the exaction of any
tax. Also we ordered that those petitions of the said bishop should be answered so that
the inhabitants of the said city might not be compelled for the future to pay any toll in
going up or down any of the rivers of our kingdom, and that they may in no way be
compelled to give any tax for the land they possess in the same city, and that the tenants
of St. Mary's, both men and women, may not be harassed by any unjust enforcement of
servitude upon them in future....
Source:
Monumenta Germaniae Historiae, Diplomata, Th. de Sickel, ed., (Hanover,
1888), Tome II, Part I, pp. 154-155; reprinted in Roy C. Cave & Herbert H. Coulson, A
Source Book for Medieval Economic History, (Milwaukee: The Bruce Publishing Co., 1936;
reprint ed., New York: Biblo & Tannen, 1965), pp. 402-403.
Scanned by Jerome S. Arkenberg, Cal. State Fullerton. The text has been modernized by
Prof. Arkenberg.
This text is part of the Internet
Medieval Sourcebook. The Sourcebook is a collection of public domain and
copy-permitted texts related to medieval and Byzantine history.
Unless otherwise indicated the specific electronic form of the document is copyright.
Permission is granted for electronic copying, distribution in print form for educational
purposes and personal use. If you do reduplicate the document, indicate the source. No
permission is granted for commercial use.
© Paul Halsall, October 1998
[email protected]
The Internet History Sourcebooks Project is located at the History Department of Fordham University, New York. The Internet
Medieval Sourcebook, and other medieval components of the project, are located at
the Fordham University Center
for Medieval Studies.The IHSP recognizes the contribution of Fordham University, the
Fordham University History Department, and the Fordham Center for Medieval Studies in
providing web space and server support for the project. The IHSP is a project independent of Fordham University. Although the IHSP seeks to follow all applicable copyright law, Fordham University is not
the institutional owner, and is not liable as the result of any legal action.
© Site Concept and Design: Paul Halsall created 26 Jan 1996: latest revision 12 April 2024 [CV]
|
