1 Poschl, Arnold, quoted and supported in Giles Constable, Monastic Tithes from Their Origins to the Twelfth Century (Cambridge, 1964), 2; similarly Catherine Boyd, Tithes and Parishes in Medieval Italy: The Historical Roots of a Modern Problem (Ithaca, NY, 1952), vii.Google Scholar I am grateful to Tom Noble, Steve Molvarec, and Traditio's two anonymous reviewers for their insightful comments, as well as the Dolores Zohrab Liebmann Fund for financial support. An early version of this paper was presented at the New College Conference on Medieval and Renaissance History.Google Scholar

2 The historiography is discussed below. The earliest reference is: Jones, A. H. M., The Later Roman Empire, 284–602: A Social, Economic and Administrative Survey , 2 vols. (Oxford, 1964), 2:894–95; the best exposition is Finn, Richard, Almsgiving in the Later Roman Empire: Christian Promotion and Practice (313–450) (Oxford, 2006), 49–56.Google Scholar

3 On Caesarius, see Arnold, Carl Franklin, Caesarius von Arelate und die gallische Kirche seiner Zeit (Leipzig, 1894); Malnory, Arthur, St. Césaire, évêque d'Arles 503–543 (Paris, 1894); Beck, Henry C. J., The Pastoral Care of Souls in Southeast France During the Sixth Century (Rome, 1950); and especially William Klingshirn, Caesarius of Arles: The Making of a Christian Community in Late Antique Gaul (Cambridge, 1994).Google Scholar

4 Lev. 27:30–33; Num. 18:21–32, Deut. 14:22–29, 16:1–15; Neh. 10:37–38; Matt. 23:23, Luke 11:42. Google Scholar

5 See Boyd, , Tithes , 1–4; Constable, , Monastic Tithes, 6.Google Scholar

6 Viard, Paul, Histoire de la dîme ecclésiastique, principalement en France jusqu'au Décret de Gratien (Dijon, 1909), 9–39; Gagnol, P., La dîme ecclésiastique en France au XVIIIe siècle (Paris, 1911, repr. 1974), 13–21; Leclerq, Henri, “Dîme,” in DACL (Paris, 1920), 4/1:995–1003, at cols. 995–98; Vischer, Lukas, “Die Zehntforderung in der Alten Kirche,” Zeitschrift für Kirchengeschichte 70 (1959): 201–17.Google Scholar

7 Lesne, Émile, Histoire de la propriété ecclésiastique , vol 1: Époques romaine et mérovingienne (Lille, 1910), 15–16.Google Scholar

8 Boyd, , Tithes , 26–28; cf. Finn, , Almsgiving, 48–49. Boyd does note a reference by Pope Leo I (440–61) to a voluntary collectio in Rome on certain days of the year and Pope Gregory's mention of an obligatory collatio in Genoa in 599 taken by the archbishop of Milan; she believes that this may point to a wider Italian tradition that merged into the tithe when it was introduced. One solitary reference to an obligatory collection, however, is a fragile reed on which to support a hypothesis of large-scale practice.Google Scholar

9 Constable, , Monastic Tithes , 19–21.Google Scholar

10 Jones, , Later Roman Empire , 2:895.Google Scholar

11 Ibid., 894. For a more nuanced presentation of patristic language, see discussion below and Ramsey, Boniface, “Almsgiving in the Latin Church: The Late Fourth and Early Fifth Centuries,” Theological Studies 43 (1982): 226–59, at 234–35; Finn, , Almsgiving, 49–52.Google Scholar

12 Kottje, Raymund, Studien zum Einfluß des Alten Testamentes auf Recht und Liturgie des frühen Mittelalters (6.–8. Jahrhundert) (Bonn, 1970), 57–63; Wipszycka, Ewa, Les ressources et les activités économiques des églises en Égypte du IVe au VIIIe siècle (Brussels, 1972), 70–72, 89; Sternberg, Thomas, Orientalium more secutus: Räume und Institutionen der Caritas des 5. bis 7. Jahrhunderts in Gallien (Münster, 1991), 27–30; Finn, , Almsgiving, 49–56; Godding, Robert, Prêtres en Gaule mérovingienne (Brussels, 2001), 346–49. Kottje and Wipszycka argued for retaining a Syrian idea of tithing, even if it was not widely followed even there; the evidence is discussed below. For a summary of the state of scholarship in the 1980s, which focuses on Caesarius as the linchpin, see Semmler, Josef, “Zehntgebot und Pfarrtermination in Karolingische Zeit,” in Aus Kirche und Reich: Studien zu Theologie, Politik und Recht um Mittelalter, Festschrift für Friedrich Kempf , ed. Mordek, Hubert (Sigmaringen, 1983), 33–44, at 37–38.Google Scholar

13 Misattributed evidence dating back to Gratian also played a role in early theories (Kottje, , Studien zum Einfluß , 57–58; Finn, , Almsgiving, 52).Google Scholar

14 Lesne, , Époques romaine, 15–16; Jones, , Later Roman Empire, 2:894; Ramsey, , “Almsgiving,” 234; Sternberg, , Orientalium more, 27; Finn, , Almsgiving, 49–51.Google Scholar

15 “Decimabant: id est, decimam partem detrahebant, et eleemosynas dabant” (Augustine, , Sermones ad populum 106.2.3, PL 38:626).Google Scholar

16 “Quod de decimis primitiis que diximus, quae olim dabantur a populo sacerdotibus ac leuitis, in ecclesiae quoque populis intellegite, quibus praeceptum est, non solum decimas dare et primitias, sed et uendere omnia quae habent, et dare pauperibus et sequi dominum saluatorem. Quod si facere nolumus, saltern Iudaeorum imitemur exordia, ut pauperibus partem demus ex toto, et sacerdotibus ac leuitis honorem debitum deferamus” (Jerome, , In Malachiam 3.8–12, ed. Adriaen, M., CCL 76A [Turnhout, 1976], 935). Later in the passage he also speaks of the failure to give “alms” to the poor as fraud, apparently as a synonym for this failure to give “tithes.” Google Scholar

17 Augustine, , Sermones ad populum 85.4.5, PL 38:522; Ramsey, , “Almsgiving,” 234–36; Finn, , Almsgiving, 49–52.Google Scholar

18 Augustine, , Enarrationes in psalmos Ps. 147[146].17, ed. Dekkers, D. and Fraipont, J., CCL 39 (Turnhout, 1956), 2135; idem, Quaestiones evangeliorum libri duo 2.34.2, ed. Mutzenbaecher, A., CCL 44B (Turnhout, 1980), 85; idem, Sermones de vetere testamento 9.19, ed. C. Lambot, CCL 41 (Turnhout, 1961), 144–45; idem, Sermones ad populum 106.4.4, PL 38:89, 627.Google Scholar

19 Augustine, , Sermones ad populum 85.4.5, 106.2–4.3–4, PL 38:522, 626–27; idem, In epistolam Ioannis ad Parthos 8, PL 35:2040; Ramsey, , “Almsgiving,” 233–41, 249–50, 237–40; Sternberg, , Orientalium more, 28; Raymond Canning, The Unity of Love for God and Neighbour in St. Augustine (Louvain, 1993), 180, 398–401, 407–10; Firey, Abigail, “‘For I Was Hungry and You Fed Me’: Social Justice and Economic Thought in the Latin Patristic and Medieval Christian Traditions,” in Ancient and Medieval Economic Ideas and Concepts of Social Justice , ed. Todd Lowry, S. and Gordon, Barry (Leiden, 1998), 333–70, at 335–42. For futher discussion of patristic almsgiving, see Fitzgerald, Allan, “Almsgiving in the Works of Saint Augustine,” in Signum Pietatis: Festgabe für Cornelius Petrus Mayer OSA zum 60. Geburtstag , ed. Zumkeller, A. (Würzburg, 1989), 445–59; Brown, Peter, Poverty and Leadership in the Later Roman Empire (Hanover, 2002).Google Scholar

20 Ambrose, , De officiis 1.30.143, ed. Testard, M., vol. 1 (Paris, 1984), 16; Firey, , “For I Was Hungry,” 337–43.Google Scholar

21 Ramsey, , “Almsgiving,” 234–35.Google Scholar

22 “Et ideo decimas atque primitias frugum, primogenita et sacrificia pro peccato, vel vota quae sibi Deus iussit offerri, sacerdotibus ac ministris distribui debere constituit” (Julianus Pomerius, De vita contemplativa 2.16.3, PL 59:461 A). Similarly, “lac et lanas ovium Christi, oblationibus quotidianis ac decimis fidelium gaudentes accipimus” (ibid., 1.21.3, PL 59:437A). If “quotidianis” modifies “decimis” as well as “oblationibus,” then Pomerius surely is referring to alms rather than an annual tax.Google Scholar

23 Christophe, Paul, Cassien et Césaire: Prédicateurs de la morale monastique (Gembloux, 1969), 44; Klingshirn, , Caesarius (n. 3 above), 73–82.Google Scholar

24 Eugippius, , Vita Severini 17–18, Vie de saint Séverin , ed. Régerat, P., SC 374 (Paris, 1991), 226–30; Finn, , Almsgiving, 56; but cf. Kottje, (Studien zum Einfluß [n. 12 above], 61–62), who still acknowledges the evidence is uncertain in comparison to Caesarius.Google Scholar

25 Wipszycka, , Les ressources (n. 12 above), 70; generally, for the following texts and tithing, see ibid., 70–73, 89; Finn, , Almsgiving, 53–56.Google Scholar

26 Canons of Athanasius 14, 82, ed. and trans. Riedel, W. and Crum, W. E. (London, 1904), 26, 50.Google Scholar

27 Canons of Athanasius 83, ed. Riedel, and Crum, , 50–51; Finn, , Almsgiving, 55.Google Scholar

28 Didache 13.3–7, La Doctrine des douze Apôtres , ed. Rordorf, W. and Tuilier, A., SC 248bis (Paris, 1998), 190; Finn, , Almsgiving, 53.Google Scholar

29 Didascalia 2.26, 4.8, in Didascalia et Constitutiones Apostolorum , ed. Funk, F. X., vol. 1 (Paderborn, 1905), 101–2, 228–29.Google Scholar

30 Les Constitutions apostoliques 2.26, 4.8.4, ed. Metzger, M., 3 vols., SC 320, 329, 336 (Paris, 1985–87), 1:236–37, 2:184–85; Finn, , Almsgiving, 53.Google Scholar

31 Constitutions apostoliques 7.29, 8.30, ed. Metzger, , 3:60–61, 3:234–35.Google Scholar

32 Ibid., 7.29, ed. Metzger, , 3:60–61.Google Scholar

33 Metzger, , introduction to Constitutions apostoliques , 3:107; cf. Finn, , Almsgiving, 53–54.Google Scholar

34 Finn, , Almsgiving , 54.Google Scholar

35 Wipszycka, , Les ressources , 72, and more generally 64–73, 84–92.Google Scholar

36 Finn, , Almsgiving , 54.Google Scholar

37 Ibid., 56.Google Scholar

38 Jones, , Later Roman Empire (n. 2 above), 2:894–910; Wipszycka, , Les ressources, passim, esp. 29, 89; Sternberg, , Orientalium more (n. 12 above), 23–33; Finn, , Almsgiving, 36–67.Google Scholar

39 Codex Justinianus 1.3.38, in Corpus Iuris Civilis , ed. Krueger, Paul and Mommsen, T., 3 vols. (Berlin, 1878–99, repr. 1963), 2:24–25; Jones, , Later Roman Empire, 2:895; Wipszycka, , Les ressources, 89.Google Scholar

40 These are not tithes, but “angarias vel indictiones” (Toletana Synodus Tertia a. 589 20, in Concilios uisigoticos e hispano-romanos , ed. Vives, J. [Barcelona, 1963], 12.26).Google Scholar

41 Cassian, John, Conlationes 14.7.3, ed. Petschenig, M., CSEL 13 (Vienna, 1886), 403.Google Scholar

42 Cassian, , Conlationes 21.1–8, ed. Petschenig, , 574–81. For the following see Christophe, , Cassien et Césaire (n. 23 above), 15–31.Google Scholar

43 “Lex enim factoribus suis non regnorum caelestium praemia, sed uitae huius solacia repromisit dicens: qui fecerit haec, uiuet in eis” (Cassian, , Conlationes 21.5, ed. Petschenig, , 577–78; also 21.2, ed. Petschenig, , 574).Google Scholar

44 Cassian, , Conlationes 21.3–5, 7, ed. Petschenig, , 575–78, 581.Google Scholar

45 “Qui omnes offere possessionum suarum decimas non contenti, sed … semet ipsos potius deo ac suas animas obtulerunt” (Cassian, , Conlationes 21.4.3, ed. Petschenig, , 577).Google Scholar

46 “Non ergo Christus ad illa uirtutum excelsa fastigia praecepti quemquam necessitate constringit, sed liberi arbitrii prouocat potestate et salubritate consilii ac desiderio perfectionis accendit. Ubi enim praeceptum, ibi necessitas, consequenter et poena” (Cassian, , Conlationes 21.5, ed. Petschenig, , 578; also 21.3, ed. Petschenig, , 575).Google Scholar

47 “Itaque si etiam hi, qui decimas fructuum suorum fideliter offerentes praeceptis domini antiquioribus famulantur, necdum possunt euangelicum culmen ascendere, illi qui ne haec quidem faciunt quantum ab eo absint manifestissime peruidetis” (Cassian, , Conlationes 21.5, ed. Petschenig, , 578).Google Scholar

48 In addition to the context (contrasting giving everything with giving something), Cassian uses the term signifying alms (diaconia) in 21.1, 8, 9 (ed. Petschenig, , 574, 581): see Du Cange, 3:95, s.v., “Diaconia.” Google Scholar

49 Christophe, , Cassien et Césaire , 41–50; Klingshirn, , Caesarius (n. 3 above), 16–32, 72–87; Leyser, Conrad, Authority and Asceticism from Augustine to Gregory the Great (Oxford, 2000), 81–100. On Cassian's influence, see especially Christophe, , Cassien et Césaire, 48–77. On Lérins, see Mathisen, Ralph, Ecclesiastical Factionalism and Religious Controversy in Fifth-Century Gaul (Washington, 1989), 69–140.Google Scholar

50 Klingshirn, , Caesarius, passim, especially 137–45; Bertrand, Dominique, ed., Césaire d'Arles et la christianisation de la Provence (Paris, 1994); cf. Leyser, , Authority and Asceticism, 85–90.Google Scholar

51 Klingshirn, , Caesarius , 64–65, 100–101; Godding, , Prêtres (n. 12 above), 331–41, 353–56. See also Wallace-Hadrill, J. M., The Frankish Church (Oxford, 1983), 94–106, 123–31.Google Scholar

52 Godding, , Prêtres , 3–5, 349–52.Google Scholar

53 Klingshirn, , Caesarius , 100–101, 229; Godding, , Prêtres, 108–10.Google Scholar

54 Sternberg, , Orientalium more (n. 12 above), 23–26, 30–33; Godding, , Prêtres, 341–46.Google Scholar

55 Christophe, , Cassien et Césaire , 43–45; Klingshirn, , Caesarius, 90–91, 113–17, 187–89.Google Scholar

56 Sternberg, , Orientalium more , 189–90, 196–200.Google Scholar

57 Vita Caesarii episcopi Arelatensis 1.32, ed. Krusch, Bruno, MGH Scriptores rerum Merovingicarum 3 (Hanover, 1896), 469. This is a saintly topos: for example Possidius, Vita Augustini 24, ed. Bastiaensen, A. A. R., Vite dei Santi 3 (1975), 194; but for its likely historicity see Klingshirn, , Caesarius, 113–17; Leyser, , Authority and Asceticism, 87–88; De Giorgio, Dario, “Cesario di Arles e la redemptio dei captivi infideles: Vita Caesarii I, 32–33,” Cristianesimo nella storia 26 (2005): 671–82.Google Scholar

58 Daly, William, “Caesarius of Arles, a Precursor of Medieval Christendom,” Traditio 26 (1970): 1–28, at 23–24; Klingshirn, , Caesarius, 100–101, 113–16, 278; see also Sternberg, , Orientalium more, 23–33. Technically, the wealth from tithing could only be used for poor relief, but having a dedicated income stream for that aspect of church ministry freed up other income that otherwise would have been used for it.Google Scholar

59 Klingshirn, , Caesarius , passim, esp. 5, 100–101, 116; for parallel episcopal uses of charity, see Brown, Peter, Power and Persuasion in Late Antiquity (Madison, 1992), 71–117; Finn, , Almsgiving (n. 2 above), 203–20, 265.Google Scholar

60 Klingshirn, W., “Charity and Power: Caesarius of Arles and the Ransoming of Captives in Sub-Roman Gaul,” Journal of Roman Studies 75 (1985): 183–203; idem, Caesarius, 114–16.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

61 See Christophe, , Cassien et Césaire , 56–58; Ramsey, , “Almsgiving” (n. 11 above), 234.Google Scholar

62 Caesarius of Arles, Sermones , ed. Morin, Germain, CCL 103–104 (Turnhout, 1953), collects most (238) of his sermons. For background, see introduction to Césaire d'Arles, Sermons au peuple, vol. 1, trans. Delage, Marie-José, SC 175 (Paris, 1971), 65–208; Daly, , “Caesarius,” 8, 20–22; Klingshirn, , Caesarius, 9–15. Caesarius, for example, picked up Augustine's phrase duo genera elemosinarum (corporal and spiritual) in his own original sermons, but without quoting Augustine directly; in one case, he expanded this to tria genera, adding “good will” as a possibility for those who say they are too poor to give materially and have suffered no injury to forgive: Augustine, Sermones de vetere testamento 42.1, ed. Lambot, (n. 18 above), 504; Augustine, , Sermones ad populum 206, PL 38:1041; Caesarius, Sermones 25.3, 28.3, 30.1–5, 34.5.Google Scholar

63 See the comments and methodology in Daly, , “Caesarius,” 17–18.Google Scholar

64 Caesarius included references to tithing in sermons 1, 10, 13, 14, 16, 30, 33, 34, 60, 71, 171, and 229. Even the short passages are normally revealing: e.g., Sermones 14.3, ed. Morin, , 71 quoted in the next paragraph. All these appear in the midst of original material. Caesarius, , Sermones 33, ed. Morin, , 142–47 is his fullest exposition.Google Scholar

65 Caesarius emphasized that tithing is obligatory on all who receive income from any farming or any trade (see following notes). When ordering almsgiving, he sometimes focused on the rich explicitly or implicitly (e.g., referring to silver ornaments or slaves), but he sometimes also singled out the poor to commend their gifts at the altar or to assure them that giving forgiveness was as good as giving bread if they had nothing material to give: e.g., Caesarius, , Sermones 14.3, 30.2–6, 31.1, 34.2, ed. Morin, , 71, 130–33, 134, 148.Google Scholar

66 Caesarius, , Sermones 30.2, 33.1–2, 34.3, ed. Morin, , 130, 143–45, 148.Google Scholar

67 Caesarius, , Sermones 33.1, ed. Morin, , 143–44. Even time was God's gift and subject to the tithe, as Lent constituted one tenth of the year: Caesarius, , Sermones 238.4, ed. Morin, , 952.Google Scholar

68 “Deus enim noster, qui dignatus est totum dare, decimum a nobis dignatur repetere, non sibi, sed nobis sine dubio profuturum” (Caesarius, , Sermones 33.1, ed. Morin, , 143). Also Caesarius, , Sermones 1.12, 33.1–2, 34.3, ed. Morin, , 9–10, 143–44, 148.Google Scholar

69 Caesarius, , Sermones 33.1, ed. Morin, , 143–44.Google Scholar

70 Caesarius, , Sermones 30.2, 33.3, ed. Morin, , 130, 145.Google Scholar

71 Caesarius, , Sermones 33.2, ed. Morin, , 144–45.Google Scholar

72 Caesarius, , Sermones 1.12, 10.3, 13.3, 16.2, 30.2, 33.1, 33.3, and 71.2, ed. Morin, , 9–10, 53, 66, 77, 130, 143–44, 146, and 301.Google Scholar

73 “Decimas vestfas ante omnia … exhibete; et de novem partibus, quae vobis remanserint, elymosinas facite. Ex ipsis peccata vestra redimite, et aeterna vobis praemia conparate” (Caesarius, , Sermones 14.3, ed. Morin, , 71). Also Caesarius, , Sermones 30.2, 33.3, 34.3, 60.1, 171.3, and 229.4, ed. Morin, 130, 146, 148, 263, 701, and 908. On the rewards of almsgiving, see Ramsey, , “Almsgiving” (n. 11 above) 241–47; on the origins of this language see Garrison, R., Redemptive Almsgiving in Early Christianity (Sheffield, 1993); Anderson, G., Sin: A History (New Haven, 2009).Google Scholar

74 Caesarius, , Sermones 33.1, ed. Morin, , 144, though note that the only terrena et caelestia munera specified are health and good harvests. Tithing is listed with other pious practices in Caesarius, Sermones 1.12, 10.3, 13.3, 16.2, and 229.4, ed. Morin, , 9–10, 53, 66, 77, and 908. Caesarius, , Sermones 33.3, ed. Morin, , 145–46, seems at first to mention tithes and alms in connection to forgiveness, but the context clarifies that it is just alms that does this.Google Scholar

75 According to the Library of Latin Texts database, the word eleemosina appears 283 times and across 102 sermons. Caesarius also frequently refered to good works and aiding the poor using other words.Google Scholar

76 Daly, , “Caesarius” (n. 58 above), esp. 26.Google Scholar

77 “Post acceptam per baptismum gratiam omnis baptiszati Christo auxiliante et cooperante, quae ad salute animae pertinent, possint et debeant, si fideliter laborare volverint, adimplere” ( Concilium Arausicanum a. 529 ‘Definitio fidei,’ ed. de Clercq, Charles, CCL 148A [Turnhout, 1963], 63, see also canons 5, 8, 13, 18, ed. de Clercq, , 56–60).Google Scholar

78 See especially Caesarius, , Sermones 15.4, 157.3–6, ed. Morin, , 75–76, 642–45; Daly, , “Caesarius,” 7, 18, 20–22; Klingshirn, Caesarius (n. 3 above), 142–43; also Arnold, , Caesarius (n. 3 above), 24–66; Malnory, , St. Césaire (n. 3 above), 5–13. His enthusiasm for almsgiving sometimes leads to less nuanced and occasionally outright sloppy language compared to his predecessors: e.g., “ut et pauper per patientiam, et dives per elemosynam possint dei gratiam promereri” (Caesarius, , Sermones 25.2, ed. Morin, , 112–13). For an example of his increased emphasis, see his sermon 177 on original sin and grace; this is the reworking of Augustine's sermon 151 (PL 38:814–19), in which he closely follows his exemplar until the end where Caesarius adds a new section emphasizing that this fragility of the flesh means a Christian must redeem his sins with fervent prayers and almsgiving (177.5, ed. Morin, , 720–21).Google Scholar

79 Caesarius, , Sermones 18.7, 30.4, 32.1, 219.2, ed. Morin, , 86, 131, 139, 869. He followed traditional doctrine here, though perhaps with slightly less caution than his predecessors: Augustine, In epistolam Ioannis 8, PL 35:2040; Eusebius Gallicanus, Collectio Homiliarum 58.6, ed. Glorie, F., CCL 101A (Turnhout, 1971), 468; Canning, , Unity of Love (n. 19 above), 180; Finn, , Almsgiving (n. 2 above), 188–90; Ramsey, , “Almsgiving” (n. 11 above), 227.Google Scholar

80 Caesarius, , Sermones 32.1, ed. Morin, , 39.Google Scholar

81 Caesarius, , Sermones 149.1, 151.5, ed. Morin, , 609, 619. See also Concilium Arausicanum 13, ed. de Clercq, , 59.Google Scholar

82 Caesarius, , Sermones 98.1, ed. Morin, , 400–401.Google Scholar

83 Caesarius, , Sermones 117.6, ed. Morin, , 490–91.Google Scholar

84 Caesarius, , Sermones 104.6, ed. Morin, , 433.Google Scholar

85 As Augustine had done earlier in a different way: Brown, Peter, “Augustine and a Crisis of Wealth in Late Antiquity,” Augustinian Studies 36 (2005): 6–30.Google Scholar

86 Cassian, , Conlationes 21.3, 5, ed. Petschenig, (n. 41 above), 575, 578. Also Pomerius, , De vita contemplativa 3.25, PL 59:507–8; Ambrose, , De officiis 1.30.143, ed. Testard, (n. 20 above), 164.Google Scholar

87 Ambrose, Especially, De officiis 1.28.130–32, ed. Testard, , 158, and Ambrose, , Expositio psalmi 119 [118] 8.22, ed. Petschenig, M., CSEL 62 (Vienna, 1913), 163–64. Augustine placed less emphasis on the issue, but see his Enarrationes in psalmos Ps. 96[95].15, ed. Dekkers, and Fraipont, , CCL 39 (Turnhout, 1956), 1353; Augustine, Sermones ad populum 103.5, 208.2, PL 38:615, 1045; also Jerome, , In Malachiam 3.8–12, ed. Adriaen, (n. 16 above), 936. In general, Ramsey, , “Almsgiving,” 237–40; Firey, , “For I Was Hungry” (n. 19 above), 337–38; Finn, , Almsgiving, 232–36.Google Scholar

88 “Quaecumque enim deus, excepto mediocri et rationabili victu et vestitu, sive de quacumque militia, sive de agricultura contulerit, non tibi specialiter dedit, sed per te pauperibus eroganda transmisit. Si nolueris dare, noveris te res alienas auferre” (Caesarius, , Sermones 34.2, ed. Morin, , 148). Also Caesarius, , Sermones 30.2, 33.1–3, ed. Morin, , 130, 143–45. Neither Caesarius nor his predecessors advocated communism. They were perfectly content that the rich retain some aspects of their more comfortable standard of living. These others did, however, have a right to at least a sufficiency of goods, even if these goods were inferior. One person could eat filet mignon, the other hamburgers, so long as both ate enough: Ramsey, , “Almsgiving,” 233–35.Google Scholar

89 Daly, , “Caesarius,” 11–18, who calls this “one of the master ideas of his social ethic” (11), and especially Caesarius, Sermones 194.1, ed. Morin, , 786–87. Also Blumenkranz, Bernhard, Les auteurs Chretiens latins du moyen âge sur les juifs et le judaisme (Paris, 1963), 49–52; cf. Christophe, , Cassien et Césaire (n. 23 above), 60–66. Caesarius even noted the appropriateness that those who understood the law only “carnally” and still violated it received a carnal penalty; he believed this occurred in the primitive church in the case of Anianas and Sapphira, whom Peter miraculously struck down (Acts 5:1–11): Caesarius, , Sermones 125.1, ed. Morin, 519.Google Scholar

90 “Quia nec christus sine lege, nec lex sine christo esse potest” (Caesarius, , Sermones 106.4, ed. Morin, , 442). On the law's insufficiency by itself, see Caesarius, , Sermones 102.1, 172.3, ed. Morin, , 421, 703–4, and his frequent appeals to Heb. 7:19.Google Scholar

91 Caesarius, , Sermones 1.12, 23.4, 37.5–6, 39.2, 39.6, 67.2, 68.2, 100a.12, 107.2, 137.4, 145.3, 161.1, 168.4, and 199.8, ed. Morin, 8, 106, 166, 173, 176, 286, 289–90, 415, 444, 567, 598, 661, 690, and 807. Caesarius often quoted Matt. 22:40 and Gal. 5:14 in support.Google Scholar

92 “Si ad iustam rationem adtendis, tibi debes decimam reservare, et mihi novem partes dare. Nec hoc quaero, misericors esse volo: exemplum tibi praebeo, ut quomodo ego misertus sum tui, sic miserearis tu pauperi” (Caesarius, , Sermones 34.3, ed. Morin, , 148); cf. Luke 6:36.Google Scholar

93 In addition, by paying that initial ten percent, we acknowledge our rightful place as debtors to God's infinite mercy and give God the honor due his majesty and generosity as explained in Caesarius, , Sermones 33.1, ed. Morin, , 143.Google Scholar

94 Caesarius, , Sermones 33.3, 171.3, ed. Morin, , 145–46, 701; cf. Sternberg, , Orientalium more (n. 12 above), 28.Google Scholar

95 Love: Caesarius, Sermones 6.7, 13.1, 23.4, 29.3, 38.5, 128.5, 146.1–2, 199.6, 219.2, 229.4, and 234.1, ed. Morin, 35, 64, 106–7, 127–28, 171, 529, 635–36, 806, 869, 908, and 932. Mercy: Caesarius, Sermones 34.4, 47.6, 157.3, 158.5, and 228.6, ed. Morin, 149, 215, 642–43, 647, and 904.Google Scholar

96 For example, Caesarius, , Sermones 33.3, ed. Morin, , 146.Google Scholar

97 Caesarius enthusiastically encouraged those who sought the even higher perfection of monastic life, but one could be fully Christian without doing so.Google Scholar

98 He mentions them, without development, near tithing in Caesarius, , Sermones 16.2, 33.1–2, ed. Morin, , 77, 143–44.Google Scholar

99 Klingshirn, , Caesarius (n. 3 above), 142–45, who also notes that Caesarius's initiatives could be defeated in council (though considering a different case than the one here).Google Scholar

100 “Ergo si quis in Abrahae conlocari uult gremio, eiusdem non repugnet exemplo et soluat eleemosynae pretium” ( Concilium Turonense a. 567 “Epistula … ad plebem,” ed. de Clercq, C., CCL 148A [Turnhout, 1963], 198); Sternberg, , Orientalium more, 28; see also Godding, , Prêtres (n. 12 above), 347–48.Google Scholar

101 “Nunc autem paulatim praeuaricatores legum peni christiani omnes ostenduntur, dum ea … adimplere neglegunt” ( Concilium Matisconense a. 585 5, ed. de Clercq, C., CCL 148A [Turnhout, 1963], 241); see also Sternberg, , Orientalium more, 28; Godding, , Prêtres, 348–49.Google Scholar

102 Sternberg, , Orientalium more , 28–29; also Kottje, , Studien zum Einfluss (n. 12 above), 63–64.Google Scholar

103 “Ut per elimosinas pauperum accipiat decimum” (Caesarius, , Sermones 19.3, ed. Morin, , 89). This sermon, attributed to Augustine, is extant in a single eighth-century manuscript unaccompanied by any of Caesarius's other works. Morin relunctantly accepted its authenticity, claiming that it presented Caesarius's ideas and style but did not show firm evidence of textual borrowing despite parallels with other sermons (Caesarius, , Sermones , ed. Morin, , cxxi-cxxii, 87). In fact, this sermon is inauthentic. It abbreviates (often heavily) and rearranges its material with small changes and an occasional insertion of original matter (as is the case in the clause just mentioned), but shows very clear textual dependence. Typical of the redactor's work is the sentence following the one in question: “Symbolum ante omnia et orationem dominicam et ipsi parate, et filiis vestris ostendite: nam nescio si vel christianus dici debet, qui pauca verba in simbolo parare dissimulat” (Caesarius, , Sermones 19.3, ed. Morin, , 89), derived from, “Symbolum vel orationem dominicam et ipsi tenete et filiis vestris ostendite: nam nescio qua fronte se christianum dicat, qui paucos versiculos in symbolum vel in orationem dominicam parare dissimulat” (Caesarius, , Sermones 13.2, ed. Morin, , 65). The sources for Sermo 19.3 are as follows: “Quando … animae detrimentum” (Sermo 50.3, ed. Morin, , 226); “Mensuras … respuite” (Sermo 130.5, ed. Morin, , 538); “Quando sanctae … accedere” (Sermo 1.12, ed. Morin, , 9); “Quando ad ecclesiam … concitare” (Sermo 13.3, ed. Morin, , 66); “Nolite … diabolica” (Sermo 13.4, ed. Morin, , 67); “In ecclesia … ecclesiis reddite” (Sermo 13.3, ed. Morin, , 66); “quia deus … fecistis” (no source); “Symbolum … dissimulat” (Sermo 13.2, ed. Morin, , 65); “Sed forte … possit” (Sermo 130.5, ed. Morin, , 538). On problems with Morin's editorial methods, see Leyser, , Authority and Asceticism (n. 49 above), 81–82 n. 3.Google Scholar

104 The Blickling Homilies horn. 4, ed. Morris, R., EETS 48, 63, 73 (London, 1874–80, repr. 1967), 41; cf. Bede, , In Lucae evangelium expositio 4.11.41–42, ed. Hurst, D., CCL 120 (Turnhout, 1960), 242; Christianus [Stabulensis], Expositio brevis in Lucam evangelistam, PL 106:1509B. The transfer of tithe payments to a monastery may have been seen by some Normans as perpetual alms: Taylor, Beryl, “Continuity and Change: Anglo-Saxon and Norman Methods of Tithe-Payment Before and After the Conquest,” Bulletin of the John Rylands University Library of Manchester 83 (2001): 27–50, at 44.Google Scholar

105 Stephanus, Eddius, The Life of Bishop Wilfrid 65, Vita Wilfridi I ep. Eboracensis , ed. and trans. Colgrave, B. (Cambridge, 1927), 140–42.Google Scholar

106 Radbertus, Paschasius, Epitaphium Arsenii 1.8, ed. Dümmler, E., Abh. Akad. Berlin 2 (1900), 32. Similarly see Rimbert, , Vita Anskarii 35, ed. Waitz, G., MGH Scriptores rerum Germanicarum 55 (Hanover, 1884), 68–70. For a discussion of tithing in relation to charity in the Carolingian and Anglo-Saxon realms, see Shuler, E., “Almsgiving and the Formation of Early Medieval Societies, A.D. 700–1025,” (PhD diss., University of Notre Dame, 2010), 246–55.Google Scholar

107 Canones Hibernenses 3 (“Synodus sapientium”), ed. Bieler, L., The Irish Penitentials, Scriptores Latini Hiberniae 5 (Dublin, 1963), 166–68, 251–52; Collectio canonum Hibernensis 2.11, 15.9, Die irische Kanonensammlung , ed. Wasserschleben, H. (Leipzig, 1885), 15, 78–79; Etchingham, Colmán, Church Organisation in Ireland A.D. 650 to 1000 (Maynooth, 1999), 240–71, on whom I rely for the Old Irish evidence. This tradition did interact with Caesarius's ideas, but seems to have developed independently first (but cf. Kottje, Studien zum Einfluss, 64–66).Google Scholar

108 Iudicia Theodori G 156–58, U 2.14.1, U 2.14.10 and U 2.14.11, Die Canones Theodori Cantuariensis , ed. Finsterwalder, P. W. (Weimar, 1929), 268, 332–33; Alcuin, , Epistolae 3.17, ed. Dümmler, E., MGH Epistolae 4 (Berlin, 1895), 25–26; cf. Constable, , Monastic Tithes (n. 1 above), 24–27; Kottje, , Studien zum Einfluss, 66–67. On Theodore's access to Gallic material: Brett, Martin, “Theodore and the Latin Canon Law,” in Archbishop Theodore: Commemorative Studies on his Life and Influence , ed. Lapidge, M. (Cambridge, 1995), 123–25, 137. It should also be noted that the Iudicia Theodori are somewhat unclear: Constable, Monastic Tithe, 25 n. 2; Tinti, F., “The ‘Costs’ of Pastoral Care: Church Dues in Late Anglo-Saxon England,” in Pastoral Care in Late Anglo-Saxon England, ed. eadem (Woodbridge, U.K., 2005), 29. The most important passage (U 2.14.11) also occurs in our least reliable version and not in the earlier G: Charles-Edwards, T., “The Penitential of Theodore and the Iudicia Theodori,” in Archbishop Theodore , ed. Lapidge, , 153, 163–65.Google Scholar

109 Blair, John, The Church in Anglo-Saxon Society (Oxford, 2005), 435–36.Google Scholar

110 “I Aethelstan,” ed. Liebermann, F., in Die Gesetze der Angelsachsen , 3 vols. (Halle, 1903–16, repr. Aalen, 1960), 1:146–49; “II Eadgar” 1.1–3, ed. Liebermann, , in Die Gesetze, 1:196–99; Wormald, Patrick, The Making of English Law: King Alfred to the Twelfth Century (Oxford, 1999), 306, 314–16; Taylor, , “Continuity and Change,” 27–50; Blair, , Church, 435–51; Wood, Susan, The Proprietary Church in the Medieval West (Oxford, 2006), 510–12.Google Scholar

111 Daly, , “Caesarius” (n. 58 above), 8–9; Klingshirn, , Caesarius, 281–82.Google Scholar

112 Capitulare Haristallense, 779 mense Martio 7, ed. Boretius, A., MGH Capitularia regum Francorum 1 (Hanover, 1883), 48; Constable, , Monastic Tithes, 24, 27–29, 43; Boyd, , Tithes (n. 1 above), 26; Kottje, , Studien zum Einfluss, 67–68.Google Scholar

113 For example, Locogiacensis, Defensor, Liber scintillarum 29, ed. Rochais, H., CCL 117 (Turnhout, 1957), 116–18; Florilegium Frisingense 157–72, ed. Lehner, A., CCL 108D (Turnhout, 1987), 16–17; Pirmin, , Scarapsus 24, 29, ed. Hauswald, Eckhard (PhD diss., Universität Konstanz, 2006), 98–100, 145–46. By the time that Gratian wrote, Caesarius was supplemented with Jerome's reference to the (eleemosynary) tithe and the forged decrees of Damasus's supposed 382 synod: Kottje, Studien zum Einfluss, 57–60.Google Scholar

114 Constable, Monastic Tithes, 43–44, 48. On the Carolingian tithe, see also Stutz, Ulrich, “Das karolingische Zehntgebot,” Zeitschrift der Savigny-Stiftung für Rechtsgeschichte, Germanistische Abteilung 29 (1908): 180–224; Perels, Ernst, “Die Urspriinge des Karolingischen Zehntrechtes,” Archiv für Urkundenforschung 3 (1911): 232–50; Wood, , Proprietary Church, 459–518.Google Scholar

115 That Caesarius's pauperes were economically poor is indicated by his references to them potentially dying from want: Sermones 33.3, ed. Morin, , 146. This shift may well have occured as early as 585: Godding, , Prêtres (n. 12 above), 349. See also Ganz, D., “The Ideology of Sharing: Apostolic Community and Ecclesiastical Property in the Early Middle Ages,” in Property and Power in the Early Middle Ages , ed. Davies, W. and Fouracre, P. (Cambridge, 1995), 17–30, esp. 26–27.Google Scholar