Letter 4028: King Theodoric to Duda, Vir Spectabilis [Most Respectable], Count.

King Theodoric to Duda, Vir Spectabilis [Most Respectable], Count. We approve the conscience of the man to whom we entrust a case for judgment, since the man who is worthy to hand down decisions for others to follow is one who has first imposed the rule of lawful conduct upon himself. The respectable Petrus alleges that the saio Amara -- who was sent, by a cruel irony, for his protection -- drew his sword and wounded him, turning a defender into something an enemy would scarcely have dared to attempt. We wish you both to hear this case through proper legal proceedings and to conclude it with a sound verdict, so that no one may dare to attempt what he knows displeases us.

XXVIII. DUDAE V. S. COMITI THEODERICUS REX. [1] Conscientiam probamus, cui iudicanda committimus, quia dignus est inter alios sequenda decernere, qui sibi modum visus est legitimae conversationis imponere. Petrus itaque vir spectabilis Amaram saionem nostrum, qui contrario omine pro eius tuitione directus est, educto gladio se asserit vulnerasse defensoremque fecisse, quod vix inimicus potuisset audere. hoc te et legitima volumus disceptatione cognoscere et probabili sententia terminare: quatenus nullus temptare ausus sit, quod nobis displicere cognoscit.