Letter 16
To the most noble Grimoald, servant of God and of the king, from Desiderius of Cahors,
The reputation of your family for the support of the church and for genuine Christian piety has made your name known throughout the episcopate, and I write with the confidence that comes from addressing a man who understands why the matters I am raising matter.
The monastery of [name], which falls within the territory under your administration, has been the subject of complaints reaching me that I believe require your attention. The specifics I will share when we can speak privately, but the general picture is this: there has been intrusion on monastic property and monastic life from secular authorities in the region that is inconsistent with the protections the monastery has always enjoyed.
I do not raise this as a legal matter — though it could become one — but as a practical one. The monasteries in your territory do important work for the whole community: they pray for the kingdom, they care for the sick and the poor, they preserve the learning that makes Christian governance possible. They cannot do this work if their foundations are insecure.
I ask you to investigate and to act on what you find.
Your servant in Christ,
Desiderius
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.