Letter 12: IXy c. 737; MiGNEy PL.
Pope Pelagius I to Dulcitius, defender of the Church.
Among other matters, we take issue with the accounts you have sent us — accounts which, following the Greek fashion, are obscured and difficult to interpret — regarding the revenues of the sixth indiction. You report that you collected properties on behalf of fifty solidi and another sixty from the deacon Varus and some other party. And yet while properties accumulate to you on every side, you are generating difficulties for us in the payment of rents. We expect a clear and honest accounting without further delay. The office of defender exists to serve the Church's interests, not to provide personal advantage to its holder.
AI-assisted translation — This translation was produced with AI assistance and has not been peer-reviewed. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek below for scholarly use.
Latin / Greek Original
IXy c. 737; MiGNEy PL. 69y c. 418.
PEIyAGlUS DUIvCiTIO DEFENSORI. [Post quaedam].
Praeterea rationes nobis nescio quas, Graecorum more fucatas,
de sextae indictionis pensionibus direxisti, suggerens te pro quin¬
quaginta solidis et pro aliis sexaginta a diacono Uarino, et nescio
quo alio, casas recollegisse. Et cum tibi cotidie hinc et inde
accrescant praedia, tu nobis de pensionibus angustias generas.
sor Apulensis. Alius adhuc defensor in Apulia invenitur in ep. 64,1:
Lucius. Forte hos omnes unam putare debemus personam. Facilis enim est
transitus a Dulcitio in Dulcium et Lucium. Res tamen sub iudice manet,
cum omnes codd. habeant illas diversas lectiones. Facilius idem esset pu¬
tandus ac presbyter Dulcitius ep. 14, 3, si loca aliaque in duabus epistulis
non adeo dissentire viderentur.
1. sextae indictionis: Ab anno 312, indictiones Romae quarto
decimo quoque anno a capite recurrunt. Tunc temporis sexta indictio
coeperat die 1 Septembris a. 557, unde finiebat die 31 augusti a. 558. Cum
autem pensiones ter in anno saepe reciperentur (cf. notulas in ep. 14,3-4,
p. 45), non data esse potuit haec epistula nisi post primam exactionem,
quam perfecerat Dulcitius, ianuario a. 558. Cf. SEECK, Indictio y in Pauly-
Wissowa, t. IX, c. 1327-1332.
diacono Uarino: Aliunde, quantum scio, ignotus.
casa: Casa generatim idem valet quam quod agricultorum,
mancipiorum domus, nam dominorum domus villae nominabantur. Cf.
H. LECEERCQ, Domaines vuvaux, l. c., c. 1295. Hic tamen sive habita¬
tiones fundorum sive fundos ipsos potius significant. Cf. Thesaurus ...,
t. III, p. 510, 1. 25-55.
PEI/AGII I PAPAE
Non tibi sufficit quod te a notariis et aliis diuersis officiis, ne 2
commoda exigeris, 'uix te liberare potuimus, ut, ad summam
acriuiam, quod non uidimus neque accepimus, te implesse testeris.
7-8 ne... exigeris] om. Mansi 8 uix te] iuxte Dj, om, seq. usque ad finem Mansi 9 ac¬
cipimus £>1 testeris] steteris
2. a notariis: Hi scholam constituebant, cuius caput primicerii no- 1
mine donabatur. Clerici saepius non erant et muneris sui capiebant posses- I
sionem iure iurando coram pontifice praestito. Cf. K. MayER, o. c., t. II, I
р. 93-94. Papae a consiliis erant eiusque cancellariam componebant. Cf. 1
K. Caspar, 0. c., p. 334-335; H. LECeERCq, Notaire, DACL., t. XII, 2, |
с. 1623-1640 (praesertim c. 1630-1640); W. MorEE, Notarius, in Pauly-
Wissowa, Suppi. VII, c. 586. Quod adtinet ad viros, nominatim cognitos,
qui hoc munus sub Pelagio pontifice obierunt, cf. L. SanTifaeeER, Saggio
di un Elenco dei fumionari, impiegati e scrittori della Cancellaria Pontif icia ...,
in Bullett. delVIst. Stor. Ital..., t. 56, I, Roma, 1940, p. 13, quorum duo no¬
minantur in epp. 51,1; 65,3; 67,3, p. 132; 172; 176. -
acriuiam: Sive acribia, pro id est, accuratio, diligentia,
accurata diligentia; in loco, ironice dictum. Cf. Du Cange, Glossarium...,
t. I, p. 61; A. BeaiSE, 0 . c., p. 45^.
Defensorem Vitum patrimonii administrationi invigilare iubet, nam
a septima indictione mercedes ab eo exigere debebit. Ut mos est, Vitus
renuntiationem mittet, in archivio papali reponendam.
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