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History of the Franks
St Gregory of Tours, tr. Dalton, 1927
Book 10, How Childebert Remitted the Taxes of the Clergy in that City
In the same city, King Childebert with munificent piety remitted all taxes due from churches, monasteries, clergy attached to the Church, and every one in the service of the Church. The tax-collectors had already suffered heavy loss, it being almost impossible to collect revenue through the long lapse of time and the passage of generations, during which properties had been much subdivided. Inspired by the divine will, the king commanded the system to be reformed in such a manner that the demands of the treasury on this account should cause no loss to the collectors, nor to any servant of the Church in the execution of his duty.