Truce of God

Truce of God
Truce of God
• A temporary suspension of hostilities, as distinct from the Peace of God which is perpetual

Catholic Encyclopedia. . 2006.

Truce of God
    Truce of God
    † Catholic_Encyclopedia ► Truce of God
    The Truce of God is a temporary suspension of hostilities, as distinct from the Peace of God which is perpetual. The jurisdiction of the Peace of God is narrower than that of the Truce. Under the Peace of God are included only:
    ♦ consecrated persons — clerics, monks, virgins, and cloistered widows;
    ♦ consecrated places — churches, monasteries, and cemeteries, with their dependencies;
    ♦ consecrated times — Sundays, and ferial days, all under the special protection of the Church, which punishes transgressors with excommunication. At an early date the councils extended the Peace of God to the Church's protégés, the poor, pilgrims, crusaders, and even merchants on a journey. The peace of the sanctuary gave rise to the right of asylum. Finally it was the sanctification of Sunday which gave rise to the Truce of God, for it had always been agreed not to do battle on that day and to suspend disputes in the law-courts.
    The Truce of God dates only from the eleventh century. It arose amid the anarchy of feudalism as a remedy for the powerlessness of lay authorities to enforce respect for the public peace. There was then an epidemic of private wars, which made Europe a battlefield bristling with fortified castles and overrun by armed bands who respected nothing, not even sanctuaries, clergy, or consecrated days. A Council of Elne in 1027, in a canon concerning the sanctification of Sunday, forbade hostilities from Saturday night until Monday morning. Here may be seen the germ of the Truce of God. This prohibition was subsequently extended to the days of the week consecrated by the great mysteries of Christianity, viz., Thursday, in memory of the Ascension, Friday, the day of the Passion, and Saturday, the day of the Resurrection (council 1041). Still another step included Advent and Lent in the Truce. Efforts were made in this way to limit the scourge of private war without suppressing it outright. The penalty was excommunication. The Truce soon spread from France to Italy and Germany; the oecumenical council of 1179 extended the institution to the whole Church by Canon xxi, "De treugis servandis", which was inserted in the collection of canon law (Decretal of Gregory IX, I, tit., "De treuga et pace"). The problem of the public peace which was the great desideratum of the Middle Ages was not solved at one stroke, but at least the impetus was given. Gradually the public authorities, royalty, the leagues between nobles (Landfrieden), and the communes followed the impulse and finally restricted war to international conflicts.
    SEMICHON, La paix et la treve de Dieu (Paris 1869); HUBERTI, Gottes und Landfrieden (Ansbach, 1892).
    CH. MOELLER
    Transcribed by S. Przeslak

The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume VIII. — New York: Robert Appleton Company. . 1910.


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  • Truce of God — Truce Truce, n. [OE. trewes, triwes, treowes, pl. of trewe a truce, properly, pledge of fidelity, truth, AS. tre[ o]w fidelity, faith, troth. See {True}.] 1. (Mil.) A suspension of arms by agreement of the commanders of opposing forces; a… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • truce of god — Usage: usually capitalized T & capitalized G Etymology: translation of Medieval Latin Treuga Dei : the cessation of hostilities between armies or individuals during part of the week (as from Wednesday evening to Monday morning) and during various …   Useful english dictionary

  • Truce of God — Latin Treuga Dei, or Treva Dei. In the 10c Wido, bishop of Puy, persuaded knights and peasants to swear to protect Church property and not to plunder. At a more formal level, it can be traced back to the *Synod of Elne in 1027, which suspended… …   Dictionary of Medieval Terms and Phrases

  • Truce of God — Measure by the medieval Roman Catholic Church to suspend warfare on certain days of the week and for certain church festivals and Lent. It was instituted in France as early as 1027, and elsewhere in Europe (excluding England) during the next… …   Universalium

  • truce of God — In medieval law, a truce or suspension of arms promulgated by the church, putting a stop to private hostilities at certain periods or during certain sacred seasons …   Black's law dictionary

  • Truce of God — ♦ A movement that began in the eleventh century which sought to forbid fighting on Sundays and the chief religious seasons and feasts. (Lynch, Joseph H. The Medieval Church: A Brief History, 365) See Peace of God …   Medieval glossary

  • truce of God —  Перемирие божественное …   Вестминстерский словарь теологических терминов

  • Truce of God — An armistice proclaimed by the church in medieval times …   Ballentine's law dictionary

  • Peace and Truce of God — The Peace and Truce of God was a medieval European movement of the Catholic Church that applied spiritual sanctions in order to limit the violence of private war in feudal society. The movement constituted the first organized attempt to control… …   Wikipedia

  • Truce — Truce, n. [OE. trewes, triwes, treowes, pl. of trewe a truce, properly, pledge of fidelity, truth, AS. tre[ o]w fidelity, faith, troth. See {True}.] 1. (Mil.) A suspension of arms by agreement of the commanders of opposing forces; a temporary… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

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