GOD, PEACE OF

Latin Pax Ecclesiae, a measure by the medieval Roman Catholic Church to end private warfare and to limit violence against certain persons and property. The Peace of God is first heard of in the year 990 at three synods held in different parts of southern and central Franceat Charroux, Narbonne, and Puy. It enlisted the immediate support of the regular clergy and of William V of Aquitaine, the most powerful lord of southern France, who urged its adoption at the councils of Limoges (994) and Poitiers (999). The peace decrees of these various synods differed considerably in detail, but in general they forbade, under pain of excommunication, every act of private warfare or violence against ecclesiastical buildings and their environs, against certain persons, such as clerics, pilgrims, merchants, women, and peasants, and against cattle and agricultural implements. All laymen and clerics in the areas adopting the Peace of God were required to take a solemn oath to observe and enforce the peace. At the Council of Bourges (1038), the archbishop decreed that every Christian 15 years and older should take such an oath and enter the diocesan militia.