Capitularies

Capitularies (Latin capitulum, dimin. of caput, a head), collections of the laws issued for the whole of the Frankish empire, as distinct from the laws of the separate peoples composing it. The best known of these collections was begun by Charlemagne (q.v.). The name was derived from their arrangement under heads or by chapters. The term is also applied to chapters (q.v.) of canons and to military orders; also to the members individually, and to their statutes.