9. King Theodoric to Eustorgius, Bishop of Milan.

Offences charged against Ecclesiastics.

'You will be glad to hear that we are satisfied that the Bishop of Augusta [Turin or Aosta] has been falsely accused of betrayal of his country. He is therefore to be restored to his previous rank. His accusers, as they are themselves of the clerical order, are not punished by us, but sent to your Holiness to be dealt with according to the ecclesiastical tradition.'

[The reflections in this letter about the impropriety of believing readily accusations against a Bishop[222], and the course adopted of handing over the clerical false accusers to be dealt with by their Bishop, have an obvious bearing on the great Hildebrandic controversy. But as Dahn ('Könige der Germanen' iii. 191) points out, there is no abandonment by the King of the ultimate right to punish an ecclesiastic.]