How did the Saxon Capitulary of 797 change Charlemagne’s policies in Saxony?

The Saxon Capitulary of 797 (Capitulare Saxonicum) marked a shift in Charlemagne’s approach to the pacification and conversion of Saxony. While it did not necessarily repeal his earlier, more draconian decree—the Capitulatio de Partibus Saxoniae of 785, which mandated the death penalty for offenses such as refusing baptism or violating the Lenten fast—the 797 edict replaced those harsher measures with less brutal methods of conversion.12

In addition to this change in policy, Charlemagne sought to stabilize and pacify the region by introducing Frankish churchmen and aristocrats loyal to his rule. These efforts were part of a broader, long-term strategy to integrate Saxony into the Frankish realm, moving away from the cycle of punitive expeditions and massacres that had characterized the earlier stages of the conflict.12