Letter 17: To the most noble Grimoald,

To the most noble Grimoald, Your response to my last letter was prompt and encouraging, and the action you have taken in the monastery matter is exactly what I had hoped for. I am grateful. I write now on a somewhat different subject. There is a young man in your household — I believe he is a nephew of yours — who has been recommended to me by several people as someone of exceptional quality who might be suited for an ecclesiastical career. I am told he is learned, pious, and possessed of good judgment. I raise this not to recruit him to Cahors necessarily, but because I want to be in conversation with you about the formation of the next generation of church leadership in this kingdom. The quality of the clergy depends entirely on the quality of the people who enter it, and the quality of the people who enter it depends in part on whether families like yours — families that understand both learning and governance — regard the church as an appropriate arena for their most talented members. I would value your thoughts on this. And if the young man in question is interested in discussing the possibilities, I am glad to meet with him when circumstances allow. Your servant in Christ, Desiderius