"The information provided in De ordine palatii ( On the Organization of the Palace), as Adalhard called his book, was based on his own experiences at the court of Charlemagne and the latter's father Pippin. As might be expected, Adalhard gave a considerable amount of attention to military matters, and particularly to the great importance of gathering intelligence when developing plans for a campaign."
"Adalhard identified several important ways in which the royal court was to obtain intelligence about a great range of matters, including military threats. He emphasized that anyone coming to court from a frontier region was to be interrogated about what was going on in neighboring lands. One key rubric concerned the development of information about peoples that were subject to the Franks and paid tributes."
Charlemagne and his successors created organized intelligence and planning systems to support warfare across extensive frontiers. Administrators were instructed to question travelers from frontier zones and from non-subject lands to obtain military, political, and logistical details. Reports covered the disposition and mood of tributary peoples to provide early warning of rebellion, as well as transportation routes, water sources, and terrain features essential for invasion. Adalhard of Corbie advised governance based on firsthand experience at court and stressed compiling detailed information, including reports on enemy fortresses, to inform campaign planning and to underpin royal military decisions.
Read at Medievalists.net
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