A letter from Henry VII, emperor (1221)

Translated letter:

Henry, by God’s grace king of the Romans and ever venerable, to all those to whom these letters will have come, greeting and all good will. May you know that by the deliberation of our princes we revoke totally and diminish to nothing the judgment which was given at Frankfurt in favor of William count of Holland against the noble Joan, countess of Flanders and of Hainaut, namely that the count William received in fealty that land which the said countess held by hereditary right in fealty from the empire, and (we revoke it) for these reasons, that in that time when that judgment was given, the said countess could not safely come to the lord our father, so that she might do homage to him and receive her fief from him, and because in that time her husband, Ferdinand count of Flanders and of Hainaut, was held in captivity of the lord king of France, and because the said count William did not hold/occupy that which he agreed when the judgment was given in his favor. Whence we restore the said countess in seisin(1) and possession of all properties and of the entire fief that her ancestors held from our ancestors, and we desire that she enjoy peaceable possession of all their properties and that fief. We admonish the aforesaid count William, under peril of all properties that he holds from the empire, that in no way should he presume to challenge this our deed. Given at Mainz, fifth holiday after the Discovery of the holy Cross, in the year of our Lord’s incarnation 1221, in the month of May.(2)

Original letter:

H. Dei gratia Romanorum rex et semper augustus omnibus ad quos littere iste pervenerint, salutem et omne bonum. Noveritis quod sentenciam illam que data fuit apud Frankeneuorde pro Willelmo comite Hollandie contra nobilem Iohannam, Flandrie et Hainonie comitissam, videlicet quod comes Willelmus recepit in feodum terram illam quam dicta comitissa iure hereditario tenebat de imperio in feodum, per consilium principum nostrorum ex toto revocamus et ad nichilum redigimus, et ex hiis rationibus, quod tempore illo, quando illa sentencia data fuit, dicta comitissa non poterat secure venire ad dominum patrem nostrum, ut ab eo feodum suum reciperet et ei homagium faceret, et quia tempore illo maritus eius, Fernandus comes Flandrie et Hainonie, erat in captione domini regis Francie, et quia dictus comes Willelmus non tenuit que concessit, quando sentencia data fuit pro eo. Unde dictam comitissam reponimus in saizinam et possessionem omnium bonorum et totius feodi, quod antecessores eius tenuerunt de antecessoribus nostris, et volumus quod pacifica gaudeat possessione omnium bonorum illorum et feodi illius. Precipimus etiam prefato comiti Willelmo sub periculo omnium bonorum que tenet de imperio, quod nullo modo contra hoc factum nostrum venire presumat. Datum Maghontie feria quinta post Inventionem sancte Crucis, anno dominice incarnationis millesimo ducentesimo vicesimo primo, mense maio.

Historical context:

Henry confirms his father's reversal of a judgment in favor of William of Holland and reaffirms Joan's right to hold Flanders from the empire.

Scholarly notes:

1. Seisin (“saizinam” in Latin) is a technical term regarding the free ownership of land. 2. This translation was provided by Ashleigh Imus.

Printed source:

Oorkondenboek van Holland en Zeeland tot 1299, ed. A.C.F.Koch (Gravenhage: Martinus Nijhoo, 1970), ep. 414, 1.556-58.

Date:

1221