A letter from Margaret of Constantinople, Countess of Flanders (1244/1245, March)

Translated letter:

Margaret, countess of Flanders and Hainaut, to all who will view the present letters, greeting. May all your society know that our dearest lady and sister of good memory, Joan, countess of Flanders and Hainaut, with us providing free consent, arranged among other things in her will that for the salvation of her soul 200 pounds of annual continuous revenue should be granted as alms by us, concerning which she expressly ordered as much as 65 pounds, but she left another 135 pounds to be arranged by us with the advice of brother Henry of Quesnoy and brother Michael, of the order of preachers , as is contained more fully in the charter produced concerning this. But we, gladly prepared and willing that the judgment of her will concerning these things be completely observed, and we, acknowledging through the present letters that we are obliged to carry out these things, on the advice of the aforesaid brothers, concede, grant, and allot from the already mentioned 135 pounds, 10 pounds of annual continuous revenue in the currency of Flanders for the use of the poor and sick women, who are called beguines, in the hospital situated in the place of the beguines at Ghent, to be received at our granary at Ghent or at the brevia(1) of Philip of Valle, from the greater sum procured each year in perpetuity, namely half at the feast of blessed John and the other half at the feast of blessed Martin. Moreover we command to Philip of Valle and to all his successors, who now or in the future have or will have to receive the revenues of our aforesaid granary or to render the accounts of our brevia, that they pay to the abbess of the haven of the blessed Virgin at Ghent, of the Cistercian order, in the name of aforesaid women and for their use, the aforesaid 10 pounds in the aforenamed terms annually without delay. And we wish that they pay them at letters signed by the seal of the said abbess without expectation of other command, knowing that, if others pay, nonetheless we wish that they be obliged to the aforesaid abbess for the aforesaid revenue to be paid completely. Moreover we request from the aforesaid Philip and his successors all expenses and losses which may come forth on account of failure or delay of payment of debt to the said abbess or from our [funds] we ourselves will restore to the abbess with the revenue itself at her simple command. However through this we quit the aforesaid Philip and his successors from the aforesaid annual revenue in perpetuity, and through testimony of the present letters we command that he be set outside our reckonings regarding the aforesaid revenue. Nonetheless we wish that this be excepted that, if we will have wanted, on the advice of the aforesaid brothers we will be able to exchange the aforesaid allotment for other revenues equally suitable and useful for the aforesaid women, (and) we are bound to their advice to exchange the aforesaid allotment, if it seems that it is less suitable for them. We oblige ourselves and our successors in the future to observe all the aforesaid. Therefore so that all the aforesaid may obtain the strength of certainty, we have caused the present letters to be made and protected by the affixing of our seal. Dated in the year of the Lord 1244, in the month of March.(2)

Original letter:

Margareta, Flandrie et Hayonnie comitissa, omnibus presentes litteras inspecturis salutem. Noverit universitas vestra, quod bone memorie karissima domina et soror nostra, J[ohanna], Flandrie et Haynonie comitissa, nobis assensum prebentibus liberalem, inter cetera in suo disposuit testamento quod ducente libre annui redditus perpetui pro anime sue remedio a nobis in elemosinas conferrentur, de quibus expresse ordinavit quantum ad sexaginta et quinque libras, alias autem centum et triginta quinque libras reliquit ordinandas per nos de consilio fratris Henrici de Querceto et fratris Michaelis, ordinis predicatorum, sicut in carta, super hoc edita, plenius continetur. Nos vero, libenter et parate volentes, quod super hiis voluntatis ejus arbitrium totaliter observetur et nos, ad hec, perficienda obligatas per presentes litteras cognoscentes, de jam dictis centum et triginta quinue libris concedimus, donamus et assignamus de consilio fratrum predictorum decem libras annui redditus perpetui flandrie monete ad opus pauperum et infirmarum mulierum, que beghine vocantur, in hospitali sito in loco beghinarum apud Gandavum ad spicarium nostrum Gandensem sive ad brevia Philippi de Valle de magis parata pecunia annis singulis in perpetuum capiendas, medietatem scilicet in festo beati Johannis et aliam medietatem in festo beati Martini. Precipimus autem Philippo de Valle et omnibus successoribus ejus, qui nunc vel in futurum predicti spicarii nostri redditus recipere, vel brevium nostrorum rationes habent reddere vel habebunt, quatinus abbatisse de portu beate Virginis juxta Gandavum, ordinis Cysterciensis, nomine predictarum mulierum et ad opus earum predictas decem libras prenominatis terminis annuatim sine mora persolvant. Et volumus quod persolvant eas ad litteras sigillo dicte abbatisse sigillatas sine alterius exspectatione mandati, scientes quod, si alii solvant, nichilominus volumus quod predicte abbatisse ad predictum redditum solvendum totaliter teneantur. Insuper omnes sumptus et dampna, que pro defectu vel dilatione debite solutionis dicte abbatisse evenirent, nos a predicto Philippo et ejus successoribus requiremus vel de nostro restituemus ipsi abbatisse cum ipso redditu ad simplex dictum ipsius. Nos autem predictum Philippum et successores suos a predicto annuo redditu per hoc quitamus in perpetuum et extra ratiocinationes nostras quantum ad predictum redditum poni precipimus presentium testimonio litterarum. Hoc tamen salvum esse volumus quod, si nos voluerimus assignationem predictam ad redditus alios predictis mulieribus equaliter competentes et utiles, de consilio fratrum predictorum poterimus commutare, ad quondam etiam consilium tenemur commutare predictum assignamentum, si ipsum eis minus competens videatur. Ad predicta autem omnia observanda nos obligamus et nostros in posterum successores. Ut igitur predicta omnia robur obtineant firmitatis, presentes litteras fieri fecimus et sigilli nostri appensione muniri. Datum anno Domini millesimo ducentesimo quadragesimo quarto, mense Martio.

Historical context:

The countess confirms an annuity assigned by her dead sister, Joan, to a house of beguines, and the way it is to be paid to them.

Scholarly notes:

1 Brevia refers to an office or bureau at which the count(ess)’s domanial revenues from a certain district were centralized, documented, and then passed on to the central treasury of the county. Each district had several such bureaus that dealt with specific revenues from the count’s domains. At the brevia, the count’s monetary revenues from his/her domains were collected, for instance payments in rents from land, tolls, etc. Normally, the revenues centralized at the brevia were to be transferred to the county’s central treasury, but sometimes the count(ess) would assign part of the revenue in a district to particular purposes, for instance he/she would donate part of it for an annual income to a monastery in the area, or for an annual fee paid to a businessman in a nearby city for services performed, etc. (Walter P. Simons)
2 The translation was provided by Ashleigh Imus.

Printed source:

Johanna van Constantinopel, Gravin van Vlaanderen en Henegouwen ed. Theo Luykx, Verhandelingen van de Koninklijke Vlaamsche Academie voor Wetenschappen, Letteren en Schoone Kunsten van Belgie, Klasse der Letteren, VIII.5 (1946), 612-14, ep.80.

Date:

1244/1245, March