A letter from Eleanor of Aquitaine ()

Translated letter:

To her lord and beloved Jacinto, by the grace of God deacon-cardinal of the holy Roman church, Eleanor, queen of England, greetings and due obedience of love. The favor of your excellence is neither new nor doubtful; always habitual, always exhibited, it does not admit of diminution or interruption. I rejoice that I have and have had such a friend in such a person, by whose sole authority and with my diligence, whatever and however much business can be happily transacted by his coming. For your letters and my knowledge of those letters testify that by intention you strive for my honor and my magnificence. I reveal to you what I am, what I can, all my mind, all my faculties devotedly and faithfully. I hope however and much desire your arrival in these parts, which if my God makes possible, I will have greater ability to serve you and make manifest the sincerity of my affections. Meanwhile, if there is or can be found anything here to please your majesty, once your will on this is known, as happy in the charge as devoted in the service, I shall not put off sending to you. Moreover, I pray and beg for my dearest brother, my blood relative, P. abbot of Saint Maxentius, that because of my confidence in you and your benevolence towards me, your dignity obtain from the lord pope the use of his [holy] orders and free power of administering. May your charity thrive in Christ.

Original letter:

Domino et dilecto suo Iacinto, Dei gratia sancte Romanae ecclesiae diacono cardinali, Alienor Regina Angliae, salutem et debitum dilectionis obsequium. Non est enim aut novus aut dubius vestrae favor excellentiae, si semper habitus, semper exhibitus, nec remitti novit, nec intermitti. Gaudeo in tanta persona tantum me habere et habuisse amicum, cujus solius auctoritate et diligentia mea quaelibet et quantalibet negotia suo valeant laetari perventu. Testantur enim literae vestrae, et literis vestris mea testatur conscientia, vos ex proposito ad honorem meum et meam plurimum intendere magnificentiam. Ego quod sum, quod possum, totam mentem meam, omnes facultates meas vobis devote fideliterque expono. Spero autem et plurimum desidero vestrum in partes istas adventum: quem si Deus meus praestiterit, vobis serviendi et affectus mei sinceritatem exsequendi copiam habebo pleniorem. Interim, si quae in his locis sunt aut reperiri possunt quae vestrae placeant majestati, agnita vestra super his voluntate, tam laeta de mandato, quam devota in obsequio, ea vobis mittere non differam. Praeterea fratri carissimo, consanguineo meo, P. Sancti-Maxentii abbati, precor et supplico, ut pro mea in vobis confidentia, pro vestra etiam erga me benevolentia, ordinis sui usum et liberam ministrandi potestatem ei a domino Papa vestra impetret dignatio. Valeat caritas vestra in Christo.

Historical context:

As in her letter to Pope Alexander III, Eleanor requests the cardinal's help in restoring her relative P. to his office, with assurances of her devotion. P. is identified in the HGF, p.767 note c, as Petro-Raimundi, with no information on what led to his loss of office. Eleanor speaks of P as her "brother" and relative, but since she had no legitimate brother, he is either an illegitimate half-brother or simply a close relative she is devoted to.

Printed source:

HGF15 p.767-8