A letter from Alix of Vergy (1234, September)

Translated letter:

I, Alix duchess mother of the duke of Burgundy make known to all present and future that I with the approval and consent of Hugo my dearest son the duke of Burgundy, gave in perpetual alms for the salvation of my soul and that of the father of said my son and our ancestors to God and the church of blessed Mary of Lieu-Dieu near Vergy of the Cistercian order and to the nuns serving God there my oven from Abergament of Nuits, so that no other oven may be there nor in the whole town except with the will and command of said nuns. I also gave them free usage in the woods of Sese to heat the said oven; moreover I gave them my close of Morey and my meadow Delban next to Lieu-Dieu. All these abovementioned I gave the abovementioned nuns to have freely and quietly and to possess in perpetuity peacefully, willing, receiving, entreating and exhorting that the duke of Burgundy and whoever will hold the duchy and the dominion of Vergy will hold this said donation to said nuns and guarantee it against all. That it remain established, firm, and constant in posterity, I had my seal appended to the present letters in testimony and protection of this thing. In the year of the Lord 1234, in the month of September.

Original letter:

EGO Alaidis Ducissa mater Ducis Burgundiae notum facio omnibus presentibus & futuris quod ego laude & assensu Hugonis carissimi filii mei Ducis Burgundiae dedi in perpetuam eleemosinam pro remedio animae meae & patris predicti filii mei & antecessorum nostrorum Deo & Ecclesiae beatae Mariae de Loco-Dei prope Vergeium Ordinis Cisterciensis & Sanctimonialibus ibidem Deo servientibus furnum meum de Abergamento meo de Nuits, ita quod nullum aliud furnum possit ibi nec in tota villa fieri nisi de voluntate & mandato predictarum MoniaIium. Dedi etiam eis liberum usuagium in bosco dela Sese ad predictum furnum calefaciendum; propterea dedi eis clausum meum de Moree & pratum meum Delban juxta Locum-Dei. Haec autem omnia supra dicta dedi eisdem supra dictis Monialibus libere & quiete habenda & pacifice in perpetuum possidenda, volens, recipiens, supplicans & exhortans quod Dux Burgundix & quicumque tenebit Ducatum & dominium Vergeii hanc donationem supra dictam teneat prefatis Monialibus & garentiet contra omnes.Quod ut ratum, firmum & stabile maneat in posterum, sigillum meum feci presentibus litteris apponi, in hujus rei testimonium & munimen. Anno Domini M. cc. XXXIV. mense Septembri.

Historical context:

The duchess makes a donation of an oven to the nuns of Lieu-Dieu, with the consent of her son the duke, and specifies that there is to be no other oven in the area.

Printed source:

Urbain Plancher, Histoire générale et particuliere de Bourgogne (Dijon: Antoine de Fry, 1739), 2.25.

Date:

1234, September