A letter from Rangard of La Marche (1070, April 22)

Translated letter:

In the name of Christ. I countess Rangard, who was daughter of countess Amelia, am the seller to you lord Raymond count of Barcelona, and countess Almodis your wife my sister, and your son Raymond- Berengar. By this writing of my sale I sell you all warrants [voces?] and immediate rights, possessions or authorities, which I have or should have, and men or women have or should have through me by fiefs, or by alods, or by bailiwicks, or agreements or surrenders, or by writs, or mourning, or tithe, or whatever rights in the county of Razes, Conserans, and Comminges, and Carcassonne, and Narbonne, and Port-Vendres, and Toulouse, as all the said were of Roger count of old Carcassone, and Odo his brother count of Razès, and Bernard-Roger, and as they were of count Peter Raymond my husband, and Roger my son, as much as the above held or had in whatever way there, and men and women through them. For all the above, cities, counties, bishoprics, viscounties, and others honors and dignities, towns or castles, fortifications or fortresses, churches, parishes, townships, homes, rents, revenues, markets, tolls, freight fees , travel fees, fairs [?firae] lime-kilns [?raffegae], lodgings, pasture-lands, woods, oak-woods, trees, gardens, cultivated or deserted, mountains and estates, stones and coins, in circulation or not, rustic and urban, moot or assembly. meadows or pastures, fountains, rivers with their runoffs, and fisheries and mills or mill-works, or with all lands or vineyards, cultivated or deserted, roads with their lead-ins or lead-outs, or with all abbeys, monasteries, cells, possessions, shares and alods, or their chapels with all their boundaries and appurtenances which are, were, or will be in said counties, bishoprics or viscounties. All the above came to me, above-inscribed Rangard, through and immediate rights, or agreements or surrenders, through written will made to me from said man my husband or spouse or through my tithe, or through hereditary mourning, of my said son count Roger, or through whatever warrants or authorities. All the aforesaid written above with all their boundaries and appurtenances and their limits, I said countess Rangard by my willing spirit and pleasure, without force and fear and power, freely and solidly and wholly, and without any restraint, I sell without deception to you said lord Raymund, that is count, and countess Almodis and your son Raymond-Berengar for the price of four-hundred ounces of pure and best gold weighed at legal weight, which price you aforesaid gave me and I received from you and nothing of that price remained with you the buyers to be paid, and that is manifest. All of which indeed I said countess Rangard together with that town of Couffoulens with its boundaries and appurtenances, or with that town of Razès, and with that town of Ventagion, and with that town of Capendu and with that town of Peyriac, with its boundaries and churches and all its appurtenances, similarly with that of Auriac with its boundaries and appurtenances, similarly with all those fortresses and possessions, townships, and rents and revenues and travel-fees, and coins, and inns, and statics, and assemblies, and battlements and justices, and redirections, similarly with all the retainments which I said Rangard now acquired in all the above, had or retained in any way, or ought to have or retain, and men or women have or retain or ought to have or retain or ought to have had through me in any way, by my right I hand over to your lordship and power, etc. This writing of sale was done on the tenth kalends of May [sic], in the 11th year of the reign of king Phillip. S[ign] of countess Rangard who confirmed this and asked it to be confirmed. I, Peter, priest, who wrote the document of this bestowal as asked and subscribed it on the above-noted day and year.

Original letter:

In Christo nomine. Ego Rangardis comitissa, filia quae fui Ameliae comitissae, vinditrix sum vobis domno Raymundo comiti Barcheonensi, & Almodi comitissae conjugi vestrae sorori meae, & filio vestro Raymundo-Berengarii. Per hanc scripturam venditionis meae vendo vobis omnes voces & dretaticos, possessiones vel auctoritates, quas ego habeo vel habere debeo, & homines vel faemina habent vel habere debent per me per fevos, vel per alodia, vel per bajulias, sive per convenientias, vel per dimissiones, vel jactitiones, seu luctuosum, sive decimum, vel per qualescumque voces in comitatu Redensi, Coseranensi, & Comeniensi, & Carcassonensi, & Narbonensi, & Minerbensi, & Tolosano, sicut fuerunt praedicta omnia de Rodgario comite Vetulo Carcassonensi, & Otone ejus fratre comite Redensi & de Bernardo-Rodgarii, & sicut fuerunt Petri Raymundi comitis mariti mei, & Rodgarii filii mei, quantum isti supradicti qualicumque modo ibi tenuerunt vel habuerunt, & homines vel feminae per eos. Sunt namque praedicta omnia, civitates, comitatus, episcopatos, vicecomitatus, & alii honores & dignitates, castra vel castella, munitiones, sive fortedae, ecclesiae, parochiae, villae, domus, census, redditus, mercata, telonea, leddes, pedadges, firae (?), raffegae, alberges, pascuaria, silvae, garrigae, arbores, horti, cultum vel eremum, montes & podii, petrae & monetae, condirectum vel discondirectum, rusticum & urbanum, malla vel placita, prata vel pascua, fontes, flumina cum eorum discursionibus & piscatoriis & molendinis vel molendinariis, sive cum omnibus terris vel vineis, cultis vel eremis, vias ductibus vel reductibus, sive cum omnibus abbatiis, monasteriis, cellis, possessionibus, praediis, & alodiis, vel capellis earum cum omnibus illarum terminis & pertinentibus cunctis quae in praedictis comitatibus, episcopatibus, vel vicecomitatibus fuerunt, sunt vel erunt. Advenerunt ergo mihi praescriptae Rangardi jamdicta omnia per voces et dretaticos, vel per dimissionem seu jactitionem, per scripturam testamenti a jamdicto viro meo marito vel conjuge mihi factam, sive per meum decimum , sive per luctuosam haereditatem jamdicti filii mei Rodgarii comitis, seu per qualescumque voces vel auctoritates. Quae vero praedicta omnia superius scripta cum omnibus terminis & pertinentiis, & affrontationibus illorum cunctis, ego praedicta Rangardis comitissa meo libenti & grato animo, sine vi & metu & fortia, libere & solide & integriter, ac sine ullo retentu vendo sine engan vobis jamdictis domno Raymundo videlicet comiti & Almodi comitissae, & filio vestro Raymundo-Berengarii propter pretium id sunt quadringentae unciae auri puri & optimi pensatae ad pensum legitimum, quod pretium vos praedicti mihi dedistis & ego a vobis accepi, & nihil de ipso pretio apud vos emptores remansit ad persolvendum, & est manifestum. Quae vero ego praedicta Rangardis comitissa praescripta omnia, simul cum ipso castro de Confolent cum terminis & pertinentiis suis, sive cum ipso castro de Redes, & cum ipso castro de Ventegos, & cum ipso castro de Campredad, & cum ipso castro de Periag, cum illorum terminis & ecclesiis & pertinentiis omnibus, similiter cum ipso de Auriag cum terminis & pertinentiis suis, similiter cum omnibus ipsis fortedis, & dominicataris, villis, & census, & redditus, & viaticos, & monetis, & alberges, & staticas, & placitis, & batalias, & justitiis, & redirectionibus, similiter cum omnibus retinimentis quos ego praedicta Rangardis in praedictis omnibus usque nunc adquisivi, habui vel retinui aliquo modo, vel habere vel retinere debui, & homines vel faeminae habent vel retinent, vel habere vel retinere debent vel debuerunt per me aliquo modo, de meo jure in vestram trado dominium & potestatem, &c. Facta scriptura venditionis X kalendas madii, anno XI regni Philippi regis. S. Rangardis comitissa, qui hoc firmavit & firmare rogavit. Petrus presbyter, qui hujus scedulam largitionis rogatus scripsi & subscripsi die annoque praenotato.

Historical context:

Sale by Rangard, countess of Carcassonne, to Raymond, count of Barcelona, her brother-in—law and his wife, her sister Almodis, of her rights in Carcassonne, after her daughter Ermengard and her husband Raimond-Bernard, viscount of Albi and Nimes, had asserted claims over Carcassonne which they did not actually have.   Fredric Cheyette dates the document 1070, following the editor of the Liber feudorum maior, see "The `Sale' of Carcassonne to the Counts of Barcelona (1067-1070) and the Rise of the Trencavels," Speculum, 63 (1988), 851, n.94. 

Printed source:

Devic and Vaissette, Histoire Générale de Languedoc (Toulouse: Privat, 1875) 5.586-88, #300, CCLIII; also in Liber Feudorum Maior, 2.309-10, #823.

Date:

1070, April 22