A letter from William, Archbishop of Sens and Ida of Carinthia

Translated letter:

In the name of the holy and individual trinity, I, William bishop of Auxerre, [we] wish to make known to the present as well as the future, that Ida, noble Countess of Nevers, seeing that her son the young count Guido was terminally ill, moved by maternal piety promised him that she would give twenty pounds of revenue from her dower land for the redemption of his soul and [that] of his ancestors, which she was very happy to do; and he asked with every kind of prayer that it be fully carried out.  That Countess, therefore, wishing to arrange this alms beneficially for the tranquillity of the Church and the soul of her son and the salvation of his ancestors, carried out the promise in this way.  She gave and granted the men she had at that time at Varzy, of whatever rank, and their heirs, to be possessed in perpetuity by us and our successor bishops.  We, on the other hand, paying heed to her generosity and devotion which she had towards us and our church, established a new crucifix before the altar in that church and from now on two priests free of all duty, will celebrate every day a Mass for the redemption of the soul of said Count Guido and his father and his ancestors, and all the faithful dead, except on Sundays and solemn feastdays, in which [they will celebrate] the Mass appropriate to that time.  To our said priests above we have given the revenues and assigned that they will be given annually by us and our successors in perpetuity:  namely one measure of wheat in the grange of Giaco and one sester of beans, twelve measures of wine, six white and six red, in the press or in our cellar at Auxerres, six pounds of Auxerres money in Varzy crosses the day after Pentecost, and ten pounds of wax during the fairs of Tanneto (1) for lighting the said altar.  That this continue unchanged and be firmly upheld, we have had the present writing done and strengthened by the protection of our seal.  Witnesses of this thing are Hugo, archdeacon of Sens, Galfred of Chanquoil, William, cantor of Clamecy, William, chaplain of the Countess, Galfred of Mont Royal, William of Chacebois, Simone of Turre, chamberlain of the Countess, and many others.  Enacted in the 1175th year from the incarnation.

Original letter:

In nomine sanctae & individuae Trinitatis, Ego Willelmus Autissiodorensis Episcopus, notum fieri volumus tam praesentibus, quam futuris, quod Ida nobilis Comitissa Nivernensis, videns Guidonem Comitem juvenem filium suum in extremis laborantem, materna pietate commota, promisit ei se daturam viginiti libras redditus de Terra dotalitii sui, pro remedio animae suae & antecessorum ejus, quod ipsa quidem gratissimum habuit; & ut ab omni opere compleret, omnimoda prece postulavit.  Volens igitur eadem Comitissa hanc elemosynam salubriter ordinare ad Ecclesiae tranquillitatem, & ad animae filii sui, & antecessorum suorum salutem, hoc modo promissum complevit.  Homines quos habebat tunc temporis Varziaci cujuscumque conditionis essent, & eorum haeredes, in perpetuum possidendos nobis & successoribus nostris Episcopis donavit & concessit.  Nos autem attendentes ejus liberalitatem & devotionem quam erga nos & Ecclesiam nostram habebat, in eadem Ecclesia ante Crucifixum Altare novum constituimus, & duos Presbyteros ab omni quaestu liberos, qui deinceps vicissim singulis diebus Missam pro remedio animae praefati Guidonis Comitis, & patris sui, & antecessorum suorum, omniumque fidelium defunctorum celebrabunt, exceptis Dominicis diebus & solemnitatibus, in quibus Missam quam volumus, pro tempore celebrabunt.   Praedictis nostris Presbyteris suprascriptis redditus donavimus & assignavimus annuatim a nobis, & a successoribus nostris in perpetuum reddendos; unum videlicet modium frumenti in grangia de Giaco, & unum sextarium fabarum, duodecim modios vini, sex albi & sex rubei in torculari, aut cellario nostro Autissiodorensi, sex libras Autissiodorensis monetae in crucibus de Varziaco in crastino Pentecostes, & decem libras cerae in nundinis de Tanneto (1) ad luminare praedicti Altaris.  Quod ut immotum perseveret, ac firmius habeatur, super hoc praesens scriptum fieri, ac sigilli nostri munimine roborari fecimus.  Hujus rei testes sunt Hugo Senonensis Archidiaconus, Gaufridus de Chanquoil, Guillelmus Cantor Clameciensis, Guillelmus Capellanus Comitissae, Gaufridus de Monte Reali, Guillelmus Chacebois, Simon de Turre, Camerarius Comitissae, & plures alii. Datum ab Incarnatione Domini, MCLXXV.

Historical context:

The charter is included here as coming from the countess as well as the archbishop because it registers the terms of her donation made to fulfil a promise to her dying son.

Scholarly notes:

1. The Nundinae of Tanneto were fairs set up near Auxerre on the Montartre.

Printed source:

Abbe Lebeuf, Memoires  concernant l’Histoire Ecclesiastique et Civile d’Auxerre (Paris:  Durand, 1743), documents p.27,  #55.

Date: