A Letter from Joveta

Translated letter:

In the name of the holy and individual trinity, of the father and son and holy spirit.  Be it known to all men future as well as present an exchange made between the house of the hospital and the abbess named Joveta of St. Lazarus of Bethany.  That exchange was done by this agreement which I, Raymond, master of the hospital, with the counsel of the whole chapter of brother clerics and laymen, grant and approve to the abbess of St. Lazarus and all her nuns every tithe which the Hospital had in the village of Bethany and in all its appurtenances in exchange for a certain vineyard which she bestowed on us for that tithe, and I, Joveta, abbess of St. Lazarus give, approve and grant to the Hospital in exchange for that tithe a certain vineyard which faces the vineyard of the Hospital in the east, in the south the vineyard of St. Ann, in the north the road which goes to Nablus, and runs from the vineyard to the fork of St. Stephen.  These are the enclosing abutments.  So I, Joveta, abbess of St. Lazarus with the counsel/council (1) of our lady nuns and our whole chapter, approve and grant said exchange to lord Raymond, and the other brothers, present and future, in perpetuity.  Moreover lady Avis, abbess of St. Mary the Great, with the concession and will of her nuns, namely Odolina, Solis, and Gundelena, and all the other ladies, granted and gave to the Hospital in good faith and without deceit half the tithe which she had in the said vineyard, in the sight and hearing of Peter of St. Lazarus, Lambert, exchanger, and Stephen Humbert.  By the same agreement, lady Sibylla, abbess of St. Anna, with the concession and will of Ermengard and Gilia and her other nuns, gave and granted to the Hospital the other half of the tithe which she had in the forenamed vineyard in the presence of Ralph of St. Peter and William Ebrald and Amisarno, butcher.  This was done in the 1157th year from the incarnation of the lord, with Fulcher as patriarch and Baldwin ruling as fourth king of Jerusalem.  Witnesses of this were:  Odolina prioress, lady Siguina Romana, Alamandina, chantress, Helen nun, and Agnes, nun.

All these were established in the presence of lady queen Melisende.

Original letter:

In Nomine Sanctae, & individuae Trinitatis Patris, & Filii & Spiritus Sancti.  Notum sit omnibus hominibus tam futuris quam presentibus quoddam Concambium factum esse inter Domum Hospitalis & Abbatissam nomine Ioaetam Sancti Lazari Baetania.  Tali pacto factum est illud concambium, quod ego Raimundus Magister hospitalis consilio tocius Capituli fratrum Clericorum scilicet, atque Laicorum, concedo, & laudo Abbatissae Sancti Lazari, & omnibus Sanctimonialibus suis omnem decimationem, quam habebat Hospitale in Casali de Bethania, & in omnibus pertinenciis suis pro concambio cuiusdam vineae, quam pro decimatione illa nobis tribuit, denique ego Ioeta Abbatissa Sancti Lazari dono, laudo, atque concedo Hospitali tali per concambium huius decimationis quamdam vineam, que affrontat ab Oriente in vinea Hospitalis.  A meridie in vinea Sanctae Annae, Ab Aquilone in viam, quae ducit Neapolim, & tenet de vinea usque ad Bivium Sancti Stephani.  Sicuti istae affrontationes includent; ita ego Ioeta Abbatissa Sancti Lazari concilio Dominarum nostrarum Sanctimonialium, & tocius Capituli nostri; laudo, & concedo predictum concambium Domino Raimundo, & aliis fratribus presentibus, & futuris in perpetuum.  Praeterea Domina Avis Abbatissa Sanctae Mariae Grandis concessu, & voluntate suarum Sanctimonialium, scilicet Odolinae, & Solis, & gundelene, aliarumque omnium Dominarum concessit, & donavit Hospitali bona fide, & sine dolo medietatem decimae, quam habebat in vinea ista predicta, videntibus, & audientibus istis Petro de Sancto Lazaro Lamberto Cambiatore, Staphano Umberto.  Eodem pacto Domina Sebilia Abbatissa Sanctae Annae concessu, & voluntate Ermengardis, & Giliae, caeterarumque suarum Monialium donavit, & concessit Hospitali aliam medietatem decimae, quam habebat in hac praenominata vinea in praesentia Radulfi de Sancto Petro, & Willelmi Ebraldi, & Amisarni Carnificis.  Factum est hoc anno Dominicae Incarnationis M° C° L° Vij° Domino Folcherio existente Patriarcha, & Regnante Balduino Hierusalem Rege quarto.  Cuius rei testes fuerunt istae,
Odolina Priorissa,                                & Helena Sanctimonialis,
& Domina Siguina Romana,            & Agnes Sanctimonialis,
& Alamandina Cantatrix.

Haec omnia stabilita sunt in praesentia Dominae Reginae Milisendis.

Historical context:

This charter is a record of the complicated exchange of a vinyard for tithes, between the abbess and nuns of St. Lazarus and the Hospital of Jerusalem, also involving the concession of their tithes of two other abbesses. 

Scholarly notes:

1 The text gives concilio, council, not consilio, counsel, as was used for the master of the hospital, though it seems likely that the formula would have been the same. 

Printed source:

Paoli, Sebastiano, ed., Codice diplomatico del Sacro militare Ordine Gerosolimitano, oggi di Malta (Lucca, 1733-37), 204-05, #161.  RRH #327.

Date: