A letter from Bertha

Translated letter:

In the one thousand sixty fourth year of the incarnation of our lord Jesus Christ, on the day before the kalends of October, second indiction.  To the monastery of St. Syrus which is built outside and near the city of Genoa.  We Bertha …. [daughter] of Manfred and also Manfred,…. mother and son who are professed from our birth to live by Salic law, offerers and donators to the said monastery of St. Syrus, because we said whoever conferred on holy and venerable places anything from their own things according to the words of the author will receive a hundredfold in this world, and what is better, you will possess eternal life.  Therefore we, the said mother and sons, give and offer from the present day to that monastery for the mercy and remedy of our soul, this chapel which was built in honor of St. Michael …. six [farms?] similarly with all things pertaining that are run and worked by …. of George John and William Infantuli sons of the late Adempert and Garimund, mother and sons in our jurisdiction, which we are known to have in the territory of Calosso and they are the farms inscribed herein with all the things pertaining to them and all the things which pertain to said chapel by just measure among houses, plots …. arable, and vineyards with their lands and plants (vegetables) and meadows and woodlands with their fifty iugera of land, and they are from the things in our jurisdiction which pertain to said chapel and already named farms more found …. moreover by this charter of offering … with the proprietary power and jurisdiction. which inscribed farms with all the things pertaining to them, mother and sons together with the access and entry with the highers and lowers of those things as is read completely from this day to that monastery of St. Syrus for the mercy and remedy of our soul we give and offer and by the present charter of offering, confirm the having.  Moreoever by the little knife, the knotted straw, the glove, and the piece of earth and the branch of a tree, we make legitimate transfer and investiture before witnesses and have ourselves expelled and guaranteed from the site and by the ownership of said monastery whatever it may wish by proprietary name without any opposition or claim from us and our heirs and future heirs.  If anyone, indeed in the future, which we do not believe, we ourselves, mother and sons, or any of our heirs and future heirs or whatever opposing person [we] should attempt to go against this charter of offering, whenever, or seek to break it by whatever trick, then we would incure in that part over which we brought suit, a fine which is a punishment of a hundred ounces of pure gold and twohundred weight of silver, and that we would not be able to make good or renew our claim.  So that the present charter of offering remain firm for a very long time and persist undisturbed according to the stipulation that for us, said mother and sons and our heirs and future heirs, said offering as above to defend altogether from any man [who went] against said monastery of St. Syrus, and if we could not defend it or sought to take anything away from that monastery by whatever trick, then we would retore doubly the said offering to that monastery as it had increased in time or was valued by the estimation of similar places and neither mother nor sons is permitted at any time to do what we might wish. So we promised that this would be kept by us with the binding stipulation, and they raised the parchment with ink from earth.  I asked Steven, notary of the Sacred Palace to write the page as given to him.  In which, confirming below strengthened with witnesses, he offered it to you.  Enacted happily at the castle of the city of Asti. 

Sign by the hands of the inscribed mother and sons who asked that that charter of offering be made.  And it was read to them. 

Sign by the hands of Roland and Rudolph and Agicard, witnesses living by Salic law. 

Sign by the hands of Roland and Bono, witnesses living by Roman law.  Sign by the hands of Aginfred and John, witnesses. 

I, the above Steven, notary of the Sacred Palace, the scribe of this charter of offering, completely it after it was given to me and gave/dated it.

Original letter:

Anno ab Incarnatione Domini nostri ihesu christi milleximo sexageximo quarto, pridie kalendas octobris. indicione secunda. Monasterio Sancti Sili quod est constructum foris et prope ciuitatem Janue. 

Nos Berta.................Maginfredi et item Magnifredus .............mater et filius. qui profesi sumus nos ex nacione nostra lege uiuere salicha' ofertores et donatores supradicto Monasterio Sancti Sili, propterea diximus quisquis in sanctis ac in uenerabilibus locis et suis aliquid rebus contulerit iusta auctoris uocem hoc seculo centuplum accipiat, insuper quod melius est uitam posideatis eternam. Ideoque nos qui supra mater et filii donamus et offerimus a presenti die in eodem monesterio pro mercede et remedio anime nostre, hoc est Capella una que est edificata in honore Sancti Michaelis..............sex similiter cum omnibus ad se pertinentibus que sunt rectis ac laboratis per..................Georgii Johannis et Yilielmi Infantuli filii quondam Ademperti seu Garimundi iuris nostri mater et filii, quam abere uisi sumus in territorio Calocii. et sunt infrascriptos mansores cum omnibus rebus ad se pertinentibus et omnibus rebus que ad supradictam Capellam pertinent per mensuram iustam inter casis sediminis . ..............arabilibus et uineis cum areis suarum et erbis et pratis seu buscaleis cum areis suarum iugera quinquaginta, et sunt de nostro iuris rebus que ad supradictam capellam et iam dictas mansoras pertinent plus inuentum ......... insuper per hanc cartulam offersionis.....potestate proprietario iuris. que autem infrascripta mansoras cum omnibus rebus ad se pertinentibus mater et filii supradicta una cum accessione et ingresso suo seu cum superioribus et inferioribus earum rerum qualiter superius mensura legitur in integrum ab hoc die in eodem monasterio Sancti Sili prò mercede et remedio anime nostre donamus et offerimus et per presentem cartulam offersionis ibidem abendum confirmamus. Insuper per cultellum fistucum nodatum uuantonom et uasonem terre atque ramum arboris exinde coram testibus legitimam facimus tradicionem et uestituram et nos exinde foris expulli uuarpiui et absi sito fecimus et a proprietate supradicti monasterii proprietario nomine quiquid uoluerit sine omni nostra et heredum ac [pro]heredum nostrorum contradicione uel repeticione. Si quis uero quod futurum esse non credimus si nos ipsi mater et filii aut ullus de heredibus ac proheredibus nostris seu qualibet oposita persona contra hanc cartulam offersionis ire quandoque tentauerimus. aut nos per quodcumque ingenium infrangere quesierimus. tunc inferamus ad illam partem quam exinde litem intulerimus multa que est pena auri optimi uncias centum argenti pondera duocenti. et quod repecierimus et uindicare non ualeamus. se presens anc cartulam ofersionis diuturnis temporibus firma permaneat atque persistat in conuulsa con stipulacione subnixa, et nobis qui supra mater et filiis nostrisque heredibus ac proheredibus contra ipsum monasterium Sancti Sili suprascripta ofersio qualiter superius in integrum ab omni homine defensare, quod si defendere non potuerimus aut si de ipso monasterio per quodcumque ingenium sutraere quesierimus. tunc in dublum suprascripta offersio ad ipsum monasterium restituamus sicut pro tempore fuerit meliorata aut ualuerit sub estimacionibus in consimilibus locis, et nec nobis mater et filii liceat ullo tempore noie[?] quod uoluisemus.  se quod a nobis semel factum conseruare promittimus con stipulacione subnixa, et bergamena cum actramentario de terra eleuauerunt. paginam stefanus notarius Sacri Palacii tradidit et scribere rogaui. in qua subter confirmans testibusque tibi obtulit roborandum. Actum infra Castrum de Aste ciuitate feliciter.

Signum m. m. manibus infrascriptorum matris et filii qui hanc cartulam ofersionis fieri rogauerunt. eisque relecta est. Signum m. m. m. manibus Rolandi et Rudulfi seu Agicardi isti lege Salicha testes. Signum m. m. manibus Rolandi et Bono isti lege Romana testes. Signum, m. m. manibus Aginfredi et Johannis testes. 

Ego qui supra Stefanus notarius Sacri Palacii scriptor uius cartule ofersionis post tradita compleui et dedi.

Historical context:

The countess and her son make a gift of a chapel and several plots of farmland  to the monastery of St. Syrus.  The document includes a legal formula, idenfitied to me by Adam Kosto, of traditional symbolic objects handed over at the transfer of property (the little knife, etc.), found also in donations of her daughter, Immilla of Turin, and of Adelaide of Turin and Susa, and Beatrice and Matilda of Tuscany.  The document has a number of lacunae as well as grammatical oddities.  The published text also seems to have been scanned from the original, adding other errors.  The summary in the Regesta dates it 1061.

Printed source:

Atti della Società ligure di Storia patria, Vol. II, Cartario Genovese (Genova 1870), doc. 133, p.169.  Summary in Regesta Comitum Sabaudiae, #164.

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