A letter from Agnes

Translated letter:

In the one thousand seventyeighth year from the incarnation of our lord Jesus Christ, seventh kalends of November, second indiction.  To the monastery of the holy mother of God and perpetual virgin Mary, built in a place which is called Pinerolo, near the church of St. Veran, where now the venerable father Arduin is known to be abbot by God’s favor.  I Agnes, daughter of the late count William of Poitiers and widow of the former marquis Peter, who am professed from my birth to live by Salic law, spoke as offerer and donor to said monastery; whoever confers anything from their own things on holy and venerable places, according to the word of the author, will receive a hundredfold in this world and moreover, what is better, will possess eternal life. Therefore I, Agnes, for the mercy and remedy of the soul of my said husband and my own, and for the souls of the faithful, living and dead, I give and offer from that very day, after my death, to said monastery of St. Mary, my whole portion, which is half of this court Pinerolo, with half the castle and the fortifications built in it, with the churches, defenses, chapels, built within the territory of that court, as wholly or in part pertain to my portion and are in my jurisdiction, and with all the things, other buildings, homes, plots, vineyards with their lands, arable lands, meadows, pastures, larger and smaller woods, similarly with their lands, tolls, and other guards and conditions to be claimed therefrom, and with other territories, mountains, plains, all those pertaining to my portion from this court and its boundaries and are in my jurisdiction, as was said, huts, castle, churches, homes, buildings, plots, vineyards with their lands, arable lands, meadows, pastures, woods, and stalls, rocks and chasms, swamps, mills, mills for pounding cloth, fulling mills, markets, fees (curationes), tolls, alps, mountains, plains cultivated and uncultivated, divided and undivided together with their boundaries, accesses, and uses of adjacent waters and acqueducts, with all jurisdiction, what is adjacent and what pertains by place and all the farms pertaining to my portion, as half of said court Pinerolo, with all the things given above to that half in my jurisdiction, together with accesses and entries, both higher and lower, as is read above, to that monastery of St. Mary, from the very day, after my death, I give, grant, and offer and confirm by the present charter of offering [their] having it there after my death.  Moreover by the little knife, the straw, the glove, the piece of earth and the branch of a tree,(1) I make legitimate transfer and investiture to said monastery of St. Mary, and have expelled myself and made myself absent from it and left it to be had as the property of that monastery after my death, thence that monastery or to whomever a part of that monastery shall give it, from the present day after my death, to do whatever it wishes in the name of ownership without any opposition or claim from  me and my heirs and future heirs; if anyone should in the future, which I do not believe. If I, indeed, Agnes, let it not be, or any of my heirs and future heirs and whatever opposing person [we] should attempt to go against this charter of offering, whenever, or seek to break it by whatever trick, then we shall incur in that part against which we brought suit, a fine which is the punishment of a thousand ounces of the best gold, two thousand weights of silver, and that we would not be able to make good the claim we had made, but this present charter of offering should remain firm and persist for a very long time.  And I, indeed, Agnes together with my heirs and future heirs to said monastery or one to whom a part of that monastery had given, promise to defend against every man for the aforesaid things as is read above, what we could not defend, [or] we sought to take away from that monastery something by any trick, then we would restore to said monastery those things doubly, as they had improved over time or were valued in the estimation against similar places.  And I have raised the parchment, with ink from the earth, given the page to Giselbert, notary of said palace, and asked him to write, moreover confirming what I offered to be strengthened by witnesses.  Enacted happily in said place Pinarolo.  Sign of the hand of this Agnes, who asked this charter of offering to be made, and it was read to her, which charter lord Cunibert bishop of Turin, without any reward, confirmed, and the gift of the churches of St. Donatus, and St. Maurice, in my hand of said Agnes of Poitiers in good faith, and corroborated, and out of reverence for blessed Peter prince of apostles, under whose jurisdiction the whole monastery of Pinerolo exists, approved, gave, and offered, and granted in perpetuity without any opposition, said churches [going] to the side of the monastery.  Sign of the hands of Rogden, and Walfred, witnesses living by Salic law; signs of the hands of Ameron, Aymon, Ubald, Opero, witnesses.  I, Giselbert, notary of the sacred palace.

Original letter:

Anno ab Incarnatione Domini nostri Jesu Christi millesimo septuagesimo octavo, septimo Cal. Novembris, indictione secunda; Monasterio sanctae Dei Genitricis, & perpetuae Virginis Mariae, in loco qui Pinarolio vocatur, prope Ecclesiam sancti Verani constructo ubi nunc venerabilis Pater Arduinus, Dei nutu Abbas esse videtur; Ego Agnes filia quondam Guillelmi Pictaviensis Comitis, & relicta olim nobilissimi Marchionis Petri, quae professa sum ex natione mea, lege vivere Salica, offertrix, & donatrix in praedicto Monasterio proprio dixi; quisquis in sanctis, ac venerabilibus locis, ex suis aliquid contulerit rebus, juxta auctoris vocem, in hoc saeculo centuplum accipiet, insuper & quod melius est, vitam possidebit aeternam.  Ideoque ego quidem Agnes pro mercede, & remedio animae praedicti Viri mei, & meae, suis pro animabus, tam vivorum, quam defunctorum fidelium; dono, & offero a praesenti die, post meum decessum, in praedicto Monasterio sanctae Mariae, integram meam portionem, quae est medietas de ista Corte Pinarolio, cum medietate de castro, & ejus munitionibus in ea constructis, cum Ecclesiis,  titulis, capellis, infra territorium ipsius Curiae aedificatis, sicut aut integre, aut in parte, ad ipsam meam portionem pertinent, & mei juris sunt, atque cum rebus omnibus, aliis aedificiis, domibus, sediminibus, vineis cum areis suis, terris arabilibus, pratis, pascuis, silvis majoribus, & minoribus similiter cum areis suis, teloneis, aliisque excubiis, & conditionibus, jure inde exigendis, sive cum aliis territoriis, in montibus, & planis, omnia quaeque ad ipsam meam portionem de ista Corte, & ejus finibus pertinentia, & mei juris sunt, ut dictum est, tam casis, castro, Ecclesiis, domibus, aedificiis, sediminibus, vineis cum areis suis, terris arabilibus, pratis, pascuis, silvis, ac stalatiis, rupis rupinis, ac paludibus, molendinis, baptaleriis, fullatoriis, mercatis, curationibus, teloniis, alpibus, montibus, planis cultis & incultis, divisis, & indivisis una cum finibus, terminibus, accessionibus, & usibus aquarum aquarumque ductibus, cum omni jure adjacentibus, & pertinentibus per loca, & vocabula omnia, ad ipsam meam portionem pertinentia, quam medietatem de praedicta Corte Pinarolio, cum omnibus rebus ad ipsam medietatem juris mei superius donatam, una cum accessionibus, & ingressibus, seu cum superioribus & inferioribus suis, qualiter superius legitur, ab hac die in eodem Monasterio Sanctae Mariae, a praesenti die post meum decessum dono, cedo & offero, & per praesentem cartam offersionis ibidem habendi confirmo post meum decessum. Insuper per cultellum, festucam, vantonem, vasonem terrae atque ramum arboris, in praedicto Monasterio sanctae Mariae, legitimam facio traditionem, & vestituram, & me exinde foras expuli, & absentem feci, & ad proprietatem ipsius Monasterii post meum decessum habendum reliqui faciendum, exinde ipsum Monasterium aut cui pars ipsius Monasterii dederit, a praesenti die post meum decessum; proprietario nomine quidquid voluerit, sine omni mea, & haeredum, ac prohaeredum meorum contradictione, vel repetitione; si quis vero quod futurum esse non credo. Si ego quidem Agnes, quod absit, aut ullus de haeredibus ac prohaeredibus meis, seu quaelibet opposita persona contra hanc cartam offersionis, ire quandoque tentaverimus, aut eam per quodvis ingenium infringere quaesierimus, tunc inferamus ad illam partem, contra quam exinde litem intulerimus, mulctam, quae est poena auri optimi uncias mille, argenti pondera duo millia, & quod repetierimus vindicare non valeamus, sed praesens haec oblationis carta, diuturnis temporibus firma permaneat, atque persistat.  Et ego quidem Agnes una cum meis haeredibus, ac prohaeredibus in praedicto Monasterio, aut cui pars ipsius Monasterii dederit, de praedictis rebus qualiter superius legitur, ab omni homine defensare promitto, quodque defendere non potuerimus, ab eodem Monasterio exinde aliquid per quodvis ingenium subtrahere quaesiverimus, tunc in duplum istas res, in praedicto Monasterio restituamus, sicut pro tempore fuerint melioratae, aut valuerint sub aestimatione in consimilibus locis, & Pergamena, cum atramentario de terra elevavi, paginam Giseberto Notario dicti Palatii tradidi, & scribere rogavi, insuper confirmans, testibus obtuli roborandam.  Actum in praedicto loco Pinarolio feliciter.  Signum manus istius Agnes, quae hanc cartulam oblationis fieri rogavit, eique relecta est, quam cartam Dominus Cunibertus Taurinensis Episcopus, & donum Ecclesiarum sancti Donati, sanctique Mauritii in manu mea jam Agnetis dicta Pictaviensis bona fide confirmavit, & corroboravit, & absque omni munere pro reverentia Beati Petri Apostolorum Principis, sub cujus jure totum Monasterium Pinaroliense consistit, praefatas Ecclesias ad partem Monasterii laudavit, donavit, & obtulit, & in perpetuum, sine aliqua contradictione concessit.  Signa manuum Rogdeni, & Vvalfredi, lege viventium Salica testes; signa manuum Ameronis, Aymonis, Ubaldi, Operonis testes.  Ego Giselbertus Notarius Sacri Palatii. 

Historical context:

The countess bestows half of the court of Pinerolo, with all its lands and holdings on the monastery, the gift to be transferred at her death.

Scholarly notes:

(1) These are traditional symbolic objects handed over at the transfer of property.  I am grateful to Adam Kosto for this explanation.

Printed source:

Guichenon, Histoire Généalogique, 2 Preuves, 23-24.  Summarized in Regesta Comitum Sabaudiae, #198.

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