A letter from Ermengard and Raymond Bernard

Translated letter:

In the name of Christ.  We Raymond Bernard viscount by cognomen Trencavel, and my spouse, viscountess Ermengard, I who am the daughter of countess Rangard, we are together at the same time sellers, determiners and removers to you Raymond, count of Barcelona, and countess Almodis, your wife, and your son Raymond Berengar.  By this document of our sale, determination and removal we sell, determine and remove to you all voice and rights, possessions or authorities which we have and ought to have and men and women have or ought to have through us as fiefs or allods or by pacts or agreements or whatever authority in the county of Razès and Couserans, and Comminges, and Carcassonne, and Narbonne, and Toulouse, as all the above were [held by] the old count of Carcassonne, Roger, and his brother the count of Razès, Odo, and Bernard Roger and Raymond Roger and Peter, bishop, sons of said Roger, and as [held by] count Peter Raymond and Roger his son, and countess Rangard; as much as these abovenamed held or had them there in whatever way and men and women through them.  All the above cities, counties, bishoprics, viscounties, and other honors and offices, towns and castles, defenses and fortifications, churches, parishes, towns, houses, payments, rents, markets, tolls, [market]fees, travel tolls, fees, rights to provisions, pasturages, woods, uncultivated lands, trees, gardens, cultivated or barren, mountains and hills and stones, used and unused, rustic and urban, courts and assemblies, meadows and pastures, fountains, rivers with their watercourses and fisheries and mills and milling rights, and with all lands and vineyards cultivated or barren, roads with entries and exits, abbeys, monasteries, cells/daughter houses, their possessions, farms, and chapels, with all their territories and appurtenances which were, are, or will be in said counties, bishoprics or viscounties,  except two abbeys namely St. John of Valseguier and St. Peter of Caunes with their appurtenances which we, named sellers Raymond and Ermengard have as a fief in your service from you, abovenamed buyers.  All these named by us came to me said Raymond by authority and right of my said spouse Ermengard and by fiefs and agreements and by whatever powers, and to me, said Ermengard by heredity or succession from my parents and relatives, or by gift of my named brother Roger or by whatever authorities.  All those above-written, with all their territories, appurtenances, and boundaries, by our willing and agreeable spirit, freely and entirely and wholly and without any retention, we give over dominion and power and property from our right and power into yours, to do whatever you will, for the price which is two thousand ounces of refined gold of Barcelona money by correct weight.  Which price you buyers gave to us and we sellers accepted from you and nothing remained to be paid from this price by you buyers, as is manifest.  And moreover we confirm by approval to you those sales and gifts and determinations, removals and throwing* [of the straw] which we made in time past with you about said things.  Which if we sellers, etc.  In which document of sale, we sell you freely and wholly for said price that castle/town of Ornaisons with all the honor that pertains to that castle, with all its territory and appurtenances, at the same time with all the above-named things, except those allods which Guillerm viscount of Béziers, who was the grandfather of said Peter Raymond, had in that county of Narbonne and Minerve, and except those fiefs which said Peter Raymond had from the archbishop of Narbonne in that county of Narbonne or Minerve.  This document was made 6 kalends of July, in the 1070th year of the lord’s Incarnation, era** 1108, indiction 8, 11th year of the reign of king Philip.  Sign of Raymond, viscount, by cognomen Trencavel.  Sign of Ermengard viscountess, who [we] ordered this document of sale, determination, removal and approval to be made, signed it and asked witnesses to sign.  Sign of Guillemette, daughter of viscountess Ermengard, confirming all the above-written with willing spirit. Guifred archbishop.  Guillerm, archdeacon of the church of of St. Gerunda.  Sign of Rangard countess.  Bernard cleric and judge of Gerunda.  Sign of Raymond, offspring of judge Bonifilio, [I] who legally confirm this document.  Sign of the woman Adelaide daughter of countess Rangard.  Adalbert deacon who wrote this present document as asked and underwrote it on the day and year named.

Original letter:

In Christi nomine.  Nos, Raimundus Bernardi, vicecomes, cognomento Trencavels, et Ermengardis, vicecomitissa, coniux mea, filia que sum Rangardis, comitisse, simul in unum venditores, diffinitores et evacuatores sumus vobis, Raimundo, comiti Barcheone, et Almodi comitisse, coniugi tue, et filio vestro Raimundo Berengarii. Per hanc scripturam vendicionis, diffinicionis vel evacuacionis nostre vendimus, deffinimus et evacuamus vobis omnes voces et dretaticos, possessiones vel auctoritates, quas nos habemus vel habere debemus, et homines vel femine habent vel habere debent per nos per fevos, vel per alodia vel per baiulias sive per conveniencias vel per qualescumque voces, in comitatu Redensi et Coseranensi et Comeiensi et Carcassonensi et Narbonensi et Tolosano, sicut fuerunt predicta omnia de Lodgario, comite vetulo Carcassonensi, et Otone, fratre eius, comite Redensi, et de Bernardo Rodgarii et Petro, episcopo, filiorum predicti Rodgarii, et sicut fuerunt Petri Raimundi, comitis, et Rodgarii, filii sui, et Rangardis, comitisse, quantum isti supradicti qualicumque modo ibi tenuerunt vel habuerunt, et homines vel  femine per eos. Sunt, namque, predicta omnia, civitates, comitatus, episcopatus, vicecomitatus et alii honores et dignitates, castra vel castella, municiones sive fortedas, ecclesie, parrochie, ville, domus, census, redditus, mercata, telonea, leddes, pedadges, fire, rafege, alberges, pascuaria, silve, garrice, arbores, horti, cultum vel heremum, montes et podii et petre, condirectum vel discondirectum, rusticum et urbanum, malla vel placita, prata vel pascua, fontes, flumina, cum eorum decursionibus et piscatoriis et molendinis et molendinariis, sive cum omnibus terris vel vineis, cultis vel eremis, vieductibus vel reductibus, abbatiis, monasteriis, cellis, possessionibus, prediis vel capellis earum, cum omnium illarum terminis et pertinenciis cunctis que in predictis comitatibus, episcopatibus vel  vicecomitatibus fuerunt, sunt vel erunt, exceptis duabus abbaciis, vide­licet, de Sancto Ioanne de Valle Segarii et de Sancto Petro de Caunas, cum illarum pertinenciis, quas nos, predicti venditores Raimundus et Ermengardis, habemus per vos, iam dictos emptores, per fevum ad vestrum  servicium. Advenerunt, ergo, nobis predicta omnia ad me quidem, Raimundum prescriptum, per vocem et dretaticum iam dicte coniugis mee Ermengardis et per fevos et conveniencias sive per quascumque voces, et ad me, predictam Ermengardem, per hereditatem vel successionem predictorum parentum vel propinquorum meorum sive per donacionem iam dicti Rodgarii, fratris mei, sive per qualescumque voces.

Que, vero, predicta omnia superius scripta, cum omnibus terminis, pertinenciis et affrontacionibus illorum cunctis, nostra libenti et grato animo, libere et solide et integriter ac sine ullo retentu, de nostro iure et potestate in vestrum tradimus dominium et potestatem et proprietatem ad faciendum omnia quecumque volueritis propter precium quod est duo millia uncie auri cocti Barchinonensis monete ad directum pensum. Quod precium vos, emptores, nobis dedistis et nos, venditores, a vobis accepimus et nihil de ipso precio apud vos, emptores, remansit ad persolvendum, et est manifestum. Et insuper, collaudando confirmamus vobis ipsas vendiciones et donaciones et diffiniciones, evacuaciones et iacciones quas, transactis temporibus, fecimus vobis de supradictis rebus. Quod si nos venditores, diffinitores, evacuatores vel collaudatores, vel aliquis ex posteritate vel consanguinitate nostra vel ex successioribus nostris utriusque sexus, vel aliquis alius homo vel femina, venerimus, venerint vel venerit ad irrumpendum contra hanc scripturam vendicionis, diffinicionis, evacuacionis vel collaudacionis, non hoc valeamus vel valeant vendicare quod requisierimus vel requisierint, sed componamus vel componant vobis, predictis emptoribus aut successoribus vestris, suprascripta omnia in duplo cum omni sua inmelioracione; et postmodum hec scriptura vendicionis, diffinicionis, evacuacionis vel collaudacionis firma et stabilis permaneat omni tempore. In qua scriptura vendicionis libere et solide vendimus vobis per predictum precium ipsum castrum de Ornadons, cum omni suo honore quod pertinet ad ipsum castrum, cum omnibus terminis et pertinenciis suis, et ipsum castrum de Periag Menerbensi, cum ipsa dominicatura nostra que ibi est, cum omni honore qui pertinet ad ipsum castrum et cum omnibus terminis et pertinenciis suis simul cum suprascriptis omnibus rebus, exceptis illis alodiis que Guillelmus, vicecomes Biterrensis, qui fuit avus Petri Remendi prescripti, habuit in ipso comitatu Narbonensi et Menerbensi et exceptis ipsis fevis, quos predictus Petrus Remundi habuit per archiepiscopum Narbonensem in ipso comitatu Narbonensi vel Menerbensi. Facta scriptura presenti vi kalendas iulii anno Dominice incarnacionis millesimo septuagesimo, era millesima [centessima] octava, indiccione VIII, anno xi regni Philippi, regis. Sig+num Raimundi, vicecomitis, cognomento Trencavels. Sig+num Ermengardis, vicecomitisse, qui hanc scripturam vendicionis, diffinicionis, evacuacionis vel collaudacionis fieri iussimus, firmavimus et testes firmare rogavimus. Sig+num Guillelma, filia Ermengardis, vicecomitisse, prescripta omnia libenti animo confirmans. Guifredus, archiepiscopus. Guillelmus, sancte Gerundensis ecclesie archilevita. Sig+num Rangardis, comitisse. Bernardus, clericus et iudex Gerunde. Sig+num Raimundi, iudicis, Bonifilii prolis, qui hanc scripturam legaliter confirmo. Sig+num Adalaidis, femine, filie Rangardis, comitisse. Adalbertus, levita, qui hanc scripturam presentem scripsi rogatus ac subscripsi die et anno prescriptis. 

Historical context:

Another sale to the count and countess of Barcelona of the lands of Carcassonne and Razès by Ermengard and her husband, territory that was part of Ermengard’s heritage but not altogether in their control, particularly since there were still living descendants of her father’s great uncles (HGL 3.37-72).  The sale is partly a way to assert Ermengard’s right to that territory against the claims of her cousin Roger, count of Foix.

Scholarly notes:

*Throwing of the straw might be an allusion to an old formula of property transfer found in some charters, “by the little knife, the knotted straw, the glove and piece of earth and the branch of a tree,” found in 11th century documents from Turin and Savoy. 

**Era refers to the era of Spain (beginning Jan. 1, 38 BC with the Roman conquest of Spain), computed by adding 38 years before the birth of Christ.

Printed source:

Histoire Générale de Languedoc 5.573-76, #293, CCXLVII; also in Liber Feudorum Maior, 2.303-05, #820.

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