A letter from Ermengard and Raymond Bernard

Translated letter:

This is the agreement which Raymond viscount by cognomen Trencavel and viscountess Ermengard his spouse made with Raymond count of Barcelona and countess Almodis and Raymond Berengar their son. The viscount and viscountess agreed with the aforesaid that those abbeys namely St. John of Valseguier and St. Peter of Caunes with their appurtenances, which they have in fief from said count and countess and their son for service to them, they may not sell, alienate, encumber, nor give to any man or woman from this day forward, except to said count of Barcelona and abovenamed countess, or their sons or daughters, or the monk sent there in God’s service , except encumbrances to them or gifts which were made to said abbeys, and except that obligation that occurred through said encumbrances or donations, directly to those successors of those holding said donations; but these abbeys many remain, except for said encumbrances and their said obligation, as they existed on that day when Raymond-Stephen of Servian and Arnal-William of Sauvian set themselves in hostage for said count and countess and their sons at Girona; and let this be done without deception.  And if the said viscount and viscountess should die without male child from him or from her, said abbeys would wholly and freely revert to the power of said count of Barcelona and countess Almodis and their sons or daughters, except that fief which was held by Ato the Old, viscount of Ambialet.  And if said viscount and viscountess should have a male son, he from his wife or she from her husband, [he] would have a similar agreement with the sons or daughters of said count and countess about said abbeys without any deception on their part.  And said viscount and viscountess may not make castles or fortifications in said abbeys nor in their appurtenances, not they nor men or women by their counsel or artifice. 

Also said viscount and viscountess agree to said count and countess and their son that they will not disrupt nor breach nor in any way withdraw, not they nor anyone by their counsel or artifice, that sale and removal and approval from said count and countess and their sons all the days of their lives which said viscount and viscountess made with them by the document of sale, determination or removal with all powers and rights which they had or ought to have and men and women through them in the county of Razès and Couserans and Comminges and Carcassonne and Narbonne and Minerve and Toulouse, as this document made by us contains them.  And said viscount and viscountess, so they may hold all these documents faithfully and attend to said count and countess and their abovenamed son, send into their power as hostage Raymond-Stephen of Servian and Arnal-William of Sauvian, and Alcher of Corneilhan and Guitard Lupo of Guéret (Guerris), and William-Peter of Guéret, and Peter-Sicard and Aldemar-Rostaing, in such a way that if said viscount and viscountess should disrupt or breach the above-written sale or removal or approval or agreement by themselves or other men or women through their counsel or artifice, within the first twenty days after said count or countess or their son or men for them they would call on all those said hostages, or one or two of them, to make amends for that wrong without deception to said count and countess and their son and their plaintiffs.  And if this were not amended within the first twenty days, as written above, all the said hostages would revert to the power of said count and countess of Barcelona and their son Raymond, either in the city of Carcassonne or in the castrum of Saissac or the castrum of Laurac, or the castrum of Razès or in one of thse castris to which they had been called and where they would revert, and this should be done within the other first ten days without deception, and they would not leave there without permission and will of said count and countess and their son, similarly, as is written above in that hostageship with their confirmation. 

And these hostages may not prevent themselves from being called upon.  He or they who call upon them may not derive payment from it and said hostages may have said viscount and viscountess if they did not wish to amend that harm, satisfy by oath and battle through one horseman who had never done sworn battle with shield and club, that he had not committed that harm, nor he who had done it did not do it by their counsel or artifice, nor do it to disrupt said sale or agreement .  And if the horseman of said viscount and viscountess were conquered, he would amend that injury doubly, together with that injury from that horseman that accepted that battle and what the count and countess gave to that horseman for that battle.  And if the horseman of said count and countess were conquered, they would put an end to that harm and make amends to said viscount and viscountess and their horseman for those injuries he had received in that battle and what said viscount and viscountess gave him for that battle; and this battle should take place  in the county of Carcassonne with the approval of four good men whom they choose on both sides, who would make a resolution and peace without deception.  And if any of said hostages should die, said viscount and viscountess would send another hostage or other no less worthy men into the power of said count and countess and their son in place of the dead men or man within the first ten days after they had been called upon.  If those who replaced them were to die, they would be assiduously replaced and others from said viscount and viscountess as long as they lived.  If they did not, said hostages or those sent in their place would fall into the power of said count and countess and their sons.  This was enacted on 5 kalends of July, in the 11th year of the reign of king Philip.

Original letter:

Hec est conveniencia quam faciunt Raimundus, vicecomes, cognomento trencavells et Ermengardis, vicecomitisse, et Raimundo Berengarii, illorum filio.  Conveniunt, namque eis predictis iam dicti vicecomes et  vicecomitissa, ut ipsas abbacias, videlicet, de Sancto Johanne de Valle Segarii et de Sancto Petro de Caunas, cum illarum pertinenciis quas ibi habent per fevum per iam dictos comitem et comitissam et illorum filium ad illorum servicium, non vendant neque inalienent nec incombrent neque donent alicui homini vel femine ab hac die et deincebs nisi predicto comiti0 Barcheonensi et comitisse prescripte aut filiis vel filiabus illorum aut monacho ibi misso propter servicium Dei, exceptis ipsis incombres vel donacionibus que erant facte in predictis abbatiis et excepto ipso seguioqui per predictos incombres vel donaciones advenerit per directum ad ipsos successores de ipsos tenentes iam dictas donaciones; sed ita maneant ipse abbatie, exceptis predictis incombres et eorum seguio prescripto sicut consistebant ipsa die quando Raimundus Stephani de Cerviano et Arnallus Guillelmi de Salviano miserunt se in ostaticum de iam dictis comite et comitissa et illorum filiorum apud Gerundam ; et hoc sit factum sine engan. Et si predicti vicecomes et vicecomitissa mortui fuerint sine filio masculo de illo vel de illa, predicte abbatie solide et libere revertantur in potestatem predicti Barcheonensis comitis et Almodis, comitisse, et filiorum vel filiarum illorum, excepto ipso fevo qui fuit de Atone, vicecomite vetulo de Ambiledo. Et si iam dicti vicecomes et vicecomitissa filium habuerint masculum, ille de uxore aut illa de marito, similem convenienciam habeat cum filiis vel filiabus de iam dicto comite et comitissa de predictis abbatiis sine illorum engan. Et predicti vicecomes et vicecomitissa non faciant castella neque fortedas in predictis abbaciis nec in earum pertinenciis, neque ipsi neque homines vel femine per eorum consilium vel ingenium.

Item, iam dicti vicecomes et vicecomitissa conveniunt iam dictis comiti et comitisse et illorum filio, ut non disrumpant neque infringant neque aliquo modo removeant, neque ipsi neque aliquis per illorum consilium vel ingenium, iam dictis comiti et comitisse et filiis eorum, omnibus diebus vite illorum, et ipsam vendicionem et evacuacionem vel collaudacionem, quam habeant eis factam iam dicti vicecomes et vicecomitissa per scripturam vendicionis, deffinicionis vel evacuacionis de omnibus vocibus et dretaticis quos ipsi habebant vel habere debebant, et homines vel femine per eos, in comitatu Redensi et Coseranensi et Comeiensi et Carcassonensi et Narbonensi et Menerbensi et Tolosani, sicut ipsa scriptura a nobis facta ipsis continet. Et predicti vicecomes et vicecomitissa, ut hec omnia scripta fideliter teneant et attendant iam dictis comiti et comitisse et illorum filio prescripto, mittunt in illorum potestate et ostaticum Raimundum Stephani de Cerviano et Arnallum Guillelmi de Salviano et Alcherium de Cornelano et Guitardum Lupi de Guerris et Guillelmum Petri de Guerris et Petrum Sicardi et Aldemarum Rodstagni, tali modo ut si predicti vicecomes et vicecomitissa disrumperint aut infringerint prescriptam vendicionem vel evacuacionem vel collaudacionem seu convienienciam per se ipsos, aut alii homines vel femine per illorum consilium vel ingenium, infra primos viginti dies, postquam predicti comes aut comitissa aut filius eorum aut homines per eos commonuerint inde omnes istos ostaticos predictos aut unum aut duos ex illis, faciant emendare ipsum omne malum, sine engan, ad iam dictos comitem et comitissam et illorum filium vel illorum querelantes. Et si hoc non fuerit emendatum infra primos viginti dies iam dictos, sicut superius scriptum est, omnes ostatici iam dicti revertantur in potestatem de iam dictis Barcheonensi comite et comitissa et filio eorum Remundo aut in civitate Carcassona aut in castro de Sexag aut in castro Laurag aut in castro Redes aut in uno de istis castris quo commoniti fuerint ut ibi revertantur; et hoc sit factum infra alios primos decem dies, sine engan, et inde non exeant sine licencia et voluntate predicti comitis et comitisse et de illorum filio iam dicto, et postquam inde exierint cum licencia comitis et comitisse et illorum filii, similiter sicut in ipso ostatico cum illorum confirmacione, sicut superius scriptum est.

Et ipsi ostatici non vetent se inde communire; ipse vel ipsi qui eos inde commonuerint, reguardum ibi non habeant. Et iam dicti ostatici tales habeant iam dictum vicecomitem et vicecomitissam, si noluerint emendare ipsum malum, ut excondigant per sacramentum et per bataliam per unum caballarium, qui numquam fecisset bataliam iuratam cum scuto et bastone, se non fecisse ipsum malum, nec ille, qui hoc fecit, non fecit per illorum consilium vel ingenium, neque pro disrumpcione iam dicte vendicionis vel conveniencie se fecisse. Et si caballarius iam dicti vicecomitis et vicecomitisse victus fuerit, emendet ipsum malefactum in duplum, simul cum ipso malefacto de ipso caballario, quod accepit in ipsa batalia, et hoc quod comes et comitissa dederunt ad ipsum caballarium per ipsam bataliam. Et si caballarius iam dicti comitis et comitisse victus fuerit, definiant ipsum malum iam dictis vicecomiti et vicecomitisse, et illorum caballario emendet ipsa malefacta que acceperit in ipsa batalia et hoc quod predicti vicecomes et vicecomitissa dederint ad eum per ipsam bataliam; et ista batalia sit facta in comitatu Carcassensi ad laudamentum de quatuor hominibus bonis, quos eligant ex ambabus partibus, qui inde velint finem et pacem sine engan. Et si aliquis de predictis ostaticis mortuus fuerit, iam dicti vicecomes et vicecomitissa mittant alium ostaticum, vel alios non minus valentes, in potestatem iam dicti comitis et comitisse et filii eius in loco mortuorum vel mortui infra primos decem dies postquam inde commoniti fuerint. Quod si et ipsi restaurati mortui fuerint, assidue restaurentur et alii a predictis vicecomite et vicecomitissa, quandiu vixerint. Quod, si non fecerint, incurrant iam dicti ostatici, aut loco eorum missi, in potestatem iam dicti comitis et comitisse et filiorum eius. Actum est hoc v kalendas iulii anno xi regni Philippi, regis.

Historical context:

The charter records an agreement which limits the power of Ermengard and her husband to sell, donate, or mortage abbeys which they hold in fief from the count and countess of Barcelona.  Note that it includes recourse to judicial combat, should they fail to otherwise resolve disputed claims between them.  A castrum is an administrative unit with a castle at the center.

Printed source:

Histoire Générale de Languedoc 5.576-79, #294, CCXLVIII.; also in Liber Feudorum Maior, 2.305-07, #821. 

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