A letter from Almodis and Raymond

Translated letter:

In the name of the Lord.  I, Raymond, count of Barcelona, and Almodis, countess, and Raymond, our son, give you, Raymond Bernard, viscount, and your [his] wife  Ermengard and your children in fief all those fiefs and the whole honor that Peter Raymond, count, and his son Roger held and had, and men through them, in the county of Carcassonne and in the county of Toulouse through the count of Toulouse, except the city of Carcassonne and those townships that are in its circuit and except those churches that are in that city and in those townships, and except those lands that give tithes and first fruits to those churches which are in that city and in those townships, and except the bishopric and as much as pertains to that bishopric; but that bishop must be the man of Raymond Bernard and swear fidelity to him, saving [his] fidelity to said count and countess and their son Raymond, and if he gives or will give a prize for said bishopric by any artifice, Raymond, said viscount or his wife or their children should have half of that price or that gift; and except the abbacies of St. Mary of Lagrasse and St.Hilarius, and as much as pertains to those abbacies and except that viscounty of Carcassonne and as much as pertains to that viscounty.  And if said count Raymond or countess Almodis or their son Raymond of their posterity should send a viscount into said viscounty, that viscount must be the man of said viscount Raymond and swear fidelity to him, saving [his] fidelity to said count and countess and their son Raymond; and he would take half of that viscounty from the hand of said viscount Raymond and his wife Ermengard and their posterity, except that of the city of Carcassonne and its townships and except all the mills and milling rights and except that riverbank with its head waters and appurtenances and meadows and pastures and all the other things of said boundary of said Carcassonne.

And we, said count and countess and our said son, give you, said Raymond, viscount, and Ermengard, viscountess, and your posterity that abbey of St. John of Valséguier and the election of said abbacy, and the whole right of procuration of that abbey and of its whole honor and as much as pertains to that abbey or ought to in all places and as much as we have or ought to have in that abbey or in its dominions, in fief, except for that service that you owe us.  And again we give you in the whole said county of Carcassonne and as much as pertains to that county and ought to pertain, half of all those judgments (justicias), except for those men and women who are or will be in said city of Carcassonne for guard duty or are in those townships which are in its circuit, and except the judgments of those markets of that city and of said townships outside of that city and homicide or breaking peace and some other suit for which battle might be waged in the said townships and said boundary.  Similarly we give you half of those judgments and of those above-mentioned suits, in such a way that the count of Carcassonne may hear the suit and give the judgments and from what comes out of the suits and judgments, you said viscount and viscountess and your posterity would have a whole half.  And if the count of Carcassonne does not make or does not wish to make those judgments or hear those suits, you, said Raymond and Ermenard and your posterity, may hear those suits and make those judgments and take half of them and give the other half to the count of Carcassonne.  Again we, said count and countess, give you, said Raymond and Ermengard and your posterity, the whole tribute of said abbey of Valséguier and half of all the other tributes and all those tolls which are and will be in said county of Carcassonne and in its boundaries, except for the city of Carcassonne and those townships and markets within the said boundary of said city.  And in those judgments and tributes and those tolls from said county let us be, between us one to the other, helpers without deception.  And if we, said count and countess or our son, who will be count of Carcassonne, could acquire the abbey of St. Peter of Caunes of the count of Rodez, we give you, said viscount Raymond and Ermengard and your posterity, said abbey and the election and right of procuration and as much as pertains and ought to pertain to said abbey in fief and the other rights of procuration of said county, except the above abbeys and what pertains to them, except that what one releases to another, we shall divide in half with the counsel of our good men by firm faith without deception.  And said count and countess may not seize said abbey of Caunes and what pertains to it for  said Raymond, viscount, nor his wife or their men, until they acquire said abbey from the count of Rodes; and said viscount Raymond may not, nor his wife, deny the count of Rodes that gift of said abbey, in order to give said abbey to said count or countess and their son that will be count of said Carcassonne.  This charter of donation and agreement was made on VI nones of March in the year 1067 of the Lord’s incarnation, in the reign of king Phlip.  Sign+ of Gaucelin Arnall.  S. of Bernard Azedmar.  Peter, priest, who wrote this document of bestowal as asked, and subscribed it on the day and year stated.

Original letter:

In nomine Domini. Ego, Raimundus, comes Barcheonensis, et Adalmodis, comitissa, et Raimundus, filius noster, donamus vobis, Rai­mundo Bernardi, vicecomiti, et uxori eius Ermengardi et ad infantes vestros ad fevum totos ipsos fevos et totam ipsam honorem quod Petrus Raimundi, comes, et Rodgarius, filius eius, tenuerunt et habuerunt, et  homines per illos, in comitatu Carcassonense et in comitatu Tolosano per  comitem Tolosanum, exceptus ipsa civitate de Carcassona et ipsos burgos qui in circuitu eius sunt et exceptus ipsas ecclesias que in ipsa civitate et in ipsos burgos sunt et exceptus ipsas terras qui donant decimas et primicias ad ipsas ecclesias que in ipsa civitate et in ipsos burgos sunt et exceptus ipsum episcopatum et quantum ad ipsum episcopatum pertinet; sed ipse episcopus fiat homo de Raimundo Bernardi et iuret ei fidelitatem, salva fidelitate de iam dicto comite et comitissa et Raimundo, filio eorum, et si dederit precium aut datum fuerit per ipsum episcopatum per nullum ingenium, habeat Raimundus, vicecomes iam dictus, vel uxor eius aut infantes eorum medietatem de ipso precio vel de ipso dono; et exceptus ipsas abbatias Sancte Marie Crasse et de Sancti Hilarii et quantum ad ipsas abbatias pertinet et exceptus ipsum vicecomitatum de Carcassona et quantum ad ipsum vicecomitatum pertinet. Et si iam dictus Raimun­dus, comes, vel comitissa Almodis vel filius eorum Raimundus aut posteritas eorum miserint vicecomitem in predicto vicecomitatu, ipse vicecomes fiat homo de predicto vicecomite Raimundo et iuret ei fidelitatem, salva fidelitate de predicto comite et comitissa et Raimundo, filio eorum; [et] apprenhendat medietatem de ipsum vicecomitatum per manum dicta Raimundi, vicecomitis, et uxoris eius Ermengardis et de posteritate eorum, exceptus hoc de ipsa civitate de Carcassona et de ipsos burgos et exceptus totos molendinos et molendinarios et exceptus ipsa ribera cum suis caput acquis et pertinenciis et pratos et pasturales et omnes alias res de predicto termino de iam dicta Carcassona.

Et damus nos, predicti comes et comitissa et filius noster predictus, vobis, predicto Raimundo, vicecomiti, et Ermengardi, vicecomitise, et posteritati vestre ipsam abbatiam Sancti Ioannis de Valle Segerii et eleccionem predicte abbatie et ipsam totam albergam de ipsa abbatia et de tota sua honore et quantum ad ipsam abbatiam pertinet vel pertinere debet in omnibus locis et quantum in ipsa abbatia vel in suis dominibus habemus et habere debemus, ad fevum, exceptus ipsum servicium quod vos debetis facere nobis. Et iterum damus vobis de toto predicto comitatu Carcassonensi, et de quantum ad ipsum comitatum pertinet et per­tinere debet, medietatem de totas ipsas iusticias, exceptus de ipsos homi­nes et feminas qui stant vel steterint in predicta civitate Carcassona per staticam vel in ipsos burgos qui in circuitu eius sunt et exceptus iusticiam de ipsos mercatos de ipsa civitate et de predictos burgos foris de ipsa civitate et de predictos burgos et de predicto termino fecerint homicidium aut fregerint pacem aut habuerint aliquod placitum unde batalia sit estachada. Similiter damus vobis medietatem de ipsas iusticias et de ipsos placitos suprascriptos, tali modo ut comes Carcassonensis placitet et faciat totas ipsas iusticias et de hoc, quod exierit de ipsos placitos et ipsas iusticias, habeatis vos, predicti vicecomes et vicecomitissa et posteritas vestra, totam ipsam medietatem. Et si comes Carcassonensis non faciebat vel nolebat facere ipsas iusticias vel placitare ipsos placitos, vos, predicti Raimundus et Ermengardis et posteritas vestra, placitetis ipsos placitos et faciatis ipsas iusticias et apprehendatis medietatem de totas ipsas iusticias et aliam medietatem dimittatis comiti Carcassonensi. Ite­rum nos, predicti com(it)es et comitissa, damus vobis, predicto Raimundo et Ermengardi et posteritati vestre, totam ipsam leddam de abbatia Vallis Segerii predicta et de totas alias leudas et totos ipsos teloneos, que et qui sunt et erunt in predicto comitatu Carcassonensi et in eius terminis, totam ipsam medietatem, exceptus de ipsa civitate Carcassone et de ipsos burgos et de ipsos mercatos de predicto termino civitatis predicte. Et de ipsas iusticias et de ipsas leudas et de ipsos teloneos de predicto comitatu simus inter nos, unus ad alterum, adiutores sine inganno. Et si nos, predicti comes et comitissa, vel filius noster qui fuerit comes Carcassone, potuerimus vel potuerit accaptare abbatiam Sancti Petri de Caunas de comite Rotensi, damus vobis, predictis vicecomiti Raimundo et Ermen­gardi et posteritati vestre, abbatiam predictam et eleccionem et albergam et quantum pertinet et pertinere debet ad iam dictam abbatiam ad fevum et alias albergas de predicto comitatu, exceptus abbatias suprascriptas et quantum pertinet ad eas, excepto hoc, quod unus laxat ad alterum, dividamus per medium in consilio nostrorum bonorum hominum fide firma, sine inganno. Et predictam abbatiam de Caunas, et quantum ad ipsam pertinet, non emparent predictus comes et comitissa ad Raimundum predictum, vicecomitem, neque ad uxorem eius nec ad eorum homines usque acaptent abbatiam predictam de comite Rutensi; et Raimundus predictus, vicecomes, neque uxor eius non vetent comiti Rutensi ipsum donum de predicta abbatia, ut donent predictam abbatiam ad comitem predictum vel ad comitissam predictam et ad filium eorum qui fuerit comes Carcassone predicte.  Facta ista carta donacionis et convencionis VI nonas marcii anno MLXVII incarnacionis Domini, regnante Philippo rege.  Sig+num Gaucelini Arnalli. S. Bernardi Azedmari.  Petrus, presbiter, qui huius scedulam largicionis rogatus scripsit et subscripsit die annoque prefixo.

Historical context:

Presumably in return for the sale to them of Carcassonne, the count and countess of Barcelona grant to Ermengard, Almodis's niece and Peter Raymond's daughter, and her husband the honor that had belonged to Peter Raymond, count of Carcassonne, except for the city itself, and half the jurisdictions.  The bishop is to be their man and if he paid for his position (an apparent acceptance of simony), the money is to be shared with them.

Printed source:

LFM 2.322-24, #839, also HGL 5.551-54, #281.

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