A letter from Tedball Raymond

Translated letter:

In the name of God.  This is the agreement which was made between Raymond, count of Pallars, and his wife Valencia, countess, and Tedball Raymond of Orchau.  Said Tedball agreed to said count and countess that from this hour forwards he would be in homage and fidelity to them , as a man ought to his higher and solid* lord, and would not make or retain any other lord without the counsel and will of said count and countess, and that he would swear fidelity to them and an oath according to their will.  And also, said Tedball agreed to said count and countess that they would have and hold for all time that rule in the castrum of Orcallo and in all its boundaries and appurtenances which his father ever had and ought to have from said count, except power over that said castrum. 

And said count agreed to said Tedball that not he, nor his said wife, nor son, would seek power over said castrum from Tedball in his life.

Similarly said Tedball agreed to count Raymond and countess Valencia that he would commend that cavalero** which the castellan of Orcau has to count Raymond and countess Valencia, and by such agreement that if death came to Tedball, while he held that castrum of Orcau, he would not give power to any man except the man Tedball determined and passed said castrum on to as to a man commended by count Raymond and countess Valencia and their son, that would give the power over said castrum of Orcau to count Raymond and countess Valencia and their son whom count Raymond determined and passed  it on to; and this would be done by righteous faith without any deception of count Raymond and countess Valencia.  And if the man whom Tedbal determined and passed on the castrum of Orcau to was not worthy to be the man commended to count Raymond and countess Valencia and their son as written above, within thirty days after death came to Tedball, that castellan of said castrum of Orcau would give power to count Raymond and countess Valencia and their son, by righteous faith without deceiving them.  And moreover, Tedball agreed to count Raymond and countess Valencia and their son that if death came to that castellan, or he sent another castellan to that castrum of Orcau, he would so commend him, similarly to this one, to count Raymond and countess Valencia and their son.  And he would not send another castellan into that castrum of Orcau until he commended him to them, count Raymond and countess Valencia and their son, and this castellan would be cavallero, and Tedbal would pledge by oath for one knight [to] countess Valencia and her son.  And Tedball agreed to count Raymond and countess Valencia that after his death, that man he had determined and passed said castrum of Orcau to, he would order him to be the man commended to count Raymond and countess Valencia and their son, and would give them power over said castrum of Orcau, by righteous faith without deception and without payment of riches.  Similarly, count Raymond agreed that if death came to Tedball, he would give that castrum of Orcau to the one to whom Tedball had passed it on by his hand and by his fief;  and if death came to count Raymond, Tedball would keep and hold to his sons and those to whom count Raymond had passed on and determined.  And that countess and her son agreed that if death came to Tedball, she would give that castrum of Orcau by her hand and by her fief to that man to whom Tedball had passed it on and determined.  This agreement was made in the month of June, 2nd  ides, in the 28th year of king Philip.  Sign+ of count Raymond.  Sign+ of countess Valencia. Sign+ of Tedbal, we who asked that this agreement be written and that witnesses sign, and made and approved our signs by our hands.  Sign+ of Mir Guerreta. Sign+ of Pere Folc.  Sign+ of Raymond Mir, viscount.  Pere Raymond of Eril and Bernard William of Badamu and Sunyer Raymond and other good men were observors and hearers.  Mir, learned scribe, wrote this as asked on the day and year above.

Tedball, son of Maria, agreed to count Peter, son of countess Valencia, that this agreement which is heard in this charter and was made by his father, he will keep this agreement from this hour forward to count Peter and the one whom he determined for that honor, by faith without deception.

Original letter:

[[In Dei nomine. Hec est conveniencia que est facta inter Raimundo, comite Paliarense, et coniux eius Valenzia comitissa et Tedballo Rai­mundo de Orchallo. Convenit supradictus Tedballo ad iam dicto comite et comitissa predicta ut de ista ora in antea stet in eorum hominatico et fidelitatem, sicut homo debet facere de suum meliorem et solidum seniore, et non faciat neque retineat nullum alium seniore si non cum consilio et volumptate de supradictis comes et comitisse, et que iuret ad eos fidelitatem et sacramentum secundum illorum volumptatem. Iterum, convenit supradictus Tedballo ad predicto comite et comitissa quod omni tempore abeant et teneant in ipso castro de Orcallo et in omnibus suis terminis et pertinenciis ipsam indominicaturam quod suus pater de supradicto comite umquam ibi abuit et abere debuit, exceptus potestate de ipso castro predicto.

Et supradictus comes convenit ad iam dicto Tedballo, ut neque ille ipse, neque eius coniux predicta, nec filius, non requirant potestatem de supradicto castro ad Tedballo in sua vita.

Similiter convenit supradictus Tedballo ad Raimundo comite et ad Va­lenzia comitissa, que comandet ipso cavalero qui est castellano de Orcallo ad Raimundo comite et ad Valenzia comitissa, et in tale conveniencia, quod si a Tedballo mors venerit, que tantum teneat ipso castro de Orcallo que non donet potestatem ad nullo homine usque ipso homine, <ad> que Tedballo dimiserit aut dubitaverit ipso castro iam dicto, siat suo homine comandatum de Raimundo comite et de Valenzia comitissa et de suo filio, que donet potestatem de ipso castro de Orcallo ad Raimundo comite et ad Valenzia comitissa et ad suo filio ad que Remundus comite dimisserit aud dubitaverit; et hoc sit factum per directa fide sine suo enganno de Raimundo comite et de Valencia comitissa. Et si ipso homine, ad quem Tedballus dimiserit aud dubitaverit ipso castro de Orcallo, non valebat essere suo homine comandato de Remundo comite et de Valencia comitissa et de suo filio quomodo superius scriptum est, infra ipsos triginta diebus que a Tedballo mors venerit, sic donasset po­testatem ipso castellano de supradicto castro de Orcallo ad Remundo comite et ad Valencia comitissa et ad suo filio, per directa fide sine illorum enganno. Et supra, convenit Tedballo ad Raimundo comite et ad Va­lencia comitissa et ad suo filio per directa fide sine illorum enganno. Et supra, convenit Tedballo ad Raimundo comite et ad Valencia comi­tissa et ad suo filio, (et) que, si ad isto castellano mors venerit, aut alium castellanum mitebat in ipso castro de Orcallo, sic comandet, similiter quomodo isto, ad Remundo comite et ad Valencia comitissa et ad suo filio. Et non mittet alio castellano in ipso castro de Orcallo usque quod comandet illis ad Remundo comite et ad Valencia comitissa et ad suo filio, et istum castellano siat cavallero, et que afidet Valencia comitissa et suo]] filio Tedballo per sacramentum per uno militem. Et convenit Tedballo ad Remundo comite et ad Valencia comitissa que, post suum obitum, ipso ho­mine ad que dimiserit aud dubitaverit ipso castro de Orcallo, que mandet ad illum que siat suo homine comendato de Remundo comite et de Va­lencia comitissa et de suo filio, et donet ad illos potestate de ipso castro de Orcallo, per directa fide sine illorum enganno et sine lucrum de avere. Similiter, convenit Raimundo comite, que si Tedballum mors venerit, que donet ipso castro de Orcallo ad ipso ad que Tedballum eum dimiserit per sua manu et per suo fevo; et si a Remundo comite mors venerit, sic attendat Tedballo et teneat ad suos filios aud ad ipsos ad quem Remun­dus comite dimiserit aud dubitaverit. Et convenit ipsa comitissa et suo filio, quod si a Tedballo mors venerit, que donet ipso castro de Or­callo per sua manum et per suum fevum ad ipso homine, ad que Ted­ballo dimiserit aud dubitaverit. Facta ista conveniencia in mense iunio ii idus anno xxviii regnante Filipo rege. Sig+num Remundo comite, Sig+num. Valencia comitissa. Sig+num Tedballo, qui ista conveniencia rogavimus scribere et testes firmare, et nostra signa manibus facere et laudare. Sig+num Mir Guerreta. Sig+num Pere Folc. Sig+num Remon Mir, vicescomite. Pere Ramon de Eril et Bernard Guillelm de Badamu et Sunger Ramon [et] aliorum bonorum hominum, visores et auditores fuerunt. Miro, scriba doctus, rogitus scripsit die [et] anno que supra.

Convenit Tetballus, filius Maria, ad Petro comite, filio Valencia co­mitissa, que ista conveniencia, que in ista carta resonat et fecit ad suo patre, que de ista ora in antea ista conveniencia bene ei attendat ad Petro comite et ad ipsum cui ille dubitaverit sua honore, per fidem sine enganno.

Historical context:

Agreement between the count and countess of Pallars and Tedball Raymond (Ramon) over the castrum of Orcau.  Tedball Raymond is the fourth son of Raymond Mir who had previous agreements with R and V on the  castrum of Orcau that they would not demand power over it, but that seems to end after the death of Tedball (see Adam Kosto, Making Agreements in Medieval Catalonia: Power, Order, and the Written Word, 1000-1200 (Cambridge UP, 2001), 93. A castrum is an administrative district including a castle, a fortification.

Scholarly notes:

• Solid homage is the equivalent of liege homage, the principal obligation in a system of multiple homage, Kosto, 82, n.13.
  ** cavalero, a grant that involves military service.

Printed source:

Liber Feudorum Maior,  1.81-83, #67.  

Date: