A letter from Ermessenda

Translated letter:

We, William Gifred, deacon, and William Amato, saw and heard when lady Ermessenda, countess, sat in the bed in which she was accustomed to lie in the house which is beside the church consecrated to the honor of St. Quirich, martyr, and St. Julitta, his mother, which is a church in the county of Osona in the boundary of Besora, and sitting there, held by illness, approved the testament which she had with her there and except for the executors of her testament, chose the two of us named above as executors and almoners of her things, which she determined by her words in her right memory.  First, she left to me, William, said cleric, one mule out of the mules which she had there and to said William Amato another, and to Peter Gerald, cleric, another, and to the woman, Adaleide, and to another Adaleide, a devout, single mules, and she ordered us to request a mule which she had lent to William Berenguer, her grandson, and another she had lent to Raymond Gaucefred, and we gave one to bishop William of Osona and the other to William Iuscafred.  And she left to the lord pope her wooden goblets decorated with gold, and to St. Giles of Nîmes her crystal chess–pieces for the board.  And she left to the aforementioned St. Quirich enough silver and gold to make an excellent cross.  And she left her excellent breviary to St. Mary of Girona, and she left her silver goblets, which she had with her, and those she had in Vic for us to take to Girona.  And she left to Sancho, her grandson, his sword, which she had in pledge, and fifty mancusos.*  And to William Berenguer fifty mancusos, so that he would give us the aforementioned mule, otherwise not.   And to Bernard Berenguer, her grandson, fifty mancusos, and to all the men who were there in her service, to each she left 4 ounces of gold.  And to William Pons she left 5 or 6 ounces of gold.  And to the abovementioned women, the sarplier (wrapper) which she had in Vico.  And she left her priestly administrative district to St. Mary of Crassa.  And to Berengar, viscount of Narbonne, she left the pledge which she had from Arnall, bishop of Elna, and to his wife two goblets of silver and one pelisse of alfanec** and every fruit and wine which he had at Girona; and everything that pertained to her household/escort [conductum] she left to the canonry of St. Mary of Girona, so that they who brought her there, could live until she was burried and the rest would remain with said canonry.  And to those men whom she had sent to said St. Quirich for her service, she left each 4 ounces of gold.   Other things which might be found she ordered to be given for her soul.  And to the sacristan Bonfill Onofré, she left 4 ounces of gold.  Said lady Ermessenda chose us as her executors, William Gifred, cleric, and William Amato, as written above, in full memory (sound mind) on the 4th kalends of March in the 27th year of the reign of king Henry.  And after this, what is written above, she will not change her will in anything, and she died on the kalends of March after Vespers.

All these things, as written above, are true and there is no fraud in what we have printed, but just as that lady Ermessenda ordered us, the said, so it is faithfully written here.  Afterwards this last will of lady Ermessend, countess, namely about those things that are noted above, was made public on the second nones of March in the chapter of St. Mary of Girona before the appointed lord Berenguer, bishop of Girona, and Peter Gaucbert, priest, and Stephen and Adalbert and Deusdedit and Bernard Baronis and Walter and several other priests, deacons, indeed, Raymond archdeacon, and Arnall William and the other Arnall Besalu and Borell and many others residing there at the time.   Afterwards, having come out of the chapter with said bishop together with the clerics, we, William Guifred and William Amato, aforementioned executors of lady Ermessenda, countess, swore on the altar that is consecrated in the holy mother church of Girona in honor of St. Anastasia in the sight of the bishop and of many clerics as well as laymen  that everything that is written above is true.  Written by the hand of William, cleric of Girona, executor and almoner of said lady Ermessenda, countess, with the letters placed above in line 8 and erased in 12, 15, and 17, on the second nones of March in the 27th year of king Henry +. 

Original letter:

Nos Guilelmus Gifredi, levita, et Guilelmus Amati vidimus et audivimus quando domna Ermessindis, comitissa, sedebat in lecto, in quo solita erat iacere in domo, que est iuxta ecclesiam consecratam in honore Sancti Quirici, martiris, et Sancte Iulite, matris eius, que ecclesia est in comitatu Ausone in termino de Besaura, et ibi sedendo, ab egritudine detenta, laudavit suum testamentum, quod secum ibi habebat, et, exceptis manumissoribus sui testamenti, elegit nos ambos suprascriptos manumissores et elemosinarios de suis rebus, quos destinavit suis verbis in sua recta memoria. Inprimis, dimissit mihi Guilelmo, clerico prefato, mulam unam ex illis suis mulabus quas ibi habebat et Guillermo Amati prescripto, aliam, et Petro Geraldi, clerico, aliam, et Adalez, femine, et alteri Adalez, devote, singulas mulas, et precepit nobis ut requireremus unam mulam quam ipsa prestiterat Guilelmo Berengarii, suo nepoti, et alteram quam prestiterat Raymundo Gaucefredi, et dedissemus unam episcopo Guilielmo Ausonensi et alteram Guilelmo Iuscafredi. Et dimissit domino pape suos sciphos ligneos ornatos auro, et Sancto Egidio Nemausensi suos eschacos christalinos ad tabulam. Et dimissit Sancto Quirico prefato tantum argenti et auri ex quo possit esse una obtima crux. Et suum obtimum brivarium dimissit Saucte Marie Gerunde, et dimissit suos sciphos argenteos, quos aput se habebat, et ipsos quos habebat in Vico unde eam portaremus Ierundam. Et dimissit Sancio, suo nepoti, spatam illius, quam habebat in pignore, et quinquaginta mancusos. Et Guilielmo Berengarii quinquaginta mancusos, ita tamen ut redderet nobis mulam prefatam, sin autem, non. Et Bernardo Berengarii, suo nepoti, quinquaginta mancusos, et omnibus hominibus, qui ibi erant in suo servicio, unicuique iiii uncias auri dimissit. Et Guilielmo Poncii dimissit v aut vi uncias auri. Et suis feminis suprascriptis suum sarpell, quod habebat in Vico. Et suum ministerium presbiterale dimissit Sancte Marie Crasse. Et Berengario, vicecomiti Narbonensi, dimissit pignus quod tenebat de Arnallo, episcopo Elnensi, et uxori eius duos copas de argento et unam pelliciam de Alfanec et omnem frumentum et vinum quod ha­bebat Gerunde; et cuncta que pertinebant ad conductum dimissit kanonice Sancte Marie Gerunde, ita ut ipsi, qui eam illuc deferre[n]t, inde viverent usquequo sepeliretur, cetera remanerent predicte kanonice. Et ipsis suis hominibus, quos de Sancto Quirico prefato miserat pro suo servicio, dimissit unicuique iiii uncias auri. Cetera, que invenirentur, iussit dari pro anima sua. Et Bonifilio Honofredi, sacriste, dimissit iiii uncias auri. Predicta domna Ermessindis elegit nos suos manumissores Guilelmum Gifredi, clericum, et Guilelmum Amati, sicut superius scriptum est, in sua plena memoria iiii kalendas marcii anno xxvii Henrici, regis, regni. Et postea de hoc, quod suprascriptum est, suam voluntatem de aliquo non mutabit, et obiit kalendis marcii vespere facto.

Hec omnia, sicut superius scripta sunt, vera sunt et nulla fraus in his a nobis impressa sunt, sed sicut ipsa domna Ermessindis nobis precepit iam dictis, ita et hic fideliter scriptum est. Postmodum hec ultima vo­luntas domne Ermessindis, comitisse, de his, scilicet, rebus que supra notate sunt, patuit publice secundo nonas marcii in capitulo Sancte Marie Gerunde coram posito domno Berengario, Gerundencium episcopo, et Petro Gaucberti, presbitero, et Stephano et Adalberto et Deusdedit et Ber­nardo Baronis et Gualterio et aliorum plurimorum presbiterorum, levitarum, vero, Remundo, archidiacono, et Arnallo Guilielmi et altero Arnallo Bisulunensi et Borrello et multorum aliorum ibi simul residencium.  Postea, egresso a capitulo prefato episcopo una cum clericis, nos Guilielmus Guifredi et Guilelmus Amati, prefati manumissores domne Ermessindis, comitisse, iuramus super altare, quod est consecratum in sancta matre ecclesia Ierundencium in honore Sancte Anastasie, vidente episcopo, quia que superius scripta sunt, universa vera sunt, et videntibus multis tam clericis quam eciam laicis.  Scriptum manu Guilelmi Gerundensis clerici, manumissoris atque elemosinarii predicte domne Ermessindis, comitisse, cum litteris suprapositis in viii versu et rasis in xii et in xv et xvii, secundo nonas marcii anno xxvii Henrici, regis +.

Historical context:

This is a will made orally by the countess, recorded by the two witnesses to whom she spoke it, who swear to its authenticity, though she apparently died before it could be properly written and signed. In it she leaves mainly separate items in her possession.  This will is the second in the family to mention the crystal chess set; the first was made by Ermengaud I, Count of Urgel in 1008 or 1010, who left it to St. Giles for the work of the church.  Ermessenda, his sister-in-law,  seems to have the chess set still and leaves it again to St. Giles.

Scholarly notes:

* Arabic gold dinars, see Jonathan Jarrett, ” Currency Change in Pre-millennial Catalonia: Coinage, Counts and Economics,” Numismatic Chronicle 169 (2010 for 2009), pp. 217-243, 225.

** An alfanec is a small animal like a fox, weasel, or marten.

Printed source:

LFM 1.522-24, #491.

Date: