A letter from William Petri and Matellis

Translated letter:

I, William Petri, son of the woman Almatrude, and my wife Matellis, swear to you (s) lord Raymond Berengar, count, son of Matilda, and your spouse Dulcia, countess, and your (pl) sons and daughters, that from this hour forward, as long as we live, by right faith, without deception, we shall be faithful to you for all your life and all your members which are held in your bodies and every honor of yours which you have today anywhere or will acquire in the future.  Moreover, we swear to you, the aforesaid, that we shall be faithful to you with that castrum of Fonolieto, which was built in the county of Fonolieto, and all the fortifications which are now in that county or will be in the future that we received higher from your hands and have and hold through you, that we shall give power over them to you as often as you ask it through you or your messengers or messenger, and we shall not refuse to be seen, but we shall be faithful to you, as long as we live, and for said castrum of Fonolieto and its fortifications and all things in which a man or woman ought to be faithful to his higher lord.  And we shall aid you against all men or women who might wish to take your honor from you or anything from said honor; and if a man or men, woman or women, who would take said castrum from you, refuse, I, said William, and my wife from that hour forward will not have or hold peace or association with him or her or them (m or f), until you the aforesaid have recovered said castrum and its fortifications without deception; and we shall be aids to you against all men or women without trickery and without deception.  And if we the aforesaid could recover the said castrum with all its fortifications, we would put them into your power and return them without deception and without any reward.  And from this hour forward, we would be aids to you [against] your enemies or enemy, faithful or infidel, who might take from you, refuse all the aforesaid or something from all the said without deception.  We shall not to our knowledge reveal your counsel or counsels to your harm; and we shall aid you to have, hold and defend in every way, without fraud and deception, the said honor and all things pertaining to it, without reward/pay, or to him to whom you (pl) will leave all the aforesaid.  I swear therefore to you (s) and I agree to quartering in said castrum of Fonolieto for four months each year, if it please you, since that is how it was in the days of our ancestors, and that quartering would not be harmful to me in any way.  As is written above to you the aforesaid, so we the aforesaid shall hold and keep everything, without deception, to you and after your death, to the one to whom you leave all the aforesaid.

We swear, I William Petri, son of the woman Amaltrude, and my wife the woman Matellis, to you Raymond, son of the woman Matilda, the castrum of St. Stephen and all the fortifications which are within the boundaries of said castrum or the limits that could be or be constructed, to you and your spouse Dulcia, countess, and to your sons and daughters, that from this day on we shall be faithful to you for said castrum and said fortifications and in all things in which a man should be faithful to his higher lord.  And we shall give you power over said castrum as often as you ask us yourselves or through your messenger or messengers; and we shall not refuse to be seen or summoned, but we shall be faithful from now on in all the above mentioned and every honor you have today anywhere by whatever means or authority.  And we shall aid you in right faith, without deception, [against] all men or women of the whole world who might wish to take your honor from you or something from said honor, as long as we live; and we shall aid you to have and hold and defend in all ways, without any fraud and deception, the said honor and all things pertaining to it, without reward, or the one to whom you the aforesaid leave everything at your death or in life.  As written above, so we shall keep and hold to you, the aforesaid, without deception.

Original letter:

Iuro ego, Guillelmus Petri, filius qui fuit Almatrudis, femine, et coniux mea Matellis, femina, tibi, domino Raimundo Berengarii, comiti, filius Maaltis, femine, atque coniugi tue Dulcie, comitisse, et filiis et filiabus vestris, quod de ista hora in antea, quandiu vixerimus, per directam fidem, sine enganno, fideles erimus vobis de omni vita vestra et de omnibus membris vestris qui corporibus vestris se tenent et de omni honore vestro quem hodie ubicumque habetis vel in antea adquisieritis. Insuper iuramus vobis predictis quod fideles erimus vobis de ipso castro Foniolotensi, quod est in comitatu Foniolotensi constructus, et de omnibus fortitudinibus, que in eo comitatu modo ibi sunt vel in antea erunt, melius que accepimus per manus vestras et tenemus et habemus per vos, que dabimus vobis potestatem de eis quocienscumque requisieritis nos inde per vos aut per vestros nuncios vel nuncium, et non vetabimus nos inde videri, sed erimus vobis fideles, quamdiu vixerimus, et de predicto castro Foniolotensi et fortitudinibus et de omnibus in quibus homo vel femina debet esse fidelis suo meliori seniori. Et adiuvabimus vos contra omnes homines vel feminas qui voluerint vobis tollere honorem vestrum vel aliquid de predicta honore; et si homo est aut homines, femina vel femine, qui tibi tollant predictum castrum, vetet vel vetent, ego, prephatus Guillelmus, atque coniux mea de illa hora in antea finem nec societatem non aurem ni tenrem cum illo vel cum illis, cum illa vel cum illas, donec vo(bi)s prephati recuperatum habeatis predictum castrum et fortitudinibus eius sine vestro engan; et adiutores vobis erimus contra omnes homines vel feminas sine vestro engan et sine decepcione. Et si nos prephati recuperare poterimus prephatum castrum vel omnibus fortitudinibus, in vestra potestate los metrem e los tornremps sine vestro engan et sine ullo lucro. Et de ista hora in antea aiudadors vos serems de vestris inimicis aut inimico, fidelibus vel infidelibus, qui vobis tollant vel tollent, vetet vel vetent predicta omnia aut aliquid de predictis omnibus sine vestro engan. Vestrum consilium aut consilia no descubrire ad ullum vestrum dampnum, nostro sciente; et adiuvabimus vos habere, tenere atque defendere omnibus modis, sine ulla fraude et decepcione, prephatum honorem et omnia ad se pertinencia, sine lucro, vel illi cui vos prephata omnia dimiseritis. Iuro, ergo, tibi et annuo in predicto castro de Fonoled stacionem de quatuor mensibus per singulos annos, si tibi placet, quia ita fuit semper in diebus anteriorum nostrorum, et ipsa stacio mihi molesta non sit ullo modo. Sicut superius scriptum est de vobis prephatis, si o tenrem et o atendrem nos predicti, sine vestro engan, totum ad vos, et, post mortem vestram, illi cui dimiseritis predicta omnia. Per Deum et hec sancta.

Iuramus nos ego, Guillelmus Petri, filius qui fui Amaltrudis, femine, et coniux mea Matellis, femine, tibi, domne Raimunde, filius Mahaltis, femine, castrum Sancti Stephani et omnes fortitudines, que infra terminos prephati castri vel fines fieri possunt vel construi, tibi et coniugi tue Dulcie, comitisse, et filiis et filiabus vestris, quod ab hodierno die et deinceps fideles erimus vobis de prephato castro et iam dictis fortitudi­nibus et in omnibus in quibus homo debet esse fidelis suo meliori seniori. Et dabimus vobis potestatem de predicto castro quociencumque requisieritis nos inde per vos aut per vestrum nuncium vel nuncios; et non vetabimus nos inde videri vel conmoneri, sed erimus deinceps vestri fideles de his supradictis et de omni honore vestro quem hodie habetis, ubicumque sit qualicumque modo vel voce. Et adiuvabimus vos per rectam fidem, sine enganno, de omnibus hominibus vel feminis tocius mundi qui voluerint vobis tollere honorem vestrum vel aliquid de predicto honore, quandiu vixerimus; et adiuvabimus vos habere et tenere atque defendere omnibus modis, sine ulla fraude et decepcione, prephatum honorem et omnia ad se pertinencia, sine lucro, vell illi cui vos prephati omnia dimiseritis ad vestrum obitum sive in vita. Sicut superius scriptum est, sic attendemus et tenebimus vobis predictis sine vestro engan.  

Historical context:

Oath by Wlliam Petri and his wife Matellis to the count and countess for the castros of Fonolieto and St. Stephen.  A castrum is an administrative unit with a fortification/castle at the center.  In a previous oath (#671) to Bernard William, count of Cerdania, he had sworn for these and also Rocha Samardana which is not included in this oath.  The oath includes the agreement to quartering for four months a year

Printed source:

Liber Feudorum Maior  2.181-83, #672.  

Date: