A letter from William IV and Almodis

Translated letter:

From the document of memory which count William and his mother Almodis had written about the donation they made to the Lord God and St. Peter of Moissac, and the lord abbot Duranno, of that allod of St. Peter of Conques (Coquinas?), which they gave fully and wholly, on the understanding that never by themselves or by any person serving them could they presume to exact any tolls from the leather of cobblers, nor to compel those living there to go on an expedition as foot-soldiers or use/inflict any force.  These things, as we said, count William and his mother Almodis gave the Lord God and St. Peter of Moissac, and the lord abbot Duranno of that place, and the monk Gauzfred:  with this condition, that if it should happen that any man from said allod cross into the power of the count, they would in no way oppose the inhabitants of that place, namely the monks; but they must freely restore [him]  without any opposition.  He also gave the sons of Stephen Picola and daughters and grandchildren, men and women, to God and St. Peter and the inhabitants of that place, so that they would owe no toll or service to any other, and Stephen John and his brothers and sisters similarly.  This donation, which count William now makes of the allod of St. Peter, count Pons, his father, made in his life and signed in such a way that if any of the subsequent counts should presume to break it in any way, he would suffer the punishment of hell with Dathan and Abiram (see Numbers 16).  Sign of Pons.  Sign of Almodis, his wife, and count William.  And these are the boundaries of this honor from the home of Peter Rauge to the place which is called Exosa, up to the Garonne and the cottage of Peter Rabi which is at the border of the allod, as the road leads to Creuse and to the Garonne, and that land namely which is between the vineyard of St. Peter, which belonged to the countess of Melgueil, which was bought for four ounces of gold and three good horses.  After these by name Vitalis Stephen and his brother Pons and their sisters and nephews/nieces, and every generation of theirs, and besides them Stephen John and his brothers and sisters, and every account and tribute from the place Quoradge, on such condition that never from now on will the men of said town of Conques cook in the comital ovens but in their own, and from those men no justice or tribute will be required.  Count William and his mother Almodis received for this giving up, after he/they had handed over and released and given it, namely this honor, to the Lord God and St. Peter of Moissac, as it is held above, into the hand of the lord bishop Duranno and the abbot, afterwards he received from the lord Hunald, abbot, and from St. Peter the apostle, 60 solidos, and again he handed over, released and in every way confirmed/signed this donation to the Lord God and St. Peter, in the sight of all the witnesses present, namely Gerald bishop of Quercy, and Raymond Atto, vicars, and many others, and also the countess Mantilis/Matilda, his wife. 

Original letter:

SCRIPTURAE memoralis quam Willelmus comes & Adalmodis mater ejus fecerunt conscribi de donatione quam fecerant Domino Deo, & Sancto Petro de Moisiaco, & domno Duranno abbati, de illo alode Sancti Petri de Coquinas, quod totum & ab integro dederunt, tali ratione ut nunquam per se aut per quamlibet sibi famulantem personam aliquam exactionem cen­sus neque etiam ex coriis sutorum facere praesumant, sed neque in hostem vel expeditionem pedistrem homines ibi manentes pergere cogerent aut ullam vim inferre. Haec itaque, ut diximus, Willelmus comes & Adalmodis mater ejus dederunt Domino Deo, & Sancto Petro de Moisiaco, & domno Duranno abbati ejusdem loci, & Gauzfredo monacho: tali tenore, ut si aliquem hominem de alode supradicto contigerit in potestatem comitis transire, habitatoribus ipsius loci, scilicet monachis, nullo modo contradicant; sed libere restituere debeant absque ulla contradictione. Filios quoque Stephani Picola & filias ac nepotes, homi­nes ac faeminas Deo dedit & Sancto Petro & ipsius loci habitatoribus, ut nulli alio censum vel servitium faciant, & Stephanus Joannes & fratres & sorores ejus similiter. Hanc donationem quam modo Willelmus comes facit de alode Sancti Petri, Poncius comes pater ejus in vita sua fecit ac firmavit taliter, ut si aliquis subsequentium comitum id ullo modo infringere praesumeret, cum Dathan & Abiron poenam inferni pateretur. Sig. Poncii. S. Adalmodis uxoris ejus, & Willelmi comitis. Et sunt fines istius honoris de domo Petri Rauge usque ad locum qui dicitur Exosa usque in Garonna & casale Petri Rabie quod est in fine alodi, sicut via tendit usque ad Crosam & usque in Garonna & illam terram scilicet quae est inter vinea Sancti Petri, quae fuit comitissae de Melgoir, quae etiam fuit comparata quatuor uncias auri, & tres equas bonas. Post haec nominatim Vitalem Stephani, & Poncium fratrem ejus, & sorores & nepotes eorum, & omnem generationem eorum, & insuper Stephanum Joannis, & fratres & sorores ejus, & omnem rationem & questionem de loco Quoradge, tali quidem tenore, ut nunquam deinceps homines praefatae villae de Coquinis in furnis comitalibus coquant sed in suis propriis, & de ipsis hominibus numquam justitia seu quaestio requiratur. Accepit autem pro hac guirpitione, & jam postquam dimiserat & laxaverat & donaverat eam, scilicet hanc honorem, Domino Deo, & Sancto Petro de Moisiaco ipse Willel­mus comes & mater ejus Adalmodis, sicut superius habetur, in manu domni Duranni episcopi sive abbatis; postea accepit a domno Hunaldo abbate & a sancto Petro apostolo LX solidos, & iterum atque iterum dimisit, reliquit, & omnibus modis firmavit hanc donationem Domino Deo & sancto Petro, videntibus cunctis qui aderant testibus, scilicet Geraldo episcopo Caturcensi, & Raimundo Attone vicarios, & multis aliis, ipse & Mantilis comitissa ejus uxor.

Historical context:

The donation of an allod to the abbey of St. Peter of Moissac is made by William IV, count of Toulouse, and his mother Almodis.  William was her son by her second husband, Pons.  The countess named as a witness and William’s wife is presumably a wife who preceded Emma (see HGL 3.452), but I can find nothing about her.  

Printed source:

HGL 5.544-46, #277, CCXXXII.

Date: