A letter from Geoffrey of Villehardouin

Translated letter:

To his most excellent lady Blanche, countess of Champagne, Geoffrey of Villehardouin, marshal of the Romans, and Milo Breban, butler of the Romans, her men faithful in all things, greetings and prompt service as much devoted as owed.  You requested us by letter to clarify for you what we know about the fiefs that pertain to the county of Champagne.  You should know certainly that if any disagreement arose about your fiefs,  you should write it in your letters and we, with the help of divine grace, will explain without pause.  About those about which you particularly asked us, know that count Thibaut of Blois and count Stephen of Sancerre are your liege men, and whatever they possess by hereditary right is your fief, and Sancerre is your estate, but the count holds it in fief from the county of Champagne.  We make known to you, moreover, that the records of your fiefs are in the church of St. Stephen of Troyes and contained in the records are two thousand and two hundred knights, of whom a thousand and eighty are liege as well as defenders (castleguard), except those whom count Henry and our lady countess and count Thibaut enfeoffed.   I, Milo Breban, was present at the handing over of those records in the church of St. Stephen, and count Henry took a copy with him overseas.

Original letter:

Excellentissime domine sue B(lanche) Campanie comitisse. G(aufridus) de Villa hardoini Romanorum marescaulus, et M(ilo) Brebanus, Romanorum buticularius, homines et fideles sui in omnibus, salutem et promptum servitium quam debitum tarn devotum. Nobis per vestras mandavistis litteras quod nos feodos quos ad comitatum Campanie pertinere dinoscimus, vobis enuclearemus. Sciatis siquidem quod si aliqua de feodis vestris oritur discordia, nobis per vestras scribatis litteras, et nos adsistente divina gratia, vobis enucleabimus incessanter. De illis vero de quibus nobis mandavistis specialiter, sciatis quod comes T(heobaldus) Blesensis, et comes S(tephanus) Sacricesaris sunt vestri homines ligii, et quidquid jure hereditario possident est de vestro feodo, et Sacrumcesar vestrum est predium, sed eum comes tenet in feodum de Campanie comitatu. Intimamus vobis preterea, quod scripta feodorum vestrorum sunt in ecclesia Sancti Stephani Trecarum, et in scriptis continentur duo millia et ducenti milites, quorum mille et octingenti sunt tam ligii quam munitionis observatores, exceptis illis quos comes H(enricus) et domina nostra comitissa et comes T(heobaldus) feodavit.1 Ad tradendum vero scripta feodorum in ecclesiam Beati Stephani, ego Milo Brebanus interfui, et comes Henricus secum tulit exemplarium ultra mare. 

Historical context:

The letter responds to the countess’s request for information about her fiefs with an offer to help clarify any question about them, presumably from the inscribed rolls.  In Feudal Society, 213, fn 17, Evergates comments that "there may have been a conspiracy to keep the countess unaware of the existence or whereabouts of the document." 

Scholarly notes:

1 The meaning seems to be that the original rolls of Henry I (ca 1178) contained the names of 2,200 knights (of whom 1,800 were liegemen and owed castleguard), and that Henry II, Marie, and Thibaut III later granted new fiefs not listed in those rolls.

Printed source:

The Cartulary of Countess Blanche of Champagne, edited by Theodore Evergates, © The Medieval Academy of America 2010 (University of Toronto Press, 2009), 294-95, #333.  Reprinted with permission of the press.

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