A letter to the Archbishop of Narbonne

Translated letter:

In the name of Lord Jesus, in the year 1156 from the incarnation, be it known.  I, viscountess Ermengard of Narbonne for myself and my successors in faith and without deception, give, approve, grant, and with this charter release perpetually to God and the blessed martyrs Justin and Pastor of the see of Narbonne, and to my lord and uncle Berengar, archbishop of that see and his successors to be possessed in perpetuity, namely half of the tribute of eight denari, two absolutely, the other two which the lord of Casuli has and possesses through you, so that that lord of Casuli may have them from this day forward and hold them in fief through your hand and your successors’.  For this reason you have [of] twelve denari in tribute, half, and six, two certainly which you had and two which I give you and two others, which the lord of Casuli has and possesses through you:  so that if this tribute should increase at some time, you and your successors and your vassal would similarly have half the increase of the corresponding part.  Similarly I give you and your successors half of the month of October, so that you would have in this month as in the others in the course of the year half of the salt tribute without deception.  I also give you, said archbishop my lord Berengar of Narbonne and your successors, and with this charter I openly release the tower namely with the gate which is called episcopal, so that you and your successors may have and possess it from now on freely, with its entry and exit, and with everything pertaining to that tower and gate, with this provision, that it is not permitted to you or your successors to make that tower higher or build further in that tower anything new which pertains to defense:  indeed in those things which are now falling, or somewhat damaged, it is permitted to you and your successors to rebuild it to its former state. 

And I Berengar archbishop of the church of Narbonne with the advice of my clerics approve and grant to you Ermengard viscountess of Narbonne in fief and grant and with this charter confirm to be possessed in perpetuity half of that tribute of a sester of kermes [source for vermilion dye, see Cheyette, 164], when it is collected, and half a cord and quintal also of dyers’ nightshade [cacabus, dry-wood, water-lily?], and a third part of the half of the bottling [botaticum], so that you might have and possess all these in fief through me with all the other fiefs which you ought by honor/office to possess and have through me. 

And I, said viscountess Ermengard, acknowledge that I hold half of these things about which it was now spoken, in fief through the church of Narbonne from now on.  Moreover I, Ermengard, viscountess of Narbonne release to you my lord Berengar, oftsaid archbishop of Narbonne for me and my successors, all the complaints which I had made up to now against the church of Narbonne:  and I Berengar archbishop of Narbonne with the advice of my clerics release to you Ermengard, above-named viscountess similarly for me and my successors all the complaints which the church of Narbonne had made against you.  The determination of this agreement and the composition of peace and the devised resolution of all complaints between Berengar archbishop of Narbonne and Ermengard viscountess of Narbonne was done at Arles on the Sunday before the calends of October, sixth Luna, in the presence of lord Raymond, archbishop of Arles, Raymond Berengar, the very famous count of Barcelona; Aldebert, bishop of Nîmes; Peter, bishop of Friuli; Pons, provost of l’Ouche; Roger, archdeacon of Narbonne; Raymond, archdeacon of Nîmes; Imbert, sacristan of St. Paul; Raymond William, prior of Tournai; William of Sardonica, Peter Bernard, Pons of Vinia (Vienne?), Bremond Udalgar viscount of Fenouilhedès, Raymond of Salles, Raymond of Bizanos, Peter Raine of Nîmes, and many others, whose names it was not necessary to write down here.  William Arnald wrote this as asked.

Original letter:

In nomine Domini Jesu, anno ab Incarnatione ejusdem MCLVI. sit notum.  Ego Ermengardis Narbon. Vicecomitissa per me ac per meos successores per fidem ac sine inganno reddo, laudo, concedo, & cum hac charta perpetuo possidendum deffinio Deo, & beatis martyribus Justo & Pastori sedis Narbonae,et Berengario domino meo & avunculo, ejusdem sedis archiepiscopo, & successoribus ejus in perpetuum , medietatem videlicet liddae octo denariorum, duos siquidem denarios absolute, & alios duos denarios, quos domnus de Casulis habet, ut habeat eos ab hodierno die inantea ipse dominus de Casulis, & teneat ad feudum per manum tuam & successorum tuorum.  Hac itaque ratione habes in lidda duodecim denarios, medietatem & sex denarios, duos utique quos habebas, & duos quos tibi reddo, atque duos alios, quos domnus de Casulis per te habet & possidet:  quod si lidda ista aliquando excreverit, habeas tu & successores tui, atque feudalis tuus similiter medietatem pro competenti parte in augmento.  Similiter reddo tibi & successoribus tuis medietatem mensis Octobris, ut habeas in hoc mense, sicut in reliquis per circuitum anni sine inganno medietatem liddae salis.  Reddo etiam tibi jam dicto domno meo Berengario Narbonensi archiepiscopo, ac successoribus tuis, & cum hac charta plane definio, turrim videlicet cum porta, quae episcopalis vocatur, ut habeas eam & possideas deinceps tu & successores tui libere, cum introitu  & exitu suo, & cum omnibus ad eandem turrim & portam pertinentibus, eo tamen pacti tenore, quod non liceat tibi, vel successoribus tuis eandem turrim altius extollere, sive aliquid de novo, quod ad munitionem pertineat, in eadem turri amplius aedificare:    verum si de hiis, quae modo sunt aliquid rueret, seu aliquot modo deterius fieret, liceat idem tibi & successoribus tuis in pristinum statum reaedificare.  Et ego Berengarius Narbonensis ecclesiae archiepiscopus cum consilio clericorum meorum laudo tibi Ermengardi Narbonensi vicecomitissae ad feudum atque concedo, & cum hac charta perpetuo possidendum confirmo, medietatem scilicet liddae sextarii de vermiculo, quando colligitur, & medietatem cordae ac quintalis, medietatem etiam cacabi tincturarii, & tertiam partem medietatis botatici, ut habeas & possideas ista omnia ad feudum per me cum aliis omnibus feudis, quae per me possidere & habere honorifice debes.  Et ego jam dicta Ermengardis vicecomitissa recognosco me istorum, de quibus modo dictum est, medietates per Narbonensem ecclesiam deinceps ad feudum tenere.  Praeterea ego Ermengardis Narbonensis vicecomitissa definio tibi domno meo Berengario saepe dicto Narbonensi archiepiscopo per me & successores meos, omnes querimonias, quas de Narbonensi ecclesia huc usque facere consueveram:  & ego Berengarius Narbonensis archiepiscopus cum consilio clericorum meorum definio tibi Ermengardi supra memoratae vicecomitissae similiter per me & successores meos, omnes querimonias quas Narbonensis ecclesia de te facere solebat.  Hujus autem concordiae definitio & compositio pacis atque omnium querelarum excogitata pausatio inter Berengarium archiepiscopum Narbonensem & vicecomitissam Narbonensem Ermengardim facta est apud Arelatem in Dominica die pridie cal. Octobris Luna sexta, in praesentia domni Raimundi Arelatensis archiepiscopi, & Raimundi Berengarii famosissimi Barchinonensium comitis, Aldeberti Nemausensi episcopi, Petri Forojuliensis episcopi, Pontii Uticensis praepositi, Rogerii Narbonensis archidiaconi, Raimundo Nemausensis archidiaconi, Imberti sacristae S. Pauli, Remundi Guillelmi prioris de Tornaco, Guillelmi de Sardonicis, Petri Bernardi, Pontii de Vinia, Bremundi Udalgarii Fenoletensis vicecomitis, Remundi de Salas, Raimundi de Bizano, Petri Raine Nemausensis canonici, & aliorum multorum, quorum nomina hic scribere necesse non fuit.  Guillelmus Arnaldi rogatus scripsit.

Historical context:

This charter defines the exchange of a number of fiefs, in the form of tribute payments, between the viscountess and her uncle, the archbishop of Narbonne. 

Printed source:

Gallia Christiana in provincias ecclesiastica distributa (Lutetiae Parisiorum:  Johannes-Baptista Ciognard, 1715-1874), v.6, Instrumenta, c.40-41, #XLVII [mislabeled LXVII], 47.

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