A letter to Hugh, abbot of Cluny

Translated letter:

Seeking the mercy of almighty God and fearing a bad account and desiring a good “Well done,” for the honor and reverence of the name of the Holy Trinity, I Arnau and my faithful spouse Arsenda, for the remedy of the soul of our dearest son William, of our own, and of our parents, an excellent and worthy gift granted by us to God the Father and Son and Holy Spirit and to St. Peter and the lord abbot Hugo of Cluny and all the monks of said place, we the aforesaid Arnau and Arsenda give the church of St. Peter which was established within the castle of Ager, with all its appurtenances, that castle of Ager with all its adjacencies, with all castles, towns, villages, enclosures (mutionibus?), and churches, dwellings, lands, plains, mounts, mountains, valleys, woods, barren lands, squares, towers, waters, viaducts and reducts of waters, with soldiers, cavalrymen, men, all servants of either sex, living within the boundaries of said castle, as we, said donors,  have there and had and ought to have, and as written then in the charters of that church of Ager, which we asked to be written, and with all that said church has and ought to have, also, with the help of God, will acquire, we hand over by our right and we place and transmit to the power of St. Peter and the monastery of said lord Abbot and his monks, in such a way that there be a regular (according to Rule) monastery there and that it be perennially the allod of St. Peter,  and the abbot of Cluniac monks, in such a way that said castrum of Ager and the castles pertaining to it, and other castra of the said church which we the aforesaid have given it, we will hold, we the said donors, from the hand of the abbot of Cluny and the hand of the Prior of Ager whom the abbot of Cluny will have put there and established, and the castellans who will hold those castra for us will be men of the abbot of Cluny and devouts of St. Peter and his monks for their things, saving out faith and posterity, and so that all things be as we have had written in the charters of St. Peter and we have written by the counsel of said abbot, saving the security of the Roman church.  After our death, indeed, our posterity which we, said donors, will have  designated by a document of will (testament), will similarly hold said castra from the hands of the abbot of Cluny and the prior of Ager, and will be their commended men and swear faith and security to them for said castra, and the abbot of said Cluniac place will have these rights from the power of St. Peter and the  lord pope of Rome, and render for fifty years 10 gold solidos, as contained in the privileges from the Roman pontiffs to the church of Ager.  These are what we declared in Spain, at the border of Christianity from which, with the power of our Lord God aiding and joining and following,  we drove out the Saracens, with great shedding of blood on each side, we would join them to those holy and excellent places since they are very beautiful, for love of our beloved son sleeping there.  That charter of donation and investiture of many things we have had written in the year 1066 of the Lord’s Incarnation, seventh kalends of December, in the reign of king Philip and we sent it to the lord abbot of Cluny through our dearest brother monk Henry voluntarily and powerfully firm and corroborated, we approve it to remain eternally.  When, however, with God granting, we come before the face of the lord abbot of Cluny, we shall give all the charters of the church of Ager to him, moreover we shall innovate a fuller testament.  If anyone should attempt to oppose this donation or disturb it, he would not achieve what he sought, but must pay triple to St. Peter, and be filled with ruin, unless he made legal amends, he would be broken by the chain of anathema eternally and unless he repented, damned with the traitor Judas in Hell in perpetuity, and it is not permitted to anyone alive to take any of all the said things from the community of monks of the church of Ager nor to commute it elsewhere or subjugate it to other men, unless as it is defined, or we said donors affirm it by agtreement with said abbot.  Sign+ of Arnau Mir and his wife Arsenda, we who ordered this charter of donation and investiture of a great thing to be written and signed it and asked witnesses to sign.  Sign+ of Gaucerand.  Sign+ of Drogo.  Sign+ of Isarn, monk.  Sign+ of Pons, who went with Henry.  Henry, monk wrote this as ordered on the day and year noted, with two erasures (razorings) and 11 suprascriptions. 

Original letter:

 Omnipotentis Dei misericordiam prestolantes metuentesque auditum malum atque desiderantes "Euge" bonum, ad honorem et rever(en)tiam nominis Sanctae Trinitatis, ego Arnallus fidelisque mea conjunx Arsindis, propter remedium animae karissimi filii nostri Guilelmi, nostrarum, nostrorumque parentum, obtimum et insigne donum ab ipso nobis concessum, Deo Patri et Filio Spirituique Sancto ac Sancto Petro Cluniarcensi domnoque Abbati Hugoni et omnibus monachis predicti loci donamus nos predicti Arnallus et Arsendis Aecclesiam Sancti Petri que est fundata infra castellum Aggeri, cum omnibus suis pertinentiis, ipsumque castellum Aggeri cum omnibus adjacentiis suis, cum omnibus castellis, villis, vicis, mutionibusque ac aecclesiis, mansis, terris, planis, montibus, montanis, vallibus, silvis, garricis, quadris, turribus, aquis, aquarum viaeductibus reductibusque earum, cum militibus, cavalleriis, hominibus, mancipiis universis utriusque sexus, infra terminos castelli predicti degentibus, sicut nos predicti donatores ibi habemus ac habuimus et habere debemus, et sicut scriptum tum est in cartis illius Aecclesiae Aggeri, quas scribere rogavimus, et cum omnibus que Aecclesia predicta habet et habere debet, necnon, adjuvante Deo, adquisitura est, et de nostro jure tradimus et in potestate Sancti Petri et cenobii predicti domnique Abbatis et monachorum ejus mittimus et transfundimus, ea tenore ut fiat ibi monastetium regulare et ut perhenniter sit alodium Sancti Petri, abbatum monachorumque Cluniacensium, in tali vero ratione, ut castrum dictum Aggerem et castella sibi pertinentia, et alia castra Aecclesiae jam dictae quae nos predicti sibi dedimus, teneamus nos predicti dona­tores de manu Abbatis Cluniacensis et de manu Prioris Aggerensis quem ibi miserit vel constituerit Abbas Cluniacensis, et castellani qui tenuerint illa castra pro nobis sint homines Abbatis Cluniacensis et sint fideles Sancti Petri et monachorum ejus de rebus illorum, salva nostra fidelitate et posteritate nostra, et ita fiant omnia, sicut scribere fecimus in cartis Sancti Petri vel adhuc consilio Abbatis predicti scribere faciemus, salva securitate Romane Aecclesiae. Post obitum vero nostrum, posteritas nostra cui nos predicti donatores dimiserimus per scripturam testamenti, teneat similiter castra predicta de manibus Abbatis Cluniacensis et Prioris Aggerensis, et sint sui homines coman(da)ti, et jurent eis fidelitatem et securitatem predictorum castrorum, et Abbas predicti loci Clu­niacensis habeat hec prescripta de potestate Sancti Petri et domni papae Romani, et reddat per quinquennium X solidos aureos, sicut continent privilegia a pontificibus Romanis Aggerensi Aecclesiae concessa. Sunt haec ergo que prediximus in Ispaniam, in finibus christianitatis que, preveniente comitanteque ac subsequente virtute Domini Dei nostri, nos inde ejecimus sarracenos, cum maxima ex utraque parte sanguinis effusione, et quia sunt perpulchra sanctioribus et precellentissimis locis jungere quatinus pro amore fili nostri dilecti ibi dormienti. Hanc autem cartulam donationis et investiture tante rei anno MLXVI Incarnationis Dominice, septimo kal. decembris, regnante rege Philippo, scribere feci­mus, ac domno Abbati Cluniacensi per karissimum monachum fratrem Henricum misimus voluntarie et potentialiter firmam et corroboratam, laudamus hanc in aeternum esse permanentem. Cum autem, dante Deo, venerimus ante faciem domni Abbatis Cluniacensis, omnes Aggerensis Aecclesiae cartas sibi dabimus, insuper ampliorem testamentarium innovabimus. Si quis vero contra hanc donationem venerit vel inquietaverit, quod quesierit non valeat vendicare, sed in triplici Sancto Petro conponat, et confusione plenus, nisi legaliter emendaverit, anathematis vinculo in aeternum mactetur, et nisi resipuerit, cum Juda traditore in infernum in perpetuo dampnetur, et non liceat de his omnibus predictis alicui viventi de communia monachorum Aecclesiae Aggerensis abstrahere neque aliter transmutare vel aliis hominibus subjugare, nisi sicut est prefinitum, aut cum predicto Abbate nos predicti donatores constituendo sanctiemus. Sig+num Arnalli Minoris (Mironis) et uxoris ejus Arsindis, qui hanc car­tulam donationis et investidure magne rei scribere jussimus et firmavimus, et testes firmare rogavimus. Sig+num Gaucerandi. Sig+num Drogonis. Sig+num Isarni, monachi. Sig+num Pontii, qui inerat cum Henrico. Henrichus, monachus, scripsit jussus die annoque prenotato, cum duabus rasuris et XI suprascriptionibus.

Historical context:

This charter records the gift of the church of St. Peter and the castle of Ager to Cluny and its abbot Hugo for the soul of their son William, who was buried there.  A castrum is an administrative unit including a fortified castle.   

Printed source:

Pedro Sanahuja, Historia de la Villa de Ager (Barcelona:  Editorial Seráfica, 1961), 335-36, #22.

Date: