A letter of donation

Translated letter:

This was translated well and faithfully from an original, which read thus: 

Since it is certainly assured by laws that whatever things are conferred on the church of God by donations of princes or whatever faithful, devotedly and powerfully, are confirmed in their right in the irrevocable manner of laws for eternity.  Therefore in the name of the Lord.  I, A[rnau] Mir and my spouse Arsenda acknowledging the great benefits of God who [gave] castra and their protections, rendering thanks to his majesty with ready mind and voluntary will, give to the Lord God and the church of St. Peter which is located in the castrum of Ager, the castros and towns which are in my domain.  First I give the castrum of Castelló  which is at Llordá, with its dwellings at Isona and those men who live in Pugo de Sex and in Camporrasio, and that castrum of Malagastre and the castrum of Foradada with its boundaries and appurtenances, similarly that castrum of Cas and the castrum of La Régola, and the castrum of Corsá and the castrum of St. Lawrence and the castrum of Estaña and the allod of Vilamajor, in their entirety, with tithes and first fruits and appurtenances, with all integrity.  I bought and took these said castros and the allod from the power of Saracens.   I put and give these over to the church of St. Peter of Ager with all rights and appurtenances and boundaries that pertain to those castros, with all their rights and services, with tolls and payments and with sectors of woods, with exactions and tributes, and armies and cavalcades and carts, and forges and fines and with felonies and adulteries and [confiscations of] goods of those without heirs and homicides and all payments that pertain to the greater lord, by such agreement that the castellans of those said castros give power over said castros to the abbot and his successors or canons of that place, by dissent or consent, with lords and without lords.  And those castellans have their rules which they ought to have and hold today with me, and would have no robbery or force there unless to hold the castros.  And from those allods which I gave from the castellany to those castellans, they may not divide them among others unless only by joining with other soldiers or freed men or if I give them another allod for which they can show a firm and corroborated charter, they may divide these inheritances among sons and daughters.  And they may not buy from the serfs of those magistracies the sons and daughters who will live there in said castros..  Let them be men by their own hands of the abbots who will be in the church of St. Peter so they can believe  and trust in them for those castros.  Yet we give and confirm in said castros and their boundaries or in Ager and in the boundaries of Noguera and Noguerola those allods which the faithful of God designated for the church of St. Peter or other churches, in whatever way those churches have the allods with tithes and first fruits as their own allod free and free-born.  Everything which is written above I leave to St. Peter, I hand it over on such condition that no one can give to the abbot of said church in any way, sell or alienate or commute to the harm of said church, but we give the whole aforesaid to said church for the redemption of our souls and of our children and our parents so they may inherit in paradise with all the saints and rejoice in eternal peace without end joined with the angels.  Every said gift we confirm according to the order set forth above and we corroborate it and by our right we hand it into the power of said church eternally to have and enjoy and possess.  And if anyone wished to disrupt it or for whatever cause or trick tried to dilute or diminish it or take away or alienate from the right of said church, he could in no way do it, but for the presumption alone he must first pay the whole in quadruple according to the laws of the world.  Then as devastator and predator of the church, he would be bound by the chain of anathema according to the privilege of the Romans of our church of Ager, and would be separated and cut off from the threshold of the holy church of God and from every association (cetu) of Christians until he repented, and afterwards this document of donation would remain always firm in every way for all time.

Which was done on the 2nd nones of April in the 7th year of king Philip.  Sign+ of Arnau Mir.  Sign+ of Arsenda, his wife, we who not compelled nor urged, but devotedly and powerfully by our own will ordered this charter to be written and signed it with our own hands and asked it to be signed.  Sign+ of Valencia, countess of Pallars. Sign+ of Ledgard, viscountess, we both sisters who confirm this whole gift.  Sign+ of Berengar, viscount.  Sign+ of Gaucerand Eriman.  Sign+ of Berengar Isarn.  Sign+ of Dalmau Bernard.  Sign+ of Company Balomar.  Sign+ of Gaufred Sanlac.  Sign+ of Escufet, these are observors and auditors and witnesses.  Bernard, priest, wrote it as asked on the day and year + above.

Original letter:

Hoc est translatum bene et fideliter factum a quodam originali, quod sic habetur:

Quoniam pro certo legibus censetur ut quecumque res sanctis Dei basilicis aut per principum aut quorumlibet fidelium donaciones collate reperiuntur votive ac potencialiter in earum iure irrevocabile modo legum eternitate firmetur. Idcirco in nomine Domini. Ego A. Mironis et coniux mea Arsendis recognoscentes magna beneficia Dei qui michi castra et municionis eorum, reddens gracias maiestati eius, prompta mente et spontanea voluntate, dono Domino Deo et Ecclesie Sancti Petri que est sita in castro Aggeris, castros vel villas que sunt dominicature mee. In primis dono castrum de Castellione qui est ad Lordanum, cum ipsos mansos qui sunt a Isonam et ipsos homines qui habitant in Pugo de Sex et in Camporrasio, et ipsum castrum de Malagastro et castrum de Foradada cum suis terminis et pertinenciis, similiter ipsum castrum de Casso et castrum de Regula et castrum de Corgano es castrum de Sancto Laurencio es castrum de Styanya, et alaudium Ville maioris, totum ab integrum, cum decimis et primiciis et pertinenciis suis ab omni integritate. Castros istos supradictos et alaudium emi atque abstuli de potestate sarracenorum. Pono eos atque mitto in Ecclesia Sancti Petri Aggeris cum omnibus iuribus et pertinenciis et terminis que pertinent ad eosdem castros, cum omnibus iuribus et serviciis cunctis, cum toloneis et placitis et cum quartariis silvaticis, cum preguera et questia, et hostes et cavalcatas et carrigamentos et fabricas et trobas et cum baucias et cucucias et exorquias et homicidiis et omnia placita que pertinent ad seniorem maiorem, in tali vero pactu ut castellani istorum castrorum supradictorum donent potestatem de dictos castros ad Abbatem et successoribus eius vel Canonicis eiusdem loci, irats et pagats, cum senioribus et absque senioribus Et ipsi castellani habeant suos directos quos habere debent et hodie mecum tenent, et ibi rapinam ullam neque forciam habeant nisi ad deferendos castros. Et de ipsis alaudibus quod ego dedi de castlania ad ipsos castellanos, non possint eos dividere inter Alios nisi tantum de comparacione que faciunt de aliis militibus vel de franchis vel si ego dederam eis alium alaudium de quo possint ostendere cartam firmam et corroboratam, has hereditates dividant inter filios et filias. Et non possint emere de suis rusticiis de ipsas stollats et filios vel filias qui habitaturi sunt in supradictos castros. Sint homines propriis manibus de Abbates qui erunt in Ecclesia Sancti Petri ut possint in eds credere et fidare de ipsos castros. Adhuc vero damus et firmamus nisupradictis castris vel in eorum terminis sive in Agger vel in suis terminis de Noguera ad Noguerolam ipsos alaudes quos fideles Dei dimiserint Ecclesie Sancti Petri vel aliis ecclesiis suis, quolicumque modo habeant ecclesias ipsos alaudes cum decimis et primi­ciis ad proprium alaudem liberum et ingenuum. Omnia vero que superius sunt scripta, relinquo Sancto Petro, in tali pacto dimitto ut Abbati prefate Ecclesie nullo modo possit dare, vendere nec alienare nec commutare ad dampnum supradicte Ecclesie, set damus hoc totum supradictum ad prefate Ecclesie pro redempcione animarum nostrarum et filiorum nostrorum hac parentum nostrorum ut in paradiso hereditentur cum omnibus sanctis et gaudeant in eterna requie sine fine commitantibus angelis. Omne namque supradictum donum secundum ordinem superius comprehensum confirmamus et corroboramus et de nostro iure tradimus in dominium prefate Ecclesie eternaliter ad habendum et fruendum et possidendum. Et qui hoc voluerit dirrumpere aut per quamcumque occasionem vel ingenium temptaverit hac diluere vel minuere sive de prefate iure Ecclesie tollere vel alienare, nullo modo possit facere, sed pro sola pressumpcione primo secundum seculi leges hoc totum in quadruplo componat. Demum, sicut devastator et depredator Ecclesie anathemis vinculo secundum privilegium Romanorum nostre Aggerensi Ecclesie fac­tum innodatus permaneat, et a liminibus sancte Dei Ecclesie et ab omni christianorum cetu sit segregatum ac (sequestratum) se senciat donec resipiscat, et hec postea largicionis scriptura omnibus modis semper per­maneat firma per omnia secula.

Que est (facta II no)nas aprilis in VII anno regis Philipi. Sig+num Arnalli Mironis. Sig+num Arsendis uxoris eius, qui non coacti neque suasi, sed votive ac potencialiter per nostram bonam voluntatem hanc cartam scribere iussimus et manibus propriis firmavimus firmarique rogavimus. Sig+num Valencie, comitisse, Palleriensis. Sig+num Legardis, vicecomitisse, nos ambe sorores, qui hoc totum donum confirmamus. Sig+num Berengarii, vicecomitis. Sig+num Gaucerandi Erimanii. Sig+num Berengarii Isarni. Sig+num Dalmacii Bernardi. Sig+num Compagn Balomar. Sig+num Gaufredi Sanlacii. Sig+num Escufeti, isti sunt visores et auditores et testes. Bernardus, sacerdos, rogatus, scripsit sub die et anno quo+supra. 

Historical context:

This text is from a fourteenth century copy of the original donation by the viscounts of allodial castles to the abbey of Ager.  A castrum is an administrative unit including a fortified castle.  The document is witnessed by two daughters of the viscounts, Ledgard and Valencia

Printed source:

Pedro Sanahuja, Historia de la Villa de Ager (Barcelona:  Editorial Seráfica, 1961), 337-38, #23.

Date: