A letter from Gerall Pons

Translated letter:

I Geral Pons, son of the late woman Ledgard, swear that I shall be faithful to you, count William, my lord, son of countess Adala, and to your wife Sancia, daughter of the late countess Almodis, without fraud or any evil trick and without any deception or fraud in righteous faith.  And from this hour forward, I shall not deceive/betray you, said count and countess, in your life or your limbs which are held in your body, nor your districts or county nor your castros or castles, cliffs or hills, developed or barren, earth and honor, allods or fiefs, which you, said count and countess, have today or ought to have and will have acquired in the future with my counsel.  And I swear to you those castles which I hold or ought to hold through you, that is, by name New Castle and Menresana and Bufagrannes and Vulvuga, whatever dominion and power I have or ought to have in it or from it, and all the fortifications which are in it or them now and will be in the future, so that from this day and time forward I will not refuse it or them to you, nor dispute them with you, nor deceive you about them, nor would I be an accomplice to that, not I nor any living person for me or with my consent, not with or without crime; and I would give you power there, without deception, of all the aforenamed and everything you might wish as many times as you asked or commanded me yourself or by your messenger or messengers.  And I shall help you without deception as much as I can, to hold all the above and to have and defend and make war against all men or women always, as you need it, and I shall wage your war over them  for you and with you or without you, always as I learn your will in this and you might wish all the above by name.  And from this hour forward sincerely and without deception I shall keep peace with you as I now do and every prisoner/person/thing (presonem) that you have taken from me and mine and all wealth that you have received from me, not I nor anyone living for me or by my consent, shall complain to you about it nor make a complaint by any trick, but I shall faithfully and without deception hold myself with you and your honor to all your good and to the harm of all your enemies, as a man should faithfully with his higher (meliore) lord.  As is written above about you, said count and countess,  I said Geral shall hold towards your son or him or her to whom you will have left this honor after you, without deception of you or him/her; and I shall do this within the first 40 days from your death, that I shall know this, without evil dispute and without any reward, to take and hold the castles by his/her hand and to the hands of him or her I shall commend myself and swear such oath as I swear today to you in the aforesaid.  As is written above, so I shall hold and keep without deception, I said Geral, to you said count and countess, as can best be said and thought, and after you to the said son or said [children] all, except what you relieve me from by your willing spirit without force.  By God and these holy objects.

Original letter:

Iuro ego Gerallus Ponci, filius qui fui Ledgardis, femine, quod fidelis ero ad te, Guillelmum, comitem, seniorem meum, filius qui es Adale, comitisse,et ad uxorem Sanciam, qui fuit filia Almodis, comitisse, sine fraude et ullo malo ingenio et sine ulla decepcione et sine engan per directam fidem.  Et de ista hora in antea non dezebre te, prephatum comitem, et comitissam de tua vita neque tuis membris que in corpus tuum se tenent neque de tuos comitatos vel comitatu neque de tuos castros aut castellos, rochas vel puios, condirectos vel heremos, terram et honorem, alodes vel fevos quod tu, predicte comes et comitissa, hodie habes vel habere debes et in antea cum meo consilio adquisieris.  Et nominatim tibi iuro ipsos castellos quos per te teneo vel habere debeo, hoc est, Castellum Novum et ipsam Menresanam et Bufagrannes et de Vulvuga, qualem senioraticum et potestatem in eo vel de eo habeo vel habere debeo, et omnes fortedas que in eo vel in eis modo sunt et erunt in antea, ut ab hodierno die et tempore deincebs no l te vedare, ni ls te vedare, ni ls te contendre, ni te n dezebre, nec consenciens ad hoc no sere, nec ego nec ullus vivens per me nec meo assensu, neque ab forsfactura neque sine forsfactura; et poderos te n fare, sine tuo engan, de predictis omnibus te et omnes quos volueris per quantes vegades me n recherras o me n comanras per te ipsum vel per tuos missos vel missum.  Et adiutor te sere sine tuo engan, cum plus potencialiter potero, predicta omnia a tener et ad aver et ad defendere et ad guerreiar contra omnes homines vel feminas semper, ut opus tibi erit, et tuam guerram de eis per te, et tecum et sine, guerreiabo semper ut de hoc sciam voluntatem tuam et tu hoc volueris nominatim predicta omnia.  Et de ista hora in antea sinceriter et sine engan vobis tenebo hanc finem quam modo tecum facio et omnem presonem quam mihi et de me et de meis factam habes et omne avere quod de me aceptum habes, quod nec ego nec ullus vivens per me nec meo assensu, iam tibi hoc non querelebamus nec in querimoniam mi[t]temus per ullum ingenium, sed fideliter tecum et sine engan de tuo honore me tenebo ad omne tu[u]m bene et ad dampnum de omnibus tuis inimicis, sicut fideliter homo debet facere cum suo meliore seniore.  Sicut superius scriptum est de te, predicto comite et comitissa, si o tenre ego predictus Gerallus ad tuum filium vel ad ipsum vel ad ipsam cui dimiseris post te tuum honorem, sine tuo vel suo engan; et hoc faciam infra primos XL dies quibus mortuus fueris et ego hoc sciero, sine mala contencione et sine alio lucro, quod per suam manum predictos castellos prendre et tenre et manibus ad illum vel ad illam me n comanare et tale sacramentum le n iurare, quale hodie iuro ad te infra predictum terminum.  Sicut superius scriptum est, si t o tenre et o atendre sine tuo engan ego iam dictus Gerallus ad te, prephatum comitem, et comitissam, et ut melius dici potest et cogitare, et post te ad predictum filium vel predictos totum, exceptus quantum vel de quanto m en absolverez tuo vel eorum gradiente animo sine forcia.  Per Deum et hec sancta.

Historical context:

An oath taken to William Raymond and his wife Sancia.  A castrum is an administrative unit with a fortification/castle at the center.

Printed source:

Liber Feudorum Maior, 1.432-33, #411.

Date: