A letter from Bertrand

Translated letter:

I Bertrand, son of the late woman, Ermengard, swear that I shall be faithful to count William, my lord, son of countess Adela, and to your wife Sancia, daughter of the late countess Almodis, and to your son, who will be count of Cerdanya, without fraud and without evil trick and without any deception and without artifice by righteous faith.  And from this hour forward I shall not deceive/betray you, said count and countess and your son, 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, land and honor, allods or fiefs, which you, said count and countess and your son have today or ought to have and shall have and acquire in the future.  I shall not take from you nor deny nor deceive nor betray nor dispute this with you, not I, said Bertrand, nor a man or men, woman or women, by my counsel or my artifice.  And if a man or men, woman or women, who would take  or deny all the above or anything from all the above, I, said Bertrand, would not have peace nor alliance with him or them, male or female, until you, said count and countess, have recovered all that you will have lost of the above without deception.  And I shall be an aid to you to hold and have and defend all the above against all men or women, without your deception, as many times as you might order me and it would be necessary to you; and in this help I would not deceive you nor deny that you have commanded me by any trick as many times as you requested or commanded me by yourself or by your messengers or messenger.  I would not dispute justice nor right with you for myself nor anyone living by any trick.  I would not maintain your enemy or enemies, male or female, nor wrongly give them right against you.  I would not reveal your counsel or counsels to your harm, if I knew.  With Gaufre and Bernard Malet, brothers, I would not make a suit with any similar suit of theirs, nor over Connad’s honor, if you did not first absolve me in this and as much as you will approve and order me in this, if I made a pact with them, it would give them no advantage without you.  Similarly to you, the aforesaid, I swear that I will not deny that cliff of Sexman, not I, Bertrand, nor anyone through me or with my consent, with or without a crime, as many times as you would request by yourself or your messengers or messenger.  From this hour forward I shall not wage war against you or your honor, nor will I help anyone living who does that to you against you.  As written above, I, said Bertrand, will hold and keep it, without deception, to you, said count and countess and your said son, except as much as you would absolve me, or the said one after you, by your will or their willing spirit without any force.

Original letter:

Iuro ego, Bertrandus, filius qui fui Ermengardis, femine, quod fidelis ero ad Guillelmum, comitem, seniorem meum, filius qui es Adale, comitisse, et ad uxorem tuam Sanciam, filiam que fuit Adalmodis, comitisse, et ad filium tuum, qui comes fuerit Cerdanie, sine fraude et ullo malo ingenio et sine ulla decepcione et sine engan, per directam fidem. Et de ista hora in antea non decebre te, prephatum comitem, et comitissam et filium de tua vita neque de 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, quos tu, prephate comes, et comitissa et filius hodie habes vel habere debes et habueris et in antea adquisieris. No t o tolre ne te n tolre ni te n vedare ne t o vedare ne te n enganare ne te n dezebre ni t o contendre ni te n contendre nec ego, prephatus Bertrandus, nec homo nec homines, femina nec femine, per meum consilium nec per meum ingenium. Et si homo est aut homines, femina vel femine, qui tibi tollat vel tollant, vetet vel vetent predicta omnia aut aliquid de predictis omnibus, ego, prephatus Bertrandus, finem nec societatem non aure ne tenre cum illo vel cum illos, cum illa vel cum illas, donec tu, prephate  comes, et comitissa recuperatum habeas hoc totum quod perdideris de iam dictis omnibus, sine tuo engan. Et adiutor t o sere predicta omnia a tener et ad aver et a defendre contra omnes homines vel feminas, sine tuo engan, quantis vicibus michi hoc iusseris et tibi opus fuerit; et de ipso adiutorio no t enganare ne comonir no me n vedare per ullum ingenium per quantes vegades me n recherras o me n comonras per te ipsum vel per tuos missos vel missum. Iusticiam neque directum no t co[n]tendre de me ipso neque de ullis viventibus ullo ingenio. Tuum inimicum vel inimicos, inimicas vel inimica, no t mantendre ne n a dret neque contra te a tort. Tuum consilium aut consilia no descubrire ad ullum tuum dampnum, me sciente. Cum Gauchfredo et Bernardo Malet, qui sunt fratres, et cum <u>llo eorum simile placitum, nec qui placitum similet, non faciam de ipso honore de Connad, si tu prius non me de hoc solveris et quantum de hoc michi laudabis et iusseris et, si pacatum cum eis habui, nichil eis proderit sine te. Similiter tibi, predictis, iuro quod non vobis vetabo ipsam rocham de Sexman nec ego, Bertrandus, nec ullus per me vel meo assensu, neque ab forsfactura neque sine forsfactura, per quantes vegades la m recherras per te ipsum vel tuos missos vel missum. De ista hora in antea guerram non tibi faciam ullam nec tuo honori, nec ullo viventi, qui tibi eam faciat, adiutor contra te non ero. Sicut superius scriptum est, ego, Bertrandus predictus, si o tenre et o atendre, sine tuo engan, ad te, prephatum comitem, et comitissam et filium predictum totum, exceptus quantum vel de quanto tu me n absolvras, aut illi predicti post te, tuo gradiente vel eorum gradiente animo sine ulla forcia.

Historical context:

An oath 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 , II, 163-64, #655.

Date: