A letter from Adela

Translated letter:

Be it known to all, present and future, that I, Adela, countess of Blois, in remission of my sins and for the salvation of the soul of my lord count Stephen, gave to the church of St. Martin of the Fields every [right of] viscounty and roadway supervision in the town that is called Ste Gemme.  And so that this gift be held firm and stable for posterity, I have signed it with my sealed letters.  Hail, dearest in Jesus Christ.

Original letter:

Notum sit omnibus t.p.q.f. quoniam ego Adela, Belsensi comitissa, in remissione peccatorum meorum, et pro salute anime domini mei comitis Stephani, dedi ecclesie Beati Martini de Campis omnem vicecomitatum et viariam de villa que Sancta-Gemma nuncupatur.  Et ut hoc donum firmum et stabile habeatur in posterum, litteris meis sigillatis firmavi.  Valete, Karissimi in Xristo Ihesu.

Historical context:

For her sins and the salvation of her late husband’s soul, the countess abandons to the Cluniac monastery of St. Martin her rights of viscounty and roadway supervision over the domain of Ste Gemme.  LoPrete notes that the letter can only be dated sometime between the death of Stephen (1102) and Adela’s retirement to Marcigny (1120), but says it is likely c.1104..

Printed source:

Recueil de chartes et documents de Saint-Martin-des-champs, ed. J. Depoin (Paris, 1912), p.159, #98; also in LoPrete Adela of Blois, 515, #121.

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