A grant of immunities

Translated letter:

In the name of our lord Jesus Christ Amen.  Though we ought to respond to anyone according to his deserts, we are obliged to weigh more heavily the faithful service of those are zealous to serve our ministers more stricly by the profession of holy religion.  Therefore we make known to all of you that we, Boleslaw, by the grace of god duke of Kraków and Sandomierz, together with our mother lady Gremislava, for the remedy of our soul and those of our relatives, have taken under our and our successors’ special protection, perpetually, lord Tislin, abbot of Szczyrzyc and all his successors and their church constructed in honor of blessed virgin Mary.  We also exempt those towns and their farms/estates in our duchy and those who live in them, or their children or servants or those bound to them, from all charges, payment, fine, or service, which we wish to list in detail, word for word, namely:  Powoz [Powor], Stroze, Poradine, Stroza, Targowe, Przewod [Prziwod] except military, from cows and sheep, even if we should have a stand in their towns, a stand of hunters and hawkers, a stand of cloth-makers and malters/brewers, unless we were in an estate/town of theirs, and from every Pogon [trooping] and expedition, unless pagans or other men were in our land wishing to destroy it, and from the building of castles beyond only the Kraków castle; and we also absolve them from every toll of our duchy except the things which are brought to whichever of their estates in the name of that house.  We also absolve their free men and serfs from the judgment of castellans and all public judges, except what is cited by sealed letter before us and are held to answer before the castellan and palatine of Kraków.  And so that this  donation of perpetual liberty may obtain the strength of stability, we have conferred the present letter on them reinforced by our seal.  In the presence of these nobles, whose names are:  lord Fulco chancellor of the court, Gtethco castellan of Sandecz, Nicholas judge of Kraków, Peter butler of Kraków, Clement son of Mark, Sando subchamberlain of Kraków, Slava his brother, Mistislaw standard-bearer of Kraków, Marc Sesenich, Handancias Alexander, Jacob chaplain of the court and many others.  This was enacted in Grodnicz, in the one thousand two hundred fiftieth  year of the lord, 11 kalends of July.  If anyone should breach this instrument, let him incur the anger of God .

Original letter:

In nomine domini nostri Iesu Christi Amen. Licet cuilibet secundum merita ipsius respondere debeamus, illorum propensius fidele seruicium tenemur pensare, qui professione sancte religionis nostris ministris arccius student inseruire. Notum igitur facimus uestre uniuersitati, quod nos Boleslaus dei gracia dux Cracouie et Sandomirie, una cum dilecta matre domina nostra Grimislaua, pro remedio anime nostre et parentum nostrorum, dominum Tislinum abbatem de Czyrzyc et omnes eius successores et ipsius ecclesiam in honorem beate Marie uirginis constructam, in nostram et nostrorum successorum perenniter proteccionem recipimus specialem. Villas eciam et predia ipsorum in nostro ducatu et eos, qui in iisdem habitabunt, siue liberi, siue serui uel ascripticij, ab omni liberamus exaccione, prestacione, faccione, uel seruitute, quas uulgariter de uerbo ad uerbum uolumus enarrare, uidelicet: Powoz, Stroze, Poradlne, Stroza, Targowe, Przewod preter militale, a uaccis, ab ouibus, eciamsi stacionem habuerimus in uillis ipsorum, a stacione uenatorum et aucupum, a stacione pannificum et braxatorum, excepto si in eorum uilla steterimus, et ab omni Pogon et expedicione, excepto si pagani uel alij homines in terra nostra uolentes eam destruere, steterint, et ab edificacione castrorum preter solum castrum Cracouiense; absoluimus et(iam) eos ab omni telonio nostri ducatus illarum tantummodo rerum, que pro ipsa domo nomine ipsorum ad quamcunque uillam ipsorum deducentur. Absoluimus eciam homines eorum liberos et seruos a iudicio castellanorum et omnium iudicum forensium, excepto, quod coram nobis litera sigillata citati, et coram castellano et palatino Cracouiensi tenebuntur respondere. Ut autem hec donacio libertatis perpetue robur firmitatis ualeat obtinere, eisdem literam presentem contulimus sigillo nostro roboratam. Presentibus his nobilibus, quorum ista sunt nomina: dominus Fulco cancellarius curie, Gethco castellanus de Sandecz, Nicolaus iudex Cracouiensis, Petrus pincerna Cracouiensis, Clemens filius Marci, Sando succamerarius Cracouicnsis, Slaua eiusdem frater, Mistislaus uexillifer Cracouiensis, Marcus Sesenich, Hadancias (s) Alexander, Iacobus capellanus curie et alij quam plures.  Acta sunt hec in Grodnicz, anno domini Millesimo ducentesimo quinquagesimo, XI kalendas Iulij. Si quis autem hoc instrumentum infregerit, indignacionem dei omnipotentis incurrat.

Historical context:

Boleslaw and Gremislava take the new Cistercian foundation at Szczyrzyc under their protection and grant it extensive immunities.  I am grateful to Talia Zajac for the reference to this charter.

Printed source:

Kodeks dyplomatyczny Małopolski, vol. 1: 1178-1386,  Monumenta Medii Aevi Historica Res Gestas Polonii Illustrantia Tomus III continet: Codicem Diplomaticum Poloniae Minoris, 1178-1386 , ed. Franciszek Piekosiński (Kraków: Akademia Umiejętności/Academia Literarum Craoviensis, 1876),  no.31, p.37.  

Date: