A letter of restoration

Translated letter:

Isabella by the grace of God queen of Hungary to all the faithful of Christ who will look at the present page greetings in the author of salvation.  We wish to bring to the notice of all by the contents of the present that Master Alexander son of Theodore of Bábony came to our presence humbly asking:  since lady Maria illustrious queen of Hungary of blessed memory, our dearest [grand]mother-in-law had located her wine-suppliers on the land of that Master Alexander of Bábony, in the county of Somogy, which had long ago been taken violently against justice; that Master Alexander asking most urgently that we deign to restore it to him, having learned the truth about that land.  We therefore acquiescing in the request and prayer of that master Alexander from royal benevolence, not wishing to give further injury and pain on our part towards his right, gave orders to our faithfuls in the chapter of Alba to investigate the fact of said land and write back to us the entire truth about it.  Truly when we afterwards understood from the contents of the letters of that chapter of Alba that the land Bábony had been hereditary and taken from the father of Master Alexander by said lady queen Maria, unjustly alienated, we had the said land of Bábony, sited between a mix of other lands and sufficient for the use of three ploughs, with its uses and appurtenances, namely woods, vineyards, meadows, and hayfields, as the contents of the letters of the Alba chapter declared, given back and restored to that master Alexander and his descendants to be possessed by perpetual right irrevocably.  In memory and perpetual stability of which thing we gave the presents strengthened by the protection of our double seal.  Dated by the hand of the venerable father Peter, bishop of Veszprém, our loyal chancellor of our court, in the thousand two hundred seventy seventh year of the Lord.

Original letter:

(I)sabella Dei gracia Regina Hungarie omnibus Christi fidelibus presentem paginam inspecturis salutem in salutis auctore.  Ad vniuersorum noticiam tenore presencium volumus peruenire; quod Magister Alexander filius Theodori de Babun ad nostram accedens precenciam nobis exposuit humiliter supplicando; ut domina Maria beate memorie Illustris Regina Hungarie, socrus nostra karissima, terram ipsius Magistri Alexandri Babun vocatam, existentem in Comitatu Symigiensi, olim potencialiter contra iusticiam auferendo, super eadem vinidatores suos locasset; rogans idem Magister Alexander instantissimi postulando, quod super facto eiusdem terre scita ueritate, sibi eandem restitui facere dignaremur.  Nos igitur peticioni et supplicacioni ipsius Magistri Alexandri de benignitate Regia condescendentes, eidemque nolentes in suo iure iniuriam et grauamen ex parte nostra ulterius irrogare, fidelibus nostris Capitulo Albensi dedimus in mandatis, vt facta inquisicione super facto predicte terre nobis ijdem rescriberent omnimodam ueritatem.  Verum cum nos postmodum ex tenore litterarum ipsius Albensis Capituli intelleximus euidenter, ipsam terram Babun a patre eiusdem Magistri Alexandri, predicta domina Maria Regina auferente, quondam minus iuste alienatam, et eiusdem hereditariam extitisse; prefatam terram Babun, inter terras aliorum mixtim sitam et vsui trium aratrorum sufficientem, pariter cum suis vtilitatibus et pertinencijs, videlicet siluis, vineis, pratis et fenetis, prout series litterarum Albensis Capituli declarabat, eidem Magistro Alexandro et suis posteritatibus reddi et restitui fecimus iure perpetuo et irreuocabiliter possdendam.  In cuius rei memoriam et perpetuam firmitatem presentes duplicis sigilli nostri munimine dedimus roboratas.  Datum per manus venerabilis patris Petri Episcopi Wesprimiensis, aule nostre Cancellarij, fidelis nostri, anno Domini MoCCo septuagesimo septimo.

Historical context:

A large number of landowners complained in the 1270's that queen Maria had taken land from them.    Isabella’s mother-in-law, Elizabeth, had similarly restored to the palatine Mojs the villages of Kazsok, Béc, Csap, Farnas and Ráksi in the counties of Tolna and Somogy, which he claimed were unlawfully taken from him by queen Maria (Zsoldos, The Árpáds and Their Wives, 42).  Cf.  Isabella’s letter 26193 html, dated 1280, which seems to reaffirm this restoration.

Printed source:

Árpádkori új okmánytár:  Codex diplomaticus Arpadianus continuatus, vols. I-XII, G. Wenzel ed. (Pest-Budapest: 1860-74), 12.206-7, #170.

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