A letter of donation

Translated letter:

Maria by the grace of God queen of Hungary to all the faithful of Christ who will look at the present writing greetings in the savior of all.  We wish to bring to the notice of all present and future by these contents, that when the lord King received from the monastery of St. Martin of the holy mountain of Pannonhalma the castrum Kyssin which is now called Vyuar, he was held to provide to that monastery in exchange of that castrum and we also would have received from that monastery for certain urgent necessities of ours eighthundred marks of fine silver, and would have spent [them] for nobles against the power of the Tartars (Mongols);  we conferred certain possessions of ours, namely the new village near Wag, with three other villages pertaining to it, namely Sceredahel, Lubo, and Putuorch to said monastery of St. Martin both for exchange of the castle Kyscin and for the eighthundred marks received from that monastery at the will of the lord king and at our pleasure with all their uses and appurtenances in those boundaries in which we possessed them and in that freedom according to which we held them, to be possessed by perpetual right; and whenever we were asked by the abbot of that monastery, we had the oftmentioned possessions with the golden bull of the lord king assigned to that monastery by our faithful master Muthmerius, provost of Scepes, our chancellor.  That this our donation and grant may have the strength of perpetual stability, and not be able to be revoked as invalid, we have granted our present letters strengthened by the protection of our double seal.  Dated in the thousand twohundred sixtythird year from the incarnation of the Lord.

Original letter:

Maria Dei gracia Regina Hungarie vniuersis Christi fidelibus presens scriptum inspecturis salutem in omnium Saluatore.  Ad vniuersorum noticiam tam presencium quam futurorum harum serie volumus peruenire, quod cum dominus Rex de Monasterio Sancti Martini de Sacro Monte Pannonie castrum Kyssin quod nunc Vyuar nuncupatur, recepisset et in concambium eiusdem castri eidem monasterio prouidere teneretur, et nos eciam ab eodem Monasterio pro quibusdam necessitatibus nostris vrgentibus octingentas marcas fini argenti receperimus, et contra vim Tartarorum pro nobilibus expenderimus; quasdam possessiones nostras, videlicet nouam villam iuxta Wag existentem, cum aliis tribus villis ad ipsam pertinentibus, videlicet villa Sceredahel, villa Lubo et villa Putuorch predicto Monasterio Sancti Martini tam pro concambio castri Kyscin, quam pro octingentis marcis ab eodem monasterio receptis ex voluntate domini Regis et nostro beneplacito cum omnibus utilitatibus et pertinenciis suis in eisdem metis, in quibus nos possedimus et in eadem libertate, secundum quod nos tenuimus, perpetuo iure contulimus possidendas; et quandocunque per Abbatem eiusdem Monasterii fuerimus requisite, sepedictas possessiones cum aurea bulla domini Regis eidem monasterio per fidelem nostrum magistrum Mothmerium Prepositum de Scepes Cancellarium nostrum fecimus assignari.  Vt autem hec nostra donacio seu collacio robur perpetue obtineat firmitatis, et nec per quempiam possit in irritum reuocari, presentes litteras nostras duplicis sigilli nostri munimine concessimus roboratas.  Datum anno ab Incarnacione Domini millesimo ducentesimo sexagesimo tercio.

Historical context:

The queen records her donation as part of her contribution to the defense of the country against the Mongols.   A letter of her husband's, dated 1259, states that "our dearest consort, lady Maria queen of Hungary asked us urgently that a certain deserted mountain in the woods of Pilis be given to her to construct a castrum for the defense of widows and orphans against Tartar hostility, which was a daily threat" (BTOE, 68-69,  #51: carissima consors nostra, domina Maria regina Hungarie quendam desertum montem, in silva Pelys existentem, pro castro construendo ad defensionem viduarum et orphanorum a nobis instanter petiit sibi dari contra hostilitatem Tartaricam, que cotidie formidabilis imminebat).   A castrum is an administrative unit with a fortification/castle at the center.
Zsoldos (The Árpáds, 43), notes that the estate of Újhely (also known as Újfalu, Nova Villa) in Nyitra county, to which also belonged Lubó, Patvbaróc, and Szerdahely, was granted by Maria and Béla IV from the queen’s lands to the monastery of Pannonhalma.

Printed source:

Árpádkori új okmánytár:  Codex diplomaticus Arpadianus continuatus, vols. I-XII, G. Wenzel ed. (Pest-Budapest: 1860-74), 3.42-43, #32. 

Date: