A letter of exchange in reparation

Translated letter:

Maria, by the grace of God queen of Hungary to all the faithful of Christ who will look at the presents, greetings in the savior of all.  We wish to bring to the notice of all by the contents of the presents that since our dearest lord and consort Béla, illustrious king of Hungary had conferred on count Michael brother of Buzad the possession of Pucyna, son of Urban, called Lobor with a castle built in it, later Cheh, son of that Pucyna came to us and asserted that said possession Lobor and the castle were unduly taken from his father and asked that it be restored by our mediating grace.  It is true that since the donation made without reasonable cause to said count Michael was not then revoked by the lord king, we noting the services of said Cheh which he performed in the kingdom and outside the kingdom faithfully fighting in our legations, the land of Dobouch in Pozsega coming immediately into our hands after donations made from that came to us from time to time from its possessors with the forest called Zoaberke extended In that quantity with respect to the latitude of that land of Dobouch, we conferred it in exchange of his said land Lobor and its castle on said Cheh and his heirs, if he should have them, to be possessed perpetually. Moreover, when a marriage was celebrated between that Cheh and Elizabeth, widow of Demetrius, lady-in-waiting of the consort of lord John, our dearest kinsman, at our urging, from our generosity we committed this grace that if Cheh should die without the solace of heirs before his said wife, then that wife would possess said land Dobouch with its uses as long as she lived, after her death it would revert in perpetual possession to  the family of said Cheh as his heirs with full right/possession.  The boundaries of that Dobouch and the forest, as in the letters to us from count Philip of Pozsega, to whose investigation we assigned it, are designated thus:  The first boundary begins in the east from the root of a certain stony mountain, where Oroycha and Lypouch meet, thence it comes out in the south at a certain rise (berch), crossing through the river Lipouch to a mountain at whose apex is a land boundary, thence through that mountain it goes to a place where a stone is fixed in the earth for a boundary, thence it goes down again eastward into a valley to the river called Bregorinik, thence by that river it goes southward to a land called Bilote Oroycha, thence going through Bregorinik it goes to a mountain to a certain berekune tree signed with a cross, under which is a boundary at the mouth of a certain valley, then southward to an oak tree signed with a cross, under which is the boundary, thence it turns west and falls into a creek called Zuini, where the coboundary is called Dras and beside that place towards Oroycha is a certain open place called Nadoslaz, belonging to the Dobouch land, thence bending back it rises to a mountain to a hornbeam (gertanfa) tree, under which is a boundary and beside that place on the edge of the forest are three open places belonging to the Dobouch land:  called Bogdasateluke, Boboycha and Vereklaz neighboring the lord of Dras, from said gertanfa tree it goes west descending by the mountain to the creek called Kuhnek, then going up again a little through that creek it goes out to a gertanfa tree where there is a boundary, then crossing by a little field it goes to the nirfa tree signed with a cross, where there is a boundary at a creek called Zkorun, then through that creek southward, where it falls into another creek called Dobouch, through which it goes southward to Zoaberke, at the entrance of which it is separated from the Dras boundary, then westward to a gertanfa, where there is one boundary Pose and another of the Dobouch land, then to a oak (tulfa) tree under which is a boundary, then again to a tulfa, under which is a boundary, thence to a third tulfa tree under which is a boundary, thence to a bikfa, where there is a boundary next to the creek called Skopchonik, through which it goes south from which it goes out to a forked tulfa tree, under which there is a boundary, thence to the Pokolasnik creek, thence it is turned back north and goes out to a village called Lower Urba of the jobbágy* Mortunus and through a field it goes beside the village up to a place where a certain small creek falls into Pokolosnik, thence it goes into a large space up to the Pokolosnik source, where it goes out to a bowl, from which it goes through three pear trees successively into a brech, under which are boundaries, thence it goes back to the Dobouch water, where Kolin is the coboundary; through that water it moves again into a large space and comes out from it above to a nut-tree to a berch over a cherry tree, thence again to the side of the mountain to a certain hill, thence to an old road, by which it goes above a certain vineyard, thence through the brech it goes to the root of the mountain Trichuch, thence it ascends to that mountain to a bowl, where it separates from Kolino, thence it goes to the land of Ivánka son of Drusk to a berch, thence it moves to the east to a place where there is a slope of that berch and there it  descends to two streams which are joined, then it crosses through the brech and rises to another berch, through which it goes lengthwise towards the village of Zochan to a pear, where there is a boundary, thence to a berekunefa, thence through that berch going south from the section of the land Zkrabatnik it reverts to the prior boundary at the root of the stony mountain and there it ends.  Said Cheh also has outside the said boundaries fishing areas in the Chernoch water, of which one is at the end of the field called Wnuhleu, another in Koponicha, and a barrier in the Knesnicha water, again a fourth fishing place in the Luki (Loki?) water, all of which belongs to the aforesaid land Dobouch.  So that the present exchange and grace given by us may obtain the force of stability, we have given the present letters as witness, strengthened by the protection of our double seal.  In the thousand two hundred fiftyninth year.

Original letter:

Maria dei gracia regina Hungarie vniuersis Christi fidelibus presentes inspecturis salutem in omnium saluatore.  Ad uniuersorum noticiam tenore presencium uolumus peruenire, quod cum possessionem Pucyna filii Vrban Lobor uocatam cum castro in eadem constructo comiti Michaeli fratri Buzad noster dominus et consors carissimus Bela rex Hungarie illustris contulisse, postmodum Chech filius eiusdem Pucyna ad nostram accedens presenciam dictam possessionem Lobor et castrum a patre suo ablatum indebite asserebat et sibi mediante nostra gracia restitui postulabat.  Verum quia donacio dicto comiti Michaeli facta sine causa racionabili tunc per dominum regem non fuit reuocata, nos attendentes seruicia dicti Cheh que in regno et extra regnum in legacionibus nostris fideliter deferendis exhibuit, terram Dobouch existentem in Posoga ad nostras manus inmediate spectantem, que post donaciones ex eadem factas ad nos extitit a suis possessoribus sepius deuoluta cum silua Zoaberke nuncupata in ea quantitate, prout latitudo eiusdem terre Dobouch extenditur, in permutacionem sue concambium dicte terre Lobor et castri dicto Chech et suis heredibus, si quos habere poterit, contulimus perpetuo possidendam.  Preterea cum inter ipsum Cheh et Elisabet relictam Demetrii familiarem sociam uxoris domini Johannis cognati nostri karissimi nobis efficientibus sic matrimonium celebratum, ex liberalitate propria hanc duximus graciam faciendam, quod si ipsum Cheh absque solacio heredum prius quam dictam uxorem suam mori contingat, extunc ipsa consors eius dictam terram Dobouch cum utilitatibus suis possideat quoad uiuit, post obitum vero eiusdem ad generacionem dicti Cheh tanquam ipsorum hereditariorum pleno iure deuolvatur perpetuo possidenda. Mete autem eiusdem Dobouch et silue, prout per litteras Philippi comitis de Posoga, cuius inquisicioni commiseramus, nobis constitit, taliter distinguntur.  Prima meta incipit ab oriente in radice cuiusdam montis lapidosi, ubi coniunguntur Oroycha et Lypouch, inde egreditur uersus meridiem in quodam berch transeundo per fluuium Lipouch ad montem, in cuius cacumine est meta terrea, inde per eundem montem uadit ad locum, ubi in terram est fixus unus lapis pro meta, inde declinat iterato uersus orientem in uallem ad fluuium Bregorinik uocatum, inde per eundem fluuium uadit uersus meridiem usque terram Bilote Oroycha uocatam, inde eundo per Bregorinik uadit ad montem ad quandam arborem berekune cruce signatam, sub qua est meta in ore cuiusdam uallis, inde uersus meridiem ad arborem ilicis cruce signatam, sub qua est meta, inde uertitur ad occidentem et cadit in potok Zuini uocatum, ubi commetaneus est quidam Dras nomine et prope illum locum uersus Oroycha est quidam locus apertus Nadoslaz vocatus pertinens ad terram Dobouch, inde reclinando ascendit ad montem ad arborem gertanfa, sub qua est meta et prope illum locum in margine silue sunt tria loca aperta pertinencia ad terram Dobouch:  Bogdasateluke, Boboycha et Vereklaz nominata uicina domini Dras, de predicta arbore gertanfa uadit ad occidentem per montem descendendo ad potok Kuhnek uocatum, inde sursum eundo paulisper per eundem potok exit ad arborem gertanfa, ubi est meta, inde transiens per campusculum uadit ad arborem nirfa cruce signatam, ubi est meta ad potok Zkorun uocatum, inde per idem potok versus meridiem, ubi cadit ad alium potok Dobouch uocatum, per quem uadit uersus meridiem ad Zoaberke, in cuius introitu a meta Dras separatur, inde ad occidentem ad gertanfa, ubi est meta una Pose et altera terre Dobouch, inde ad arborem tulfa sub qua est meta, inde iterum ad tulfa, sub qua est meta, inde ad terciam arborem tulfa sub qua est meta, inde ad bikfa, ubi est meta iuxta potok Skopchonik uocatum, per quem uadit uersus meridiem, de quo exit ad arborem tulfa furcatam, sub qua est meta, inde ad potok Pokolasnik, inde reflectitur ad aquilonem et exit ad uillam Mortunus iobagionis castri Inferior Vrba uocatam et per campum uadit iuxta eandem uillam usque locum, ubi quidam paruus potok cadit in Pokolosnik, inde in magno spacio uadit sursum ad fontem Pokolosnik, ubi exit ad calistam, de qua uadit successiue per tres arbores piri in brech, sub quibus sunt mete, inde reuertitur ad aquam Dobouch, ubi Kolin est commetaneus; per ipsam aquam itur sursum in magno spacio et exit inde supra ad arborem nucis ad berch supra arborem cerasi, inde sursum ad latus montis ad quendam collem, inde ad uiam antiquam, per quam uadit supra quandam uineam, deinde per brech uadit ad radicem montis Trichuch, inde ascendit ad eundem montem ad calistam, ubi separatur a Kolino, inde uadit ad terram Ivance filii Drusk ad berch, inde flectitur ad orientem usque locum, ubi est quasi declinium eiusdem berch et ibi descendit ad duos fontes qui coniunguntur, inde transit per brech et ascendit ad alium berch, per quod uadit in longum uersus villam Zochan ad pirum, ubi est meta, inde ad berekunefa inde per idem berch eundo ad meridiem ex parte terre Zkrabatnik reuertitur ad priorem metam ad radicem montis lapidosi predicti et ibi terminatur.  Habet eciam dictus Chech extra metas predictas in aqua Chernoch loca piscature, quarum una est in fine campi Wnuhleu uocati, altera in Koponicha, item clausura in aqua Knesnicha, item quarta piscatura in aqua Luki, que omnia pertinent ad terram Dobouch antedictam.  Vt igitur presens concambium et gracia per nos facta robur perpetue optineat firmitatis, presentes dedimus litteras in testimonium sigilli nostri dupplicis munimine roboratas.  Anno domini MoCCo quinquagesimo nono.

Historical context:

In response to a complaint from a devoted fighter for the kingdom that land had been unjustly taken from his father, the queen offers a different land in exchange, specifying its boundaries in great detail.  I cannot identify many of the trees and I have not been able to discover what kind of landmark a berch or brech is.

Scholarly notes:

* Jobbágyok designated the legally free tenant population living on private estates, by the late 13th century; originally they had been high ranking royal officers, according to Attila Zsoldos, The Árpáds and Their Wives, Queenship in Early Medieval Hungary 1000-1301 (Rome:  Viella, 2019), 208.

Printed source:

Codex diplomaticus regni Croatiae, Dalmatiae et Slavoniae, ed. T. Smiciklas (Zagreb, 1904-34),  5.148-50, #658.

Date: