A letter of reward and restoration

Translated letter:

Maria, by the grace of God queen of Hungary to all who will look at the present writing greetings in the lord.  We wish to bring to the attention of all by the contents of this, that when a question was raised between count/ispán Gregory, son of Juhar, a noble of Somogy on one side, and our people from the town of Berény on the other, over a certain land sufficient for the use of seven ploughs, which that count Gregory sought from those people of ours in the name of his hereditary land occupied by Juhar by judicial order; a judicial combat had been held between the parties, set up in the area of combat with champions of each side fighting and battling, with the opinions of upright men mediating.  This settlement took place between them:  that that count Gregory hand over that land which was the subject of dispute to our people and leave it to be possessed in peace, receiving twenty marks of silver as compensation from them.  Afterwards in the course of time, since that count Gregory had faithfully and blamelessly served our lord king and us and Béla duke of all Slavonia and Croatia, our dearest son, we wish to consider the merits of each and to exalt by worthy generosity, as we ought, for the multiple and worthy fidelities of that count Gregory to our lord king, to duke Béla our dearest son and to us . . .  supplied and exhibited by him, then since wishing all the nobles of our kingdom to render devoted works of loyalty more promptly, we caused the lands and possessions of those which had been unduly or unjustly occupied, to be given back and restored with  fuller grace, oftsaid . . . . . as we mentioned, the matter of dispute that had arisen which by the form of said settlement had ceased according to our right, at the pleasure, agreement, will and consent of our lord king, and of duke Béla, aforementioned, we gave back, restored and caused to be given up to the said count Gregory and through him to his heirs and the successors of his heirs in the name of his hereditary land, by Ipoth, count/ispán of Segesd our faithful, to be possessed with full right in peace and perpetuity; remitting and discharging by special grace, the said twenty marks which that count Gregory had received from our said people in the form of the arranged settlement to him for his services, adding moreover that neither the said people of the village of Berény nor anyone could, should, raise any question of dispute against the oftmentioned count Gregory or his successors over the change of land or the  said money. 
The first boundary of which land, as it stood according to the count Ipoth’s report to us, begins from the boundary of hereditary land of that count Gregory, called Juhar, from the southern part under the tul tree, where two land boundaries were erected, which boundaries, proceeding northward separate that land from the land Zyman and Osscenag, thence proceeds eastward by a small mountain and comes to a valley which is called Fertes, to land boundaries situated under that tul tree, thence runs eastward and comes to a pear tree, crossing a road by which it goes to Zyman to land boundaries under it, then turns back a little to the south to earth boundaries in a certain valley, thence eastward in a thicket which is called mega, at the end of which next to a road it comes to land boundaries which are called sceghatar, and thence proceeding a short way beside that road eastward it comes to land boundaries, from there crossing that road to the south it comes to boundaries erected under a gumulchyn bush, going on from there it comes to a small mountain to land boundaries, thence descends to a valley and comes to land boundaries towards the south, proceeding from there to earth boundaries where the hereditary boundaries of the named land of said count Gregory of Juhar are designated, and there they end.  So that this restitution of oftmentioned land may obtain the force of perpetual stability, and cannot be revoked by anyone in the course of time, we have conferred the present letters strengthened by the protection of our double seal.  Dated by the hand of Lawrence, provost of St. Irene of Syrimiensis (Szerémseg?) our beloved and faithful vicechancellor of our court, in the thousand two hundred sixty eighth year from the incarnation of the lord, 16 kalends of April.

Original letter:

Maria, dei gracia regina Hungarie omnibus presens scriptum inspecturis salutem in domino.  Ad vniuersorum noticiam harum serie volumus peruenire, quod cum suscitata questione inter comitem Gregorium filium Juharus, nobilem de Simigio ab vna parte, populos vero nostros de villa Berin ex altera, super quadam terra ad vsum septem aratrorum sufficiente, quam idem comes Gregorius ab eisdem populis nostris nomine sue terre hereditarie de Juharus occupate ordine iudiciario requirebat, duellum adiudicatum inter partes extitisset, tandem constitutis in area duelli et certantibus seu dimicantibus pugilibus vtriusque partis, mediantibus proborum virorum studiis, inter eos composicio huiusmodi interuenit:  quod idem comes Gregorius ipsam terram, super qua contencio vertebatur, eisdem populis nostris dimisit et reliquit pacifice possidendam, recipiendo viginti marcas argenti in forma composicionis ab eisdem.  Postea vero processu temporis, cum idem comes Gregorius domino nostro regi, nobis et Bele duci tocius Sclauonie et Croacie, karissimo filio nostro, fideliter et inreprehensibiliter seruiuisset, nosque singulorum merita ponderare et dignis extollere munificenciis volumus, ut debemus, tam ob meritorias et multiplices fidelitates ipsius comitis Gregorii domino nostro regi, duci Bele karissimo filio nostro ac nobis . . . . . impensas et exhibitas per eundem, tum quia volentes vniuersos regni nostri nobiles ad inpendenda fidelitatis opera nobis reddere prompciores, terras et possessiones ipsorum, que ab ipsis indebite aut iniuste extiterant occupate, eisdem reddi et restitui fecimus de gracia pleniori, sepedictam . . . . . vt premissimus, litis materia fuerat suscitata, que eciam per formam composicionis predicte nostro iuri cesserat, ex beneplacito, conniuiencia, voluntate et consensu domini nostri regis, ac ducis Bele predictorum, memorato comiti Gregorio et per eum suis heredibus heredumque successoribus nomine sue terre hereditarie, reddidimus, restituimus et resignari fecimus per Ipoth comitem Seguestiensem fidelem nostrum pleno iure, pacifice et perpetuo possidendam, predictas viginti marcas, quas ipse comes Gregorius a prefatis populis nostris in forma premisse composicionis receperat, eidem pro seruiciis suis remittentes et relaxantes de gracia speciali, eo insuper adiecto, quod nec predicti populi de villa Berin contra sepefactum comitem Gregorium aut successores suos, nec aliquis alteracione terre vel pecunie prenotate, vnquam aliquam mouere possint vel debeant questionem.  Cuius terre prima meta, sicut eodem Ipoth comite nobis nunciante constitit, incipit a meta terre hereditarie ipsius comitis Gregorii Juharus vocate a parte meridionali sub arbore tul, vbi due mete terree sunt erecte, que mete procedendo versus aquilonem separant ipsam terram a terra Zyman et Osscenag, deinde procedit versus orientem per vnum monticulum et peruenit ad unam vallem, que vocatur Fertes ad metas terreas sitas, sub eadem arbore tul, inde discurrit uersus orientem et peruenit ad unam arborem piri, transeundo unam uiam, per quam itur ad Zyman ad metas terreas sub eadem, deinde parum flectitur uersus meridiem ad metas terreas in quadam valle, inde tendit uersus orientem in uno uirgulto quod dicitur mega, in cuius fine iuxta unam uiam peruenit ad metas terreas, que dicuntur sceghatar et deinde parumper procedendo iuxta eandem uiam uersus orientem peruenit ad metas terreas, abinde autem transeundo ipsam uiam uersus meridiem peruenit ad metas sub dumo gumulchyn erectas, deinde autem procedendo ad unum monticulum peruenit ad metas terreas, deinde descendit ad unam uallem et uenit ad metas terreas uersus meridiem, abhinc procedendo ad metas terreas, ubi distinguntur mete hereditarie terre comitis Gregorii memorati Juharus nuncupate et ibi terminantur.  Vt igitur, hec restitucio terre sepedicte robur optineat perpetue firmitatis, nec processu temporis possit per quempiam reuocari, presentes litteras contulimus dupplicis sigilli nostri munimine roboratas.  Datum per manus Laurencii prepositi sancti Yrenei Syrimiensis aule nostre vicecancellarii dilecti et fidelis nostri, anno ab incarnacione domini MoCCoLXo octauo, XVI, kalendas aprilis.

Historical context:

The queen returns land that had once been in dispute between an ispán and some of her people, a dispute decided for the people by judicial combat, back to the ispán for services rendered to the royal family, letting him keep the money that had been paid for the land.   She specifies the boundaries of the land in detail.

Printed source:

Codex diplomaticus regni Croatiae, Dalmatiae et Slavoniae, ed. T. Smiciklas (Zagreb, 1904-34),  5.460-62, #927.

Date: