A letter of confirmation

Translated letter:

Elizabeth by the grace of God senior/dowager queen of Hungary to all the faithful of Christ who will look at the present letters, greetings in the savior of all.  We wish to bring to the attention of all present and future by the contents of these, that the noble lady, widow of count/ispán Lawrence on one side, with master John a youth/lad of our house and his brothers, namely Gregory, priest, and count Marcolph on the other, appearing personally before us, sought by the soul’s grace that the possession and village called Berzenych (Berzence) in the county/ispánate of Pozsega, which we had conferred on that noble lady, widow of Lawrence for public services according to the content of our charter with that authority that she would have free will and power to give, sell, bequeath, and hold to herself, that she could sell or not, and that same master John with his brothers were able to buy and obtain with perpetual stability.  We mainly because, since the oftmentioned master John and Gregory the priest renounced the world and vowed to serve god assuming the habit of the cross-bearers and brothers of the houses of the knights of the temple (Templars), since who sows little reaps little, and who sows in blessings reaps eternal life from the blessings, we agreed and allowed said noble lady, widow of count Lawrence and all her people, at will, to sell to master John and his brothers, after mature deliberations and taking counsel of all our barons namely Chak, master of our taverniks, Demetry master of our butlers, Mark master of our stewards/seneschals, and count Sebus judge of our court.  With whom afterwards gathered before us, that same noble lady [widow] of count Lawrence confessed that she had sold said possession called Berzenych with all its uses and appurtenances to said master John and Gregory, priest, and count Marcolph and through them to the house of the Templars for a hundred sixty marks fully paid to be possessed perpetually and irrevocably with our permission, under those boundaries and limits by which that lady held and possessed them according to the content of our charter, giving her charter as well into their hands.  Nor do we omit that from the said 160 marks priest Gregory paid fifty marks, count Marcolph fifty marks from his own, while master John set and gave his possession called Ponsafeldus in the county of Verevice (Werewczee) to that lady to be possessed perpetually for the sixty marks.  We indeed since for our salvation which . . . . . it is fitting to be careful what we do . . . . . and we agreed that those residing in that possession Berzeniche and above it remain with that freedom which all other possessions of the crusaders of the Templar house in the county of Pozsega enjoy, therefore we grant since master John, priest Gregory and count Marcolph feared to give that money also for that same land because it had passed through different hands from our grant through James son of Ponyth (Panyit), then through others.  We assure by our special grace that having thoroughly put off all fear they buy, hold and possess them, with the quibbles of their oppositions giving little support, breaking and invalidating and pronouncing invalid our letters and charters, if they flowed to anyone besides that noble lady, widow of count Lawrence, and those master John, Gregory and Marcolph over said possession.  And we especially break and invalidate the charters and documents of James, son of Ponyth (Panyit), who committed such disloyalty against our majesty that he sowed and aroused not a little discord between lord Ladislaus the illustrious king of Hungary our dearest son and us, when he was in our legation/staff, as we entrusted to him.  And afterwards when we asked him for the royal and our [reginal] possession called Kalman Kiralychey, conferred on him by us, he rose up in pride against royal majesty and ours, cut off the head of our tavernik Paul who had been sent to him and killed him and so completely destroyed that possession of ours Chey, disloyally taking it away from us.  In memory and perpetual stability of which thing we granted the present letters strengthened by the protection of our double seal.  Dated by the hand of the prudent man, Vorbazy, provost of Pozsega chancellor of our court, doctor of laws, chaplain of the lord pope, our beloved and faithful.  In the thousand two hundred eighty sixth year of the lord.

Original letter:

Elisabeth dei gratia maior regina Hungariae universis Christi fidelibus praesentes litteras inspecturis salutem in omnium salvatore.  Ad universorum noticiam tam praesentium quam futurorum harum serie volumus pervenire, quod nobilis domina relicta comitis Laurentii ab una parte, magistro Johanne iuvene domus nostrae una cum fratribus suis, Gregorio videlicet sacerdote et comite Marcolpho ab altera coram nobis personaliter constitutis, quaesitum extitit animae gratia, utque possessionem seu villam Berzenyche vocatam in comitatu de Posaga existentem, quas (!) nos eidem nobili dominae relictae Laurentii pro notoriis servitiis suis secundum continentiam nostri privilegi contuleramus ea facultate, ut donandi, vendendi, legandi, sibique tenendi et omnem voluntatem suam de eadem faciendi liberam habeat facultatem, vendere possit vel non, et idem magister Johannes cum fratribus suis emere seu comparare perpetua stabilitate valeant.  Nos pro eo maxime, quia saepe dicti magister Johannes et Gregorius sacerdos seculo renunciantes et deo servire se voventes habitum cruciferorum et fratrum domorum militiae templi assumendo, quoniam qui parce seminat parce et metet, et qui seminat in benedictionibus, de benedictionibus et metet vitam aetermam(sic); praedictam nobilem dominam relictam comitis Laurentii, sicut etiam suis universis erat vendere ipsis magistro Johanni et fratribus eiusdem, matura deliberatione et habito consilio omnium baronum nostrorum Chak videlicet magistri tavernicorum nostrorum, Demetrii magistri pincernarum nostrorum, Marci magistri dapiferorum nostrorum, et comitis Sebus iudicis curiae nostrae annuimus et permisimus pro voto.   Quibus quidem postmodum coram nobis constitutis, eadem nobilis domina comitis Laurentii confessa est se praedictam possessionem Berzenyche vocatam cum omnibus utilitatibus suis et pertinenciis supradictis magistro Johanni et Gregorio sacerdoti et comiti Marcolpho et per eosdem domui militiae templi pro centum et sexaginta marcis plene receptis vendidisse perpetuo et irrevocabiliter ex nostra permissione possidendam, sub eisdem metis et terminis, quibus ipsa domina secundum continentiam privilegii nostri tenuit et possedit, dando nihilominus privilegium suum in manus eorundem.  Nec hoc praetermittimus, quod de praedictis CLX marci quinquaginta marca Gregorius sacerdos, et quinquaginta marcas comes Marcolphus de suis propriis persolverunt, magister vero Johannes possessionem suam Ponsafeldus vocatam in comitatu de Werewczee existentem pro sexaginta marci eisdem dominae statuit et dedit perpetuo possidendam.  Nos vero quia saluti nostrae quam . . . . . gerimus invigilare oportet . . . . et eadem libertate ipsam possessionem Berzeniche et super eadem residentes permanere concessimus, qua omnes aliae possessiones cruciferorum domus militae templi in comitatu de Posaga perfruuntur, propterea damus, quia magister Johannes, Georgius sacerdos et comes Marcolphus quamdam eciam pecuniam suam pro eadem terra dare formidabant pro eo, quia per diversas manus ex nostra collatione per Jacobum filium Ponyth tum per alios extiterat pertractata.  Nos eadem ex nostra gratia speciali assecuramus, quod omni prorsus timore postposito, et cavillationibus eorumdem contradictorum minime suffragantibus emant, teneant et possideant, cassantes et irritantes et irritas pronunciantes litteras et privilegia nostra, si quae cuicunque praeter praedictam nobilem dominam relictam comitis Laurentii, et praeter ipsos magistrum Johannem, Gregorium et Marcolphum super praedictam possessionem fuerint emanata.  Et specialiter cassamus et irritamus privilegia et instrumenta Jacobi filii Ponyth, qui contra nostram maiestatem talem commisit infidelitatem, quod inter dominum Ladislaum inclytum regem Hungariae carissimum filium nostrum et nos, cum in legationibus nostris, ut de eo confidimus, discordiam seminavit et suscitavit non modicam.  Et postmodum cum possessionem regiam et nostram Kalman Kiralychey vocatam, per nos sibi collatam repetivissemus ab eodem, ipse elatus in superbiam contra regiam maiestatem et nostram tavernicum nostrum Paulum nomine ad hoc ad ipsum destinatum capite detruncavit et occidit, et sic ipsam possessionem nostram Chey funditus destruxit a nobis infideliter se retrahendo.  In cuius rei memoriam perpetuamque firmitatem praesentes concessimus litteras dupplicis sigilli nostri munimine roboratas.  Datum per manus viri discreti Vorbazy praepositi de Posaga aulae nostrae cancellarii, doctoris legum, domini papae capellani dilecti et fidelis nostri.  Anno domini millesimo ducentesimo octuagesimo sexto.  

Historical context:

 The queen settles a question that involves a widow of one of her ispáns and three brothers who bought an estate from her, which subsequently passed to the knights Templar, which two of them had joined. They were hesitant over the sale because she had previously granted it to James, son of Panyit, but then had taken it back after he refused a request from her and had the head of her envoy cut off.  She will later say she was misled by false reports about him (see CDCr, 6, #531, dated 1288).

Printed source:

Codex diplomaticus regni Croatiae, Dalmatiae et Slavoniae, ed. T. Smiciklas (Zagreb, 1904-34), 6.573-76, #485.

Date: