A letter of reward

Translated letter:

Thomasina by the grace of God mother of lord Andrew, illustrious king of Hungary, to all the faithful of Christ who will look at the present writing, greetings in the savior of all.  It is worthy and agreeable to all reason, that vigorous men, who do not fear to subject themselves to the chances of fortune for us, should receive the recompense of rewards from our mercy.  Therefore we wish to bring to the notice of all, present and future, by the content of these that though the loyalties and deserving actions of Count Ladislaus son of Nicholas are well known, and cannot be obscured by any acquired coloring, yet so that in modern times men may be informed by their examples, just as wax receives the impression of an image from a seal; so that we may transmit the traces of the loyalty of that count Ladislaus to those to come who will be born in the future, we wish to lay out in the present some of his actions, though not all.  For when, as we shall tell, lord Ladislaus formerly illustrious king of Hungary entered the way of all flesh, and lord Andrew, our dearest son, not by warring arms, not by violent attacks, not by any human artifice, but only with the favor of divine grace, succeeded to the throne of the kingdom, owed to him by right and order of birth, said count Ladislaus gave most faithful service to our son.   Moreover when John, son of the ban Herric, not fearing to put into external action the desires of depraved thought he had conceived in the secrecy of his heart, but staining himself as well as his descendants with the atrocity of horrifying crime, in which examples of equal crime are feared, he captured that King Andrew, his natural lord, having seized the opportunity violating his faith and loyalty; the said count Ladislaus, in order that the Highness of the King might be seized from the servants of such a wicked detainer, did not cease to show his action and solicitude and when the deceitful cleverness of this violent man feared to release the king from his servants unless he were protected by the security of given hostages, the oftmentioned count Ladislaus freely and spontaneously gave himself as hostage to said John, so that the royal highness might escape the yoke of the horrible captor; nor could that count Ladislaus free himself from said master John otherwise than first having paid two hundred marks for his freedom, nonetheless leaving a certain son of his in his place as hostage; where said boy, from the malicious air fell sick and ended his last day. 

With this, when Mizse, formerly palatine, occupied the castrum of Szekesö against our majesty, the oftmentioned count Ladislaus laudably persisted in the siege and battle of said castrum together with the palatine Nicholas, until that matter, undertaken with a good beginning, came to a happy conclusion.  And thus the said count Ladislaus for his faithful services, for his vigorous actions, for the proofs of his uprightness, is worthy of far greater generosity; yet we agree to some extent to his wish, though it is very little for much, we seem to do humble things for difficult ones, we gave, bestowed and conferred a certain land called Szob, pertaining to our estate at Segesd, with all its uses and appurtenances, to oftmentioned count Ladislaus and through him to his heirs and the successors of his heirs, to be possessed and held peacefully by perpetual right.  In memory and perpetual stability of which thing we have granted the present letters strengthened by the protection of our double seal.  Dated by the hand of the venerable father Paul, by the grace of God bishop of Quinqueecclesiens, our beloved and faithful chancellor of our court, in the thousand two hundred ninetyfifth year of the lord.

Original letter:

Thomasina Dei gracia mater domini Andree Illustris Regis Hungarie, omnibus Christi fidelibus presens scriptum inspecturis salutem in omnium saluatore.  Dignum est et omni consentaneum racioni, vt uiri strenui, qui se fortune casibus pro nobis subiicere non formidant, a nostra clemencia recipiant antidota premiorum.  Eapropter ad uniuersorum tam presencium quam futurorum noticiam harum series uolumus peruenire, quod licet fidelitates actusque meritorij Comitis Ladizlai filij Nycolai notorij sint, nec aliquo quovis possint exquisito colore effuscicari; tamen quia modernis temporibus sic homines per exempla informantur, quemadmodum cera impressionem imaginis recipit ex sigillo; ut fidelitatis ipsius Comitis Ladizlai uestigia ad posteros, qui futuris nascentur temporibus, transmittamus, aliquos ex suis actibus, etsi non omnes, uolumus in presentibus explicari.  Cum enim, ut inde exordiamur, dominus Ladizlaus quondam illustris Rex Hungarie ingressus fuisset uniuerse uiam carnis, et dominus Andreas, karissimus noster filius, non armis bellicis, non insultibus uiolentis, nec aliquo quouis humano ingenio, sed solummodo Diuina fauente gracia, ipsi domino Ladizlao successisset in Regni solium, sibi debitum iure ac ordine geniture, predictus Comes Ladizlaus eidem filio nostro fidelissimos exhibuit famulatus.  Preterea cum Johannes filius Herrici Bani praue cogitacionis desideria in secreto sui cordis concepta foras in opus perducere non formidans, sed atrocitate orrendi criminis tam se quam suos posteros maculando, in quibus paris sceleris exempla metuuntur, ipsum Regem Andream, dominum suum naturalem, captata opportunitate temporis, fidem seu fidelitatem uiolando pollicitam captiuasset; memoratus Comes Ladizlaus, ut Regis Sublimitas posset a laqueis eripi tam improbi detentoris; suam operam et sollicitudinem non destitit exhibere, et cum fraudulenta huius uiolenti astucia a suis laqueis Celsitudinem pauesceret remittere Regiam, nisi securitate datorum obsidum muniretur, sepefatus comes Ladizlaus predicto Johanni liber et spontaneus ac dedit in obsidem, ut iugum detentoris orrendi Regia possit euadere Celsitudo; nec aliter a predicto Magistro Johanne idem Comes Ladizlaus se liberare potuit, nisi ducentis marcis pro sua liberacione primitus persolutis, quemdam nichilominus filium suum loco sui pro obside relinquendo; vbi dictus puer propter maliciam aieris in egritudinem incidens, extremum diem clausit.  Ad hec cum Mize, quondam Palatinus, castrum Zeckchu contra nostram detineret Maiestatem, sepefatus Comes Ladizlaus in obsessione seu expugnacione dicti castri unacum Nicolao Palatino laudabiliter perstitit, donce [donec?] huiusmodi negocium, bono inchoatum principio, fine fuit feliciori consummatum.    Et licet memoratus Comes Ladizlaus pro fidelibus obsequijs, pro strenuis actibus, pro suarum documentis probitatum longe maioribus munificencijs esset dignus; tamen ut uotis eius aliquantisper annuamus, quamuis pro magnis minima, pro arduis exhigua facere uideamur, quandam terram nostram Zub uocatam, ad Segusd predium nostrum pertinentem, cum omnibus sujis utilitatibus et attinencijs universis dedimus, donauimus et contulimus sepefato Comiti Ladizlao, et per eum suis heredibus, heredumque suorum successoribus, iure perpetuo pacifice possidendam et habendam.  In cuius rei memoriam firmitatemque perpetuam presentes concessimus litteras duplicis sigilli nostri munimine roboratas.  Datum per manus venerabilis patris Pauli Dei gracia Episcopi Quinqueecclesiensis, aule nostre Cancellarij dilecti et fidelis nostri, anno Domini MoCCo nonagesimo quinto.

Historical context:

The duchess rewards count Ladislaus with Szob for his loyal services.  He had saved her son, the new king, from his captor by offering himself as hostage, paying a ransom, and then being replaced by his son as hostage, who died in captivity; and he took part in lifting the siege of her castrum of Szekcsö which was held by the rebel Mizse.  A castrum is an administative unit with a fortification/castle at its center.

Printed source:

Árpádkori új okmánytár:  Codex diplomaticus Arpadianus continuatus, vols. I-XII, G. Wenzel ed. (Pest-Budapest: 1860-74), 10.184-86, #122.

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