A grant in recompense

Translated letter:

Elizabeth by the grace of God queen of Hungary.  To all the faithful of Christ to whom the present letters will be shown, greetings in him who is the true salvation of all.  The majesty of princes, sollicitous to provide for individual subjects, should give special care particularly to those who offered themselves with most devoted services to the highness of princes, always prompt and obedient before others.  Therefore we wish to bring to the notice of all present and future by the content of these:  that since count/ispán Lawrence, grandson of Vécs, a noble of the Zovárd kin, from the first times of his adolescence gave and showed many and various services with the highest loyalty and devotion to the most excellent princess lady Mary, illustrious former queen of Hungary, of happy memory, and the most serene lady E[lizabeth] widow of the magnificent prince lord Stephen illustrious king of Hungary, our dearest father-in-law, and finally to our highness, exposing his person to the chances of fortune with various services to those queens and to us:  We, in the function of the rule we accepted, should measure the merits of individuals for their faithful and deserving services given to said queens in their persons [and] to our sublimity; which which are too numerous to list here separately; wishing [to make] some recompense for his services with reginal favor, though he should be raised with greater remuneration and wealth by reginal generosity; yet so that others urged by the example may be inspired more strongly to giving services of loyalty to us in future, we have given, donated, and conferred a certain reginal land of ours called Mocs (Mooch) beside the Danube, in the county/ispánate of Komárom, in the neighborhood of the land called Kónya, and of the nobles of Mocs beside the Danube, in which our heralds/criers resided, with all their usages and appurtenances, namely arable lands, hayfields and meadows, island, fisheries, which are called Tanya in the vulgate, from the fullness of our grace to that count/ispán Lawrence and through him to his heirs and successors of those heirs, to be possessed irrevocably perpetually and peacefully, in that manner and fullness as that land is known to have been possessed in past times by donation and grant of said queens – and from whose generosity it was first conferred, under those boundaries and limits in which our said heralds/criers possessed it from the times of said lady queen Maria without disturbance from anyone.  grant of that land to whomever the times of said lady queen Maria without disturbance from anyone.  Revoking and withdrawing by the authority of the presents all our letters made earlier on the granting of that land by us to whomever if they went against this in the past.  So that the content of this donation of ours may obtain the force of perpetual stability, and cannot be  withdrawn in some respects by anyone in the course of time, we have granted the present letters strengthened by the protection of our double seal.   Dasted by the hand of the venerable father Philip, bishop by the grace of God our faithful, chancellor of our court.  In the 1274th year of the Lord.  Fifth kalends of June.

Original letter:

Elisabeth regina, Dei gratia Hungarie.  Omnibus Christi fidelibus quibus presentes ostenduntur salutem in eo, qui est omnium vera salus.  Maiestas principum de singulorum sibi subiectorum prouisione sollicita, maxime circa illos debet curam specialem impendere, qui se deuotissimis servitiorum meritis Sublimitati Principum promptos et obsequiosos semper pre ceteris reddiderunt.  Proinde ad vniuersorum tam presencium quam futurorum noticiam harum serie volumus peruenire:  Quod quia Comes Laurentius, nepos Veech, nobilis de genere Zuard, a primis adolescentie sue temporibus excellentissime Principisse, Domine Marie quondam inclite regine Hungarie, recordacionis felicis, et Serenissime Domine E. relicte magnifici Principis Domini Stephani illustris regis Hungarie, Socrui nostre carissime, ac demum nostre Celsitudini multos et diuersos cum summa fidelitate et deuotione impendit et exhibuit famulatus, personam in earumdem reginarum obsequiis atque nostris variis fortune casibus exponendo:  Nosque ex officio suscepti regiminis metiri debemus merita singulorum pro fidelibus, et meritoriis ipsius obsequiis dictis reginis in persona earumdem nostre sublimitati impensis; que propter sui multiplicitatem tenore presencium per singula non possunt recitari; volentes eidem reginali cum fauore in aliqualem recompensacionem seruitiorum eiusdem, quamquam amplioribus remuneracionibus et donariis a reginali esset munificencia attollendus; tamen vt alii etiam exemplo inuitati ad fidelitatis obsequia nobis in futurum impendenda fortius accendantur, quamdam terram nostram reginalem Mooch vocatam, in Comitatu de Comarum, in vicinitate terre Konia vocate, et nobilium de Mooch iuxta Danubium existentem, in qua precones nostri residebant, cum omnibus vtilitatibus et pertinenciis suis vniuersis, terris videlicet arabilibus fenetis siue pratis, insula, et piscacionibus, que vulgariter Tanya dicuntur, de nostre gracie plenitudine eidem Comiti Laurentio, et per eum suis heredibus, heredumque suorum successoribus dedimus, donauimus et contulimus iure perpetuo irreuocabiliter pacifice possidendam, eo modo et ea plenitudine, prout idem ipsam terram ex donatione et collatione dictarum reginarum – et ex quarum munificentia primitus sibi collata fuerat, preteritis temporibus dinoscitur possedisse, sub eisdem metis ac terminis, in quibus dicti precones nostri temporibus prefate Dominae Mariae Regine absque inquietacione cuiuslibet possederunt.  Reuocantes et retractantes auctoritate presencium omnes litteras nostras, si que super collacione (sic) ipsius terre quibuscunque per nos primitus facta, in huius contrarium temporibus preteritis processerunt.  Vt igitur hec nostre donacionis series robur optineat perpetue firmitatis, nec per quempiam processu temporis valeat aliquatenus retractari, presentes eidem concessimus litteras, dupplicis sigilli nostri munimine roboratas.  Datum per manus Venerabilis Patris Philippi, Dei gratia Episcopi, aule nostre Cancellarii, fidelis nostri.  Anno Domini MCC. septuagesimo quarto.  Quinto kalendas Iunii.

Historical context:

In recompense for services rendered to herself and the two queens who preceded her, queen Isabella grants to a faithful retainer a land, Mocs in Komárom county, in which her heralds resided.

Printed source:

Codex Diplomaticus Hungariae ecclesiasticus ac civilis, ed. G. Fejér (Budae, Regiae Vniversitatis Vngariae, 1829—44), 6.1.398-400.

Date: