A grant of land

Translated letter:

Elizabeth by the grace of God queen of Hungary to all the faithful of Christ greetings in the bestower of salvation.  Since the truth of things done is sometimes obscured by the course of time, and because of that conflicts and quarrels frequently arise, therefore clever prudence devises that those things were are done, handed over, conferred or given be strengthened by the protection of letters.  Therefore we wish it to be made manifest to the notice of all present and future by the contents of the presents:  that count/ispán Jakó and master Gregory, sons of count/ispán Alexander of Goulog, our faithfuls, coming into our presence, asked us that a certain land of our conditionaries called Zekul, empty and lacking inhabitants in the county of Tolna be given to them.  Truly since the truth about the land was not known to us, we gave orders to our faithful in the chapter of Fejér (Alba) that they write a more full truth about that land to us.  Who finally told us adequately by their letters that that land called Zekul pertained to our granting and had been empty and devoid of inhabitants for a long time, sufficient to the use of two ploughings and that assigning that land to the sons of count Alexander would be opposed by noone.  Indeed we having considered the worthy services and serving functions of said sons of count Alexander, which they gave to lord Ladislaus our dearest consort, illustrious king of Hungary in various expeditions of his reign and to us in various and multiple missions, mostly and especially when we were enclosed in the castle of Buda for fear of the Tartars along with faithful barons and youths of our house and citizens of Buda, in the sight of our majesty, [they] rushing laudably against the Tartars, enemies of our kingdoms, not at all fearing the danger of death in the zeal of tireless loyalty, we gave, conferred and donated to said count Jakó and Gregory the named land called Zekul, with all its uses as our conditionaries long residing in that land possessed and held equally, with the counsel of our barons, to be possessed irrevocably by perpetual right.  Therefore so that this donation of ours may continue always safe and irrevocable, and can not be withdrawn in the future by the malignant accusation of anyone, we have granted the present letters strengthened by the protection of our double seal.  Dated by the hand of the venerable father lord Peter, bishop of Veszprém, chancellor of our court in the year of the Lord 1285.

Original letter:

Elisabeth Dei gratia Regina Hungariae vniuersis Christi fidelibus salutem in salutis largitore.  Quia per cursus temporum nonnunquam rerum gestarum veritas obscuratur, et per hoc lites et iurgia frequenter suscitantur, ideo solers adinuenit prudentia, vt ea, quae aguntur, traduntur, conferuntur seu donantur, litterarum patrocinio roborentur.  Proinde vniuersorum praesentium futurorumque notitiae tenore praesentium volumus fieri manifestum:  quod Comes Iako, et Magister Gregorius filii Comitis Alexandri de Goulog, fideles nostri, ad nostram accedentes praesentiam, quandam terram conditionariorum nostrorum Zekul vocatam, vacuamque et incolis carentem in Comitatu Tolnensi existentem petierunt a nobis sibi dari.  Verum quia de terra nobis veritas non constabat, fidelibus nostris Capitulo Albensi dedimus in mandatis, vt super ipsam terram nobis veritatem rescriberent pleniorem.  Qui demum nobis per suas litteras sufficienter intimarunt, quod eadem terra Zekul vocata ad nostram collationem pertineret, et esset a multo tempore vacua et habitatoribus destituta, sufficiens vsui duorum aratrorum, et quod in assignatione eiusdem terrae filiis eiusdem Comitis Alexandri per neminem fuisset contradictum.  Nos siquidem consideratis meritorys obsequys et obsequiosis seruitys praedictorum filiorum Comitis Alexandri, quae Domino Ladislao carissimo Consorti nostro, Illustri Regi Vngariae in diuersis expeditionibus Regni sui et nobis in varys et multiplicibus legationibus defferendis, maxime autem et specialiter cum in Castro Budensi inclusae propter metum Tartarorum fuissemus, simul cum fidelibus Baronibus ac Iuuenibus domus nostrae, ac civuibus Budensibus, intuentibus nostrae maiestatis oculis, irruentes contra Tartaros Regni nostri capitales inimicos, mortis periculum nullatenus formidantes studio indefessae fidelitatis laudabiliter impenderunt, praedictam terram Zekul vocatam, cum omnibus vtilitatibus suis, prout conditionarii nostri dudum in eadem terra residentes possidebant pariter et tenebant, de Baronum nostrorum consilio dedimus, contulimus et donauimus Comiti Iako et Gregorio memoratis, irreuocabiliter iure perpetuo possidendam.  Vt igitur haec nostra donatio salua semper et irreuocabilis praeexistat, nec etiam per aliquorum suggestionem malignam valeat in posterum retractari, praesentes concessimus litteras duplicis sigilli nostri munimine roboratas.  Datum per manus venerabilis patris Domini Petri Episcopi Veszprimiensis, Aulae nostrae Cancellarii Anno Domini MCCLXXXV.

Historical context:

In recognition of their service to protect the royal couple from the Tatars, the queen, after checking on the status of the land, bestows an uninhabited land in Tolna on two brothers in her service.

Printed source:

Codex Diplomaticus Hungariae ecclesiasticus ac civilis, ed. G. Fejér (Budae, Regiae Vniversitatis Vngariae, 1829—44), 7.109-11, #377.

Date: