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A grant of land

Sender

Fenenna of Kuyavia

Receiver

Public

Translated letter:

Fenenna by the grace of God queen of Hungary to all the faithful of Christ who will look at the present letters greetings in the savior of all.  It is fitting that reginal excellency give consideration of a good thing and with a view to eternal things raise the cultivation of the divine with the right hand of her generosity,  so that in giving rewards she may commend her author [creator] who gave so much more as the glory of her rank will be seen to be increased by him.  Thus we wish to bring to the notice of all by the contents of these that out of devotion and love of the divine name and of the glorious blessed virgin Mary mother of God, we have given, donated and conferred on the noble and religious ladies, holy sisters of the Island of the Blessed Virgin serving God constantly a certain reginal land of ours called Gumchud in the county of Alba/Fejér with all its uses and all appurtenances, namely meadows, fisheries and three islands, namely Fuen, Dyenus and Zumlov to be held and possessed peacefully in perpetuity by said sisters and through them by right the church of the Blessed Virgin of the Island.  The boundaries of that land, as we saw contained in the letters of the chapter of Buda addressed  to our dearest lord Andrew by the grace of God illustrious king of Hungary are defined in this way:  the first boundary begins from the East beside the Danube and there are two old square markers/boundaries of which one defines the land of the chapter of the church of Buda called Saap, the other the land Gumchud, then it goes to the east to two markers/boundaries of which one defines and separates the land Opoy, thence southward to the great road which goes to the town Okozthov and there are two markers/boundaries.  From there it goes south to two markers of which one divides the land Achad, thence to two markers of which one distinguishes Tetetken, thence northward to two markers of which one divides the land Halasci, from there towards a northern county to two markers which were erected beside the pinnacle of the church of St. Mark, of which one divides the land Dob, from there it goes to the port of the Danube and there are two square markers and so it ends.  In witness of which thing and so that this present donation of ours may obtain the force of perpetual stability, we have granted the present letters strengthened by the protection of our double seal.  Dated by the hand of the venerable father lord Andrew by the grace of God bishop of Eger, our faithful chancellor, in the 1291st year of the lord, seventh kalends of August.

Original letter:

Fenenna Dei gratia regina Hungarie omnibus Christi fidelibus presentes litteras inspecturis salutem in omnium Salvatore.  Decet excellentiam reginalem bone rei dare consultum et eternorum intuitu munificentie sue dextera cultum extollere divinorum, ut in dandis muneribus suum conmendet actorem(!), qui tanto maiora tribuit, quanto per eum dignitatis sue gloriam viderit augmentari.  Proinde ad universorum notitiam harum serie volumus pervenire, quod nos ob devotionem et amorem divini nominis et Virginis Gloriose Beate Marie Genitricis Dei nobilibus sev religiosis dominabus sororibus sanctimunialibus (!) de Insula Beate Virginis Deo iugiter famulantibus quandam terram nostram reginalem Gumchud vocatam in comitatu Albensi existentem cum omnibus utilitatibus suis et atinentiis universis, pratis vdelicet, piscinis et tribus insulis, Fuen videlicet, Dyenus et Zumlov vocatis dedimus, donavimus et contulimus dictis sororibus et per eas ecclesie Beate Virginis de Insula iure perpetuo pacifice possidendam et habendam.  Mete autem ipsius terre, sicut in litteris capituli Budensis domino nostro karissimo Andree Dei gratia illustri regi Hungarie directis vidimus contineri, hoc ordine distinguntur:  Prima siquidem meta incipit a parte orientali iuxta Danubium et sunt ibi due mete veteres angulares, quarum una distingit terram ecclesie capituli Budensis Saap vocatam, alia terram Gumchud, deinde vadit ad partem orientalem ad duas metas, quarum una distingit et separat terram Opoy, inde tendit versus meridiem ad magnam viam, qua itur ad villam Okozthov et ibi sunt due mete.  Abhinc pergit ad partem meridionalem ad duas metas, quarum una separat terram Achad, dehinc procedit ad duas metas, quarum una distingit Tetetken, deinde versus septemtrionem ad duas metas, quarum una separat terram Halasci, abhinc procedit versus plagam septemtrionalem ad duas metas, que sunt erecte iuxta pinachulum ecclesie Sancti Marcy, quarum una separat terram Dob, abhinc redit ad portum Danubii et ibi sunt due mete angulares et sic terminatur.  In cuius rei testimonium et ut hec presens donatio nostra robur obtineat perpetue firmitatis, presentes concessimus litteras duplicis sigilli nostri munimine roboratas.   Datum per manus venerabilis patris domini Andree Dei gratia episcopi Agriensis, fidelis cancellarii nostri, anno Domini MoCCo nonagesimo primo, septimo Kalendas Augusti.

Historical context:

The queen grants a reginal land whose boundaries are spelled out in detail to the nuns of the Island of the Blessed Virgin (also called the Island of Rabbits, today Margaret Island in Budapest), frequent beneficiaries of queenly largesse.

Printed source:

Budapest történek okleveles emlékei.  Monumenta diplomatica civitatis Budapest, ed. D. Csánky (Budapest:  Gárdonyi, 1936), 1.272-73.

Date:

1291, July 26