An agreement of retribution

Translated letter:

We E[lizabeth] by the grace of God senior queen of Hungary, duchess of all Slavonia, Macsó and Bosnia, give as a record that when master Kemyn son of the palatine Lawrence on one side and James son of count/ispán Conrad of Óvár on the other, appeared before us in person, that master Kemyn confessed aloud that they (he and James) agreed about the captivity of said James and the harms and removal of horses and other things of his through the arbitration of the palatine Matthew and other of our barons and because of the closeness of relation between them, that to the said James for the sum of money namely eighty seven marks with which he had redeemed himself from him with silver in kind (in specie) and for four select horses which were noted in the kingdom, he would be held to pay forty marks of silver, which indeed [were] the quantity of the sum of money owed namely eighty seven marks and forty marks for those four horses, which in total make one hundred and twenty seven marks, which he would pay in the presence of the chapter of Pecs (Quinqueecclesiens) in the three following installments, namely in the second week after Pentecost he would pay forty two marks and on that same day before said chapter he will offer an oath with forty-five men similar to himself (his peers) to the effect that forty-five horses he captured with said James he did not receive nor hold, nor did those serving him receive or hold them as far as he knew. Also he will pay forty two marks on the octave of St. James the apostle. Also he will make the final payment, namely forty three marks and pay it on the octave of St. Michael the archangel. Having made and completed the whole payment, said Kemyn will go into the prison of Pozsega with fifty persons of nobles similar to himself for five days or he will remain alone in that prison fifty days. After he comes out of the prison he will be freed and master Conrad, father of said James with his lady consort and their son James will come to his possessions in Baranya similarly with fifty persons of noble men with loosened sword belts and bare feet and be held to entreat said count Conrad and his lady consort and also their son James rendering himself culpable.  Similarly having declared this expressly that if he missed the dates in making payments or omitted any of the previous articles which he assumed with voluntary will, then his possessions, namely half the town Tharda, the town Hothkuch, and Mihalkerequi and the town Zyrlykh named in the county/ispánate of Baranya will be assigned to the hands of the oftmentioned master Conrad and his son James for three hundred marks and will be established to be possessed until they are redeemed for those three hundred marks by that Kemyn through suitable men with appropriate terms assigned.  Dated in the town of Beremen, the third day after the feast of Easter (Passce).

Original letter:

Nos E. [= Elisabeth] Dei gratia regina maior regni Vngarie ducissa totius Sclavonie, de Macho et de Bozna damus pro memoria, quod magistro Kemyno filio Laurentii palatini ab una parte et Jacobo filio comitis Corradi de Owar ex altera coram nobis personaliter comparentibus idem magister Kemynus confessus est viva voce, ut super captivitate dicti Jacobi et dampnis necnon ablatione equorum et aliarum rerum eiusdem cum dicto J. [= Jacobo] per arbitrium Mathey palatini et aliorum baronum nostrorum ac propter proximitatem cognationis inter eos existentis taliter concordassent, ut eidem Jacobo pro summa pecunie videlicet octaginta [!] septem marcis, cum quibus se ab ipso redemit cum argento in specie et pro quatuor electis equis, qui in regno noti erant, quadraginta marcas argenti solvere teneretur, quas quidem summe pecunie quantitates videlicet octaginta [!] septem marcas et quadraginta marcas pro ipsis quatuor equis debitas, que in universo centum et viginti septem marcas faciunt, solvet coram capitulo Quinqueecclesiensi in tribus terminis infrascriptis, scilicet in quindenis Pentecostes solvet quadraginta duas marcas et eodem die coram dicto capitulo cum quadraginta quinque hominibus sibi similibus prestabit sacramentum super eo, quod XLta quinque equos, cum memoratum Jacobum captivavit, nec ipse receperit, nec haberet, nec etiam servientes sui ipso sciente recepissent vel haberent. Item XLta duas marcas solvet in octavis Beati Jacobi apostoli. Item ultimas solutionem, videlicet XLta tres marcas faciet et persolvet in octavis Beati Michaelis archangeli. Facta autem et completa totali solutione prefatus Kemynus inibit carcerem de Posoga cum quinquaginta personis nobilium sibi similium quinque diebus vel solus in eodem carcere quinquaginta diebus permansurus. Postquam autem de carcere exiverit liberatus et magister Corradus pater sepedicti Jacobi cum domina consorte eius ad possessiones suas in Barana existentes venerit similiter cum quinquaginta personis nobilium virorum solutis cingulis et nudis pedibus antedicto comiti Corrado et domine consorti eius necnon Jacobo filio eorundem reddendo se culpabilem tenetur suplicare. Hoc nichilominus expresse declarato, quod si in faciendis solutionibus terminos preteriret vel aliquos ex premissis articulis, quos ultronea assumsit voluntate aliquema obmitteret, extunc possessiones sue, scilicet medietas ville Tharda, villa Hothkuch, item Mihalkerequi et villa Zyrlykh nuncupate in comitatu de Barana existentes ad manus sepedicti magistri Corradi et sui filii Jacobi pro trecentis marcis assignabuntur et statuentur possidendo, donec pro ipsis trecentis marcis per ipsum Kemynum per viros ydoneos competentibus terminis assignatis redimantur. Datum in villa Beremen, posta tertio die post festum Passce.

Historical context:

The queen records an agreement between a wronged noble and the man who had wronged him, and spells out the amount and schedule of the payments to be made, the prison time to be served, and the consequences of failing to carry out the promised terms.  Conrad is one of the four noble captains appointed by Elizabeth to reorganize Baranya county at the request of local nobility, according to Zsoldos, The Árpáds, 152; cf. Epistolae, 26319.html, RD 95, #142.

Printed source:

Az Árpád-házi hercegek, hercegnök és a királnék okleveleinek kritikai jegyzéke, Regesta ducum, ducissarum stirpis Arpadiana, ed. E. Szentpétery, A. Zsoldos (Budapest 2008), 92-93, #138.

Date: