A gift of land

Translated letter:

In the name of the Lord. We, Ramon by the grace of God count and marquis of Barcelona, and Elizabeth countess by the will of God, are givers to you, Bernard Seniofred and your wife Amaltrude.  It is made known that we are donators to you of something from our allod; it is uninhabited land with slopes and planes, exits and entries, waters with their dispersals, meadows, pastures, woods and uncultivated lands, everything and as much as can be said or named.  All the above came to us by purchase or other authority.  It is in the county of Barcelona and Osona and it is called Conesa.  It abuts:   in the east the boundary of Quodot and from there it goes to the end of the Los Piles by that ridge; in the south it abuts a ridge where it joins that quarter of Gislebert Cheruci and it descends over the guard of Ermemir and goes to the mountain on that ridge before Forès; in the west it abuts the valley that rises in the valley of Alfed; and it rises in the northwest through through that ridge of Avellanos and joins to the end of said Quodot.  What the said abutments enclose, all the above we give to you and your posterity, half in fief and half as allod under this agreement, that you make a defense/fortress  against pagans and other men and give us power over said fortress without deception every time we ask you for that power and make war there and then peace each time with any men we may want to and make no other the lord, not you or your posterity, except us and our successors to whom we shall have left the city of Barcelona by will or word.  And during the life of me, said count, you will similarly give power over said fortress to my agent (comitor*), who will have held all the above through me and you through him;  and after my death, you and your posterity will not give power over said fortress to that agent who will have held all the above through me and afterwards through my son to whom I, said count, shall have left this, until that agent swears to you and your posterity that he will not take said fortress from you, if he should not act as you or yours had acted to him, you would wish to bring him to justice so that he would be judged at law by good men.   If we or any man should attempt to break this gift freely given by us, let him not prevail but pay you all the above doubly; and from then on all the above will remain always undisturbed as written.  This was enacted on the 8th ides of December in the 13th year of the reign of king Philip.  Ramon count, Elisabeth, countess, + we made this gift, heard and approved, signed and asked it to be signed.  Si+gn of William Ramon, seneschal.  Si+gn of Guiribert Guitard.  Si+gn of Bernard Ramon of Gallifa. Si+gn of Ramon Arnald of Pontils. Si+gn of Fulk Ermengald.  Si+gn of Mir Foget.  Si+gn of Ramon Bonuci.  Si+gn of Berengar William.  Si+gn of Ramon Bernard of Pontons.  Si+gn of Berengar Dominic.  Deusdedit,  deacon.  Peter, priest, who wrote this document of gift, with letters erased/razored and written above, under the sign of the day and year noted.  I Bernard Boveri, notary public of Conesa, for Paschasio Martin, rector of the church of this place, namely transcribed with what is written above in the third line where it is said:  “Bernard Seniofred and your wife Amaltrude.  It is made known that we are donators to you” and in the 17th line where it is said:  “afterwards through my son to whom I, said count” and I placed my sign.

Original letter:

In nomine Domini.  Nos Raimundus, gracia Dei Barchinonensis comes et marchio, et Helisabeht, nutu Dei comitissa, donatores sumus vobis, Bernardus Seniofredi et coniugi tue Amaltrudi.  Manifestum est, enim, quod donatores sumus vobis aliquod de alodio nostro; est, namque, terra erma cum pronis et planis, vieductibus et reductibus, aquis cum discursibus, pratis, pascuis, silvis et garricis, omnia et in omnibus quantum dici vel nominari potest.  Advenit nobis iam dicta omnia per comparacionem sive per aliam vocem.  Est, autem, in comitatu Barchinonensi sive Aussonensi in loco qui vocatur Gonesia.  Habet, namque, affrontaciones:  a parte orientis, in termino de ipso Quodot, et inde vadit per terminum de ipsas Pilas per ipsam serram; a parte meridiei, affrontat in serra ubi se iungit ipsa quadra de Guislaberto Cherucii, et descendit super Guardiam de Ermemir et vadit usque ad Serratum in ipsa serra ante Fores; ab occidentis parte, affrontat usque ad ipsum vallem que surgit in valle de Alfed; et ascendit per partem circii per ipsam serram de Avellano et adiungit se usque ad terminum de iam dicto Quodot.  Sicut predicte affrontaciones includunt, iam dicta omnia sic donamus ea vobis et vestre <posteritati**> medietatem per fevum et medietatem per aloudium sub tali conventu, ut faciatis ibi fortedam contra paganos vel alios homines et donetis nobis potestatem de predicta forteda sine nostro enganno per omnes vices quas requisierimus vobis ipsam potestatem et faciamus inde guerram et teneamus inde pacem omni tempore cunctis hominibus quibus voluerimus, et non (f)faciatis inde alium seniorem nec vos nec posteritas vestra nisi nobis et nostris successoribus quibus lacxaverimus civitatem de Barchinona testamento vel verbis.  Et in vita de me, predicto comite, similiter donetis predicta omnia per me et vos per illum; et post mortem meam, vos nec vestra posteritas non donetis potestatem de predicta forteda ad illum comitorem, qui tenuerit predicta omnia per me et postea per meum filium cui ego iam dictus comes lacxavero hoc, donec ipse comitore iuret vobis aud vestre posteritati ut non tollat vobis predictam fortedam, si non (f)faciebat per talem forsfacturam quod vos aut vestri inde habuissetis ei ffactam, unde voluissetis ei facere directum sicut fuisset iudicatum a bonis hominibus per directum.  Quod si nos aut aliquis homo venerit ad inrumpendum contra hoc donum libentissime a nobis factum, nil valeat, sed componat vobis predicta omnia in duplum; et deinceps iam dicta omnia semper sted inconvulsa sicut superius sunt scripta.  Actum est hoc VIII idus decembris anno XIII regni Philipi, regis.  Raimundus, comes, Helisabet, comitissa + qui hoc donum fecimus, audivimus et laudavimus, firmavimus et firmare rogavimus.  Sig+num Guillielmi Raimundi, senescalch.  Sig+num  Guiriberti Guitardi.  Sig+num  Bernardi Raimundi de Gallifa. Sig+num  Raimundi Arnaldi de Pontis.  Sig+num  F(f)ulconi Ermengaudi.  Sig+num  Mironi Fogeti.  Sig+num  Raimundi Bonucii. Sig+num  Berengarii Guilielmi.  Sig+num  Raimundi Bernardi de Pontons.  Sig+num  Berengarii Dominici.  Deusdedit, levita.  Petrus, presbiter, qui hanc scedulam largicionis rogatus scripsit, cum litteris rasis et superpositis, et sub [signo] die et anno quod prenotato.  Ego Bernardus Boverius, publicus notarius Conesie, pro Paschasio Martini, rectore ecclesie eiusdem loci, qui hoc scripsi, scilicet, translatum cum supraposito in tercia linea ubi dicitur:  Bernardus Seniofredi et coniugi tue Amaltrudi.  Manifestum, enim, quod donatores sumus vobis, et in dampnato in XVII linea ubi dicitur:  postea per meum filium, cui ego iam dictus, et meum signum imposui. 
** potestati

Historical context:

Bernard Seniofred had been a viscount of the count of Cerdanya but had rebelled against him, been reconciled, and rebelled again, for which the count of Barcelona rewarded him.  For his rebellions, see Pierre Bonnassie, La Catalogne du milieu du Xe a la fin du Xie siècle (Toulouse:  Université de Toulouse, 1937), 2.621-24.   There are complications in the dating of this charter.  The original must have been issued before 1050 when Elizabeth died, then recopied in 1072 the date given in the LFM edition during the reign of Philip I of France, then copied again in 1311, according to the note attached to the beginning of the document:  "Hoc est translatum bene fideliter sumptum quarto idus februarii anno Domini MCCC undecimo a quodam instrumento, series cuius talis est"  "This was translated, taken faithfully on the fourth ides of February in the year of the lord 1311, from a certain document, whose content is" 

Translation notes:

* DuCange, Glossarium, defines comitor as a level of vassal below viscount and above vavassor, in certain regions, including Catalunya.

Printed source:

Liber Feudorum Maior (LFM), ed. Francisco Miquel Rosell, (Barcelona, 1945), 1.290-91 #265.

Date: