Assignment of a fief

Translated letter:

This is the agreement which was made between lord Alfonso, by the grace of God king of Aragon, count of Barcelona and marquis of Provence, and the venerable Sancha, his wife, by that same grace queen of those, and Bernard of Pilis and his wife Saurina, and Berengar Compan, brother of said Bernard.  For said lord king and said lady queen entrust to the aforenamed Bernard of Pilis and his wife Saurina, and Berengar Compan, said castrum of Torlanda and give him as a fief what pertains and ought to pertain to that castrum in uninhabited as well as populated lands.  Said castrum has these boundaries:  in the east, the boundary of Benviure and the hill of Malaguait, in the south the border of Cugul as it begins from that hill of Malaguait and descends through that range by a straight line to the little midway port/gate (portella) of Rocafort, in the west it begins from that little port/gate and rises in a straight line through that range which is before the castle of Rocafort and continues to the Guardia of Ermemir, on the side of the northwest, the boundary of Conesa in the Guardia of Tresaric as the waters run towards aforesaid Torlanda.  As they are enclosed and bound by said boundaries and abutments, so we give them to you as a fief and service to us and our people, and what you may do with them for us and ours, armies and cavalcades  and the obligations and courts and assemblies and be our people as a person should be with his good lord.  And in those cavalcades of ours you will lead the men of that castrum and you will always have that tenth, except the tenth of our lordship, entirely half, for we retain the lordship there in good and suitable place as much as diligent equal yokes of oxen could work widely and one of the best dwellings which we choose with a man who will be there as our bailiff.  And we retain this as our allod free and clear without any distraint of yours, command, seizure, or recovery which you and your people will not have there nor on the men staying there.  Similarly we retain half of those tenths/tithes that come to the granary, and that no man may levy tithes within the boundaries of that castrum, not us or our successors, not you and your successors, except the tenth of your lordship which we have entirely conceded to you.  Which prevailing lordship of ours we grant and give you as your own, so that neither we nor our people may receive anything there.  All other revenue from that castrum and what pertains and ought to pertain to it, you will have two parts and we the third.  All recoveries except those we retain for our use you or your people will receive and pay those fees to our bailiff.  And from those allotments that issue thence, you will receive two parts and our bailiff will receive the third part for our use and you will not accept any service secretly nor do anything to our harm from those fees by which we might lose our said part.  Similarly you and our bailiff will make edicts/contracts/establishments (stabilimenta) and if any gain should proceed from them, you will have two parts and our bailiff will take the third part for our use.  We also grant you for those men the straw and grass without great payment, aids, conveyances, and guards, and we similarly.  Over said castrum, in war and peace, you will give us and our people power as often as you are asked by us or ours, at our command, and you will not refuse to be instructed by us or ours.

Moreover, we agree with you in good faith and by our loyalty that we or our successors will never set or establish another lord over you in that castle and its fief, except us and our successors who will hold the county of Barcelona.  We also grant to you that you can defend yourself with that castrum against those men who might wish to take your fief away from you or exert that right, except for us and our successors.  We promise we will defend and maintain said fief and castrum, as a lord ought to defend and maintain his vassal.  This agreement was enacted on the ides of October in the 1178th year of the lord’s incarnation.  Sign + of Alfonso, king of Aragon, count of Barcelona and marquis of Provence.  Sign + of Sancha, queen and ruler (dominatrix) of those.  Si+gn of Bernard of Pilis, we mutually approve and confirm this agreement.  Si+gn of Ramon de Mulnellis.  Si+gn of Berengar de Villafranca.  Si+gn of Arnal of Mataron.  Si+gn of  Ramon of Aquilone.  Si+gn of William of Lavanza.  Si+gn of Bernard de Mecina.  Miro judge, Ramon, deacon.  I William of Bonastre, scribe to the lady queen, who wrote this with letters erased in lines 6 and 7 and placed above in lines 9, 10, and 19, and made this sign.

Original letter:

Hec est conveniencia que est facta inter domnum Ildefonsum, regem Dei gracia Aragonensium, comitem Barchinonensium et marchionem Provincie, et venerabilem Sanciam, uxorem suam, eadem gracia eorumdem reginam, et Bernardum de Pilis uxoremque eius Saurinam, et Berengarium Compan, dicti Bernardi consanguineum. Comendant, namque, domnus rex iam dictus et domna regina dicta prenominatis Bernardo de Pilis et Saurine, uxori sue, et Berengario Compan dicto castrum de Turlanda et donant eis ad feudum ea que ad illud castrum pertinent et pertinere debent tam in terris heremis quam populatis. Habet, autem, terminos predictum castrum : ab oriente in termino de Benviure et in podio de Malaguait, a meridie in termino de Cugul sicuti incipit a podio ipso de Malaguait et descendit per ipsam serram recta linea usque ad portellam miianam de Rocafort, ab occasu sicuti incipit ab eadem portella et ascendit recta linea per ipsam serram que est ante castrum de Rocafort et pervadit usque ad Guardiam <de Ermemir>, a parte, vero, circii in termino de Conesa sive in G[u]ardia de Tresaric sicuti aque discurrunt usque Turlandam iam dictam. Sicut dictis terminis et affrontacionibus predicta concluduntur et terminantur, sic donamus vobis ea ad feudum et servicium nostrum nostrorumque, et quod faciatis inde nobis et nostris hostes et cavalcatas et sequimenta et cortes [et] placita, et sitis inde nostri sicut homo debet esse de suo bono seniore. Et in illis cavalcatis nostris ducatis illos homines ipsius castri, et habeatis semper de illa decima, exceptus decime dominicature nostre, medietatem integriter, nam retinemus ibi domi nicaturam in bono et competenti loco quantum assidue paria iuga boum large laborare poterint, et unum de melioribus mansis quem nos elegerimus cum homine qui ibi stabit qui ibi noster baiulus sit. Et retinemus hec per alodium nostrum francum et liberum sine omni districto vestro, mandamento, adempramento ac estacamento quod vos nec vestri inibi non habeatis nec in hominibus ibi stantibus. Retinemus similiter medietatem illarum decimarum que ad granarium venerint, et quod nullus homo non percipiat decimas in termino ipsius castri nisi nos et nostros successores et vos et vestri, exceptus tamen decime dominicature vestre quam vobis concedimus integriter. Quam, scilicet, dominicaturam adconvalentem nostram vobis concedimus et damus ad vestrum proprium, et quod nos ibi nec nostri aliquid non accipiamus. De omnibus, namque, aliis eximentis que de ipso castro et sibi pertinentibus et pertinere debentibus exierint, habebitis vos duas partes et nos terciam. Estacamenta, autem, omnia, exceptas eorum que ad opus nostrum retinuimus, accipietis vos vel vestri et placitabitis illa placita coram baiulo nostro. Et de illis iusticiis, que inde exierint, accipietis vos duas partes et baiulus noster accipiet ad opus nostrum et nostrorum terciam partem, et non accipiatis in absconso aliquid servicium, nec in damnum nostrum aliquid de illis placitis faciatis per quod nos ibi perdamus partem nostram iam dictam. Stabilimenta similiter facietis vos et baiulus noster et, si aliquid inde lucri exierit, habeatis vos duas partes et noster baiulus accipiat terciam partem ad opus nostrum. Concedimus eciam vobis in illis hominibus paleam et erbam sine tala magna et iovas et traginos et guaitas, et nos habeamus similiter. De iam dicto autem castro, irati et pacati, dabitis nobis et nostris semper potestatem per quantascumque vices inde a nobis vel a nostris mandato nostro requisiti fueritis, et non vetabitis vos inde a nobis vel a nostris commoneri.
Preterea, convenimus vobis bona fide et legalitate nostra quod nos unquam nec successores nostri non mitamus nec constituamus alium dominum super vos in illo castro et eius honore nisi nos et sucessores nostros qui comitatum Barchinonensem habuerint. Concedimus eciam vobis quod possitis vos defendere de ipso castro contra ipsos homines qui voluerint vobis auferre honorem vestrum vel voluerint vobis facere directum, exceptis nobis, tamen, et succesoribus nostris. Promittimus nos et dictum honorem et castrum deffendere et manutenere, sicut senior debet suum vasallum deffendere et manutenere. Acta est hec conveniencia idus octobris anno Dominice incarnacionis MCLXXVIII. Signum+Ildefonsi, regis Aragonensium, comitis Barchinone et Marchionis Provincie. Signum+Sancie, eorumdem regine et dominatricis. Sig+num Bernardi de Pilis.  hanc convenienciam ad invicem laudamus et confirmamus.  Sig+num Raimundi de Mulnellis.  Sig+num Berengarii de Villafranca.  Sig+num Raimundi de Aquilone.  Sig+num Guilielmi de Lavanza.  Sig+num Bernardi de Mecina.  Sig+num Arnalli de Mataron.  Mironis iudicis.  Raimundus, levita atque Barchinonensis decanus  Ego Guilielmus de Bonastre, domine regine scripter, qui hoc cum litteris rasis in linea VI et VII et superpositis in linea VIIII et X et XVIIII scripsi, et hoc signum feci.

Historical context:

The king and queen return the castrum of Torland as a fief to Berengar and Bernard and his wife, who had just donated it to them (26392.html).  A castrum is an administrative unit with a fortification/castle at the center.

Printed source:

Liber Feudorum Maior (LFM), ed. Francisco Miquel Rosell, (Barcelona, 1945), 1.287-89, #263  

Date: