Sender
Ingeborg of Denmark, queen of France
Receiver
Celestine III, pope
Translated letter:
As it is the belief/faith and wish of all, that the church, successor of the prince of the apostles, have the power of God disposing in all things, the more securely the perversions of evil men may be referred to it, the more frequently those who pursue grace and are supported by its protection are rescued from impious actions. I, therefore, who was taken from my paternal home and brought to the kingdom of the French and, with the Lord disposing, raised to the royal throne, because my happiness was envied by the enemy of the human race, am thrown down to earth like dry and useless wood, destitute of comfort and counsel. My spouse, Philip king of the French, abandoned me, [though] he did not find what he could condemn in me, except what he fabricated in malice on the anvil of lies. That would have been conveyed to your ears in person, if I did not know that it was already spread by rumor through the whole people. I flee therefore, miserable, to the seat of mercy that, having obtained mercy, if happier and more clement fortune comes to me, I might thenceforth declare me [your] handmaid, given over to your service forever.
Original letter:
Cum sit omnium fides et votum, apostolorum principis successorem ecclesiam Dei disponendi potestatem in omnibus obtinere, eo securius ad eum sunt referenda quae sunt iniquorum hominum depravata, quod frequentius ab impiis actibus eruuntur qui gratiam assequuntur et patrocinio fulciuntur. Ego igitur a domo patris educta et in Francorum regnum inducta, disponente Domino, regali solio sublimata, felicioribus successibus meis invidente humani generis inimico, in terram velut lignum aridum et inutile dejecta, omni sum solatio destituta atque consilio. Dereliquit me sponsus meus Rex Francorum Philippus, in me non inveniens quid condemnaret, si quod malitia in incude mendacii fabricasset. Illud autem esset praesentibus in vestris auribus prosequendum, si non scirem jam illud fama volante in toto populo divulgatum. Confugio igitur misera ad sedem misericordiae, ut, misericordiam consecuta, filiam vestram, si felicior atque clementior fortuna successerit, me deinceps profitear ancillam, diebus omnibus vestris obsequiis mancipandam.
Historical context:
Philip, who had himself divorced from Ingeborg on the grounds of consanguinity three months after the wedding, has had the queen confined in the abbey of Cisoing, in the diocese of Tournai, from which she laments to the pope.
Printed source:
HGF19, Epistolae Sancti Guillelmi Abbatis S. Thomae de Paracleto 7, p.314
Date:
1195
