A letter from Henry III (01/15/1224)

Translated letter:

The king to all whom the present letters reach, greetings. You should know that for the faithful service of our beloved and faithful H[ugh] count of La Marche and Angoulême, that he might henceforth serve us faithfully and diligently, and that all claims and quarrels made on his part and that of his wife, Isabel the queen our mother, be put to rest until the end of four years from Easter in the 8th year of our reign, we have granted to said count and to Isabel, the queen his wife, our mother, the tin-mine of Devon and the revenues of Ailesbury to hold to the end of those four years. We have also granted them 3000 pounds Tournois which they asked for, to be received from us at La Rochelle within three years from said Easter, in that same year 1000 pounds Tournois, half within a month from said Easter, the other half within a month from the next feast of St. Michael, and so on from year to year to the term, until they are paid. We have also granted them for the claim they made on Niort, 100 marks per year, 100 marks to be received from us at La Rochelle each year at said times as long as that queen, Isabel, our mother, wife of that count, shall live. And if the king of the Franks should make war on our land of Poitou within the said four years, we shall give reasonable aid to that count to defend our land. And if that queen, wife of that count, should die before the count her husband, within the term of the said four years, we nonetheless grant to that count the lands which he now holds in Poitou until the end of said four years except the lands of our men and our knights, which that count took while he was serving us; and except the wardship of Mausiac with its appurtenances. We have also granted to that count that he may hold the land he has in the island of Oleron in the county of Angoulême, and the castle of Cognac. Our beloved and faithful H. de Burgh, our justiciar, the count of Salisbury, count W. Marshal, swore in our name at our order that we will faithfully observe these and they swore for themselves that they will faithfully employ their power to see that these are firmly observed. In testimony of which we have had these our letters patent made. With me as witness at Westminster, on the 15th day of January, in the 8th year [of our reign], before the lord archbishop of Canterbury, and the bishops of Durham, of London, of Lincoln, of Bath, of Salisbury, and of Rochester, and H. de Burgo, justiciar, the counts of Salisbury, Marshal, Warenne, and William Brewer, and other magnates of England.

Original letter:

Rex omnibus ad quos presentes littere pervenerint, salutem. Noveritis quod nos pro fideli servicio dilecti et fidelis nostri H. comitis Marchie et Ingolisme, et ut decetero nobis serviat fideliter et diligenter, et ut sopiantur omnes demande et querele nobis mote ex parte sua et I. regine uxoris sue, matris nostre, usque ad finem quatuor annorum a Pascha anno regni nostri viij, concessimus eisdem comiti et I. regine uxori sue, matri nostre, stagnariam Devonie et redditum de Ailesbiry, habendos usque ad finem ipsorum quatuor annorum. Concessimus etiam eis tria milia librarum Turonensium quas petunt, recipiendas a nobis apud Rupellam imfra tres annos a predicto Pascha, anno eodem, scilicet, quolibet anno mille libras Turonensium, medietatem videlicet imfra unum mensem a predicto Pascha, et aliam medietatem imfra unum mensem a proximo sequenti festo Sancti Michaelis, et sic de anno in annum ad eosdem terminos, donec persolvantur. Concessimus etiam eis pro demanda Niorti quam nobis fecerunt, licet centum marcas non valeat per annum, singulis annis centum marcas recipiendas a nobis apud Rupellam ad predictos terminos quamdiu ipsa I. regina, mater nostra, uxor ipsius comitis vixerit. Et si forte rex Francorum nos guerraverit de terra nostra Pictavie imfra predictos iiij annos, nos racionabile auxilium eidem comiti faciemus ad terram nostram defendendam. Et si forte ipsa regina, uxor ipsius comitis, antequam idem comes vir ejus, obierit imfra terminum predictorum quatuor annorum, concessimus ipsi comiti terras quas nunc tenet in Pictavia nichilominus tenendas usque ad finem predictorum quatuor annorum, exceptis terris militum et hominum nostrorum, quas idem comes cepit occasione servicii nostri; et salva nobis custodia Mausiaci cum pertinenciis suis. Concessimus etiam eidem comiti quod teneat terram quam habet in insula de Oleron nomine comitatus Ingolisme, et nomine castri de Conniaco. Juraverunt autem nomine nostro per preceptum nostrum dilecti et fideles nostri H. de Burgo, justiciarius noster, comes Sarresburiè, comes W. Marescallus, quod ista firmiter observabimus, et pro se ipsis juraverunt quod fideliter posse suum adhibebunt quod hec eadem firmiter observentur. In cujus rei testimonium has litteras nostras patentes fieri fecimus. Teste me ipso, apud Westmonasterium, xv die Januarii, anno etc. viij, coram domino Cantuariensi archiepiscopo, Dunolmensi, Londoniensi, Lincolniensi, Bathoniensi, Sarresburiensi, et Roffensi episcopis, et H. de Burgo, justiciario, comitibus Sarresburie, Marescallo, Warennie, et Willelmo Briwer et aliis magnatibus Anglie.

Historical context:

The record of a public letter granting Hugh and Isabel certain properties during a four year truce and promising payment for them within those four years, during which Henry expects Hugh to defend his land if it is attacked by the French king.

Printed source:

Patent Rolls of the Reign of Henry III, 1 A.D. 1216-1225 (London: Mackie, 1901), 422.

Date:

01/15/1224