A letter from Henry III (1235)

Translated letter:

The king to his beloved Beatrice countess of Provence, greetings with sincere love. That it pleased you and the noble man, count of Provence, your Lord, to put off the marriage of your daughter at our instance to the feast of St. Martin, as our beloved R. Prior of Hurl. and John clerk of Gattesden on your part related to us, we are very grateful to your love. Desiring you to know that, when we heard your response, we immediately summoned archbishops and certain bishops and others of our magnates, to whom we revealed our will in every way, to marry your daughter. [The rest from the letter to the count.] And they, content with our proposal, consented to it after suitable deliberation. We therefore, with the Lord authorizing, make known to you that wishing to take your aforesaid daughter, given to us as ours, to wife, we will send you our ambassadors who will, on the coming feast of St. Andrew, at Vyonun, meet you and your said daughter and your friends, with full power to complete the aforesaid business and contract matrimony, by the words of the present, between us and your said daughter, as if we were present. We ask you therefore to provide attentively as will be sufficient for you that you can meet, at the aforesaid time and the place fixed, our aforesaid ambassadors, with your daughter and your aforesaid friends, prepared to happily complete the aforesaid business; and to deliver your daughter to our aforesaid ambassadors which will bring her, honorably as is fitting, to us.

Original letter:

Rex dilectae suae Beatrici Comitissae Provinciae salutem cum dilectione sincera. Quod vobis et nobili viro, Comiti Provinciae, Domino vestro, placuit Maritagium filiae vestrae differre, ad instantiam nostram, usque ad Festum Sancti Martini, sicut retulerunt nobis dilecti nostri R. Prior de Hurl. et Johannes de Gattesden Clericus ex parte vestra, est de quo copiosas dilectioni vestrae referimus gratiarum actiones. Scire vos cupientes quod, audito responso vestro, ad nos vocari fecimus incontinenti Archiepiscopos, et quosdam Episcopos, et alios de Magnatibus nostris, quibus voluntatem nostram exposuimus, quam habemus de filia vestra, modis omnibus, ducenda in uxorem. [Et Caetera fere ut supra in aliis litteris.] et ipsi, proposito nostro bene contenti, ad hoc consenserunt post habitam inde debitam deliberationem. Nos igitur, auctore Domino, praedictam filiam vestram, pro nostra nobis dandam, volentes ducere in uxorem, vobis significamus quod missuri sumus ad vos solempnes Nuncios nostros, qui erunt, ad instans Festum Sancti Andreae, apud Vyonun. in occursum vestrum, et praedictae filiae vestrae, et amicorum vestrorum, cum plena potestate consummandi negotium praedictum, ac contrahendi matrimonium, per verba de praesenti, inter nos et praedictam filiam vestram, ac si praesentes fuissemus. Vos igitur rogamus attentius, quatinus interim sufficienter vobis provideritis, ut, ad terminum praedictum, et loco praefixo, praedictis Nunciis nostris occurrere possitis, etiam cum filia vestra, et amicis vestris praedictis, parati negotium praedictum faeliciter consummare; et ipsam filiam vestram praefatis Nunciis nostris liberare, qui eam, sicut decet, honorifice ad nos secum abducant. Teste Rege apud Windesor. decimo die Octobris.

Historical context:

The king sent separate letters to the count and countess of Provence about his impending marriage to their daughter, Eleanor.

Printed source:

Rymer, Foedera, 1.1.119 (3rd ed.).

Date:

1235