A letter from Charles (I) of Anjou (03/1248)

Translated letter:

We, Charles, son of the king of France, count of Anjou and Provence, make known to all who see these letters that since the noble woman and dearest lady and our mother B., countess of Provence, sought from us the usufruct of the land of the whole county of Provence, as was specified in the will of Raymond Berengar of good memory, once count of Provence, her husband, at last it has been resolved amicably between said lady countess and us in this place as follows: that we shall hold said land, excepting the dower of the lady countess and excepting the land which she held when said count died and of which she was then in possession or seisin. And we shall have two parts of all the revenues of the aforesaid land and said lady countess the third part, with the expenses for care of the castros, the seneschal, judges, bailiffs and other officials of our said land and also for war and preservation and defense of the land or recovery of the rights of the land will be from common income of the land's revenues. For all of which our good faith is to be trusted and our word or the oath of the seneschal or of him who will be in our place at the time, if we are not present in the land. Of all the rest of the revenue and fruits of the land said lady countess should have a third, excepting the gifts that she freely makes to us or the countess of Provence, her daughter, our wife, as long as the common income of the land is not diminished by it, and excepting also the following six cases: namely, if we should go to the aid of the Holy Land, if we or our son became a new knight, or if we should marry our daughter, if we made a purchase of land exceeding the sum of 1000 silver marks, if we went to the emperor, or if the emperor came to Provence. About the complaint that she might now make over our crusade, said lady countess should have 2000 Vienne pounds, as long as the payment of this money can not harm us otherwise in a similar case or in the six cases mentioned above, since that lady countess will not assume anything in said complaints about this case or any of the other six. For the aforesaid expenses, that lady countess will not be held [responsible] except in so far as the fruits of the third part which she should have annually as specified extend. In the said third part, that lady countess will realize nothing if she should remarry. For the rest, we appoint the seneschal, judges, bailiffs and other officials of said land as many as we wish, and the seneschal will swear that he will faithfully observe the relevant rights of said lady countess to have the third part and will give the third part over to her, as is disposed above according to the terms noted below, namely: at the feast of the Nativity, the feast of St. John the Baptist, and the following feast of St. Michael, and the next following Purification of St. Mary. Moreover, we will not be held to pay anything to said lady countess for all the arrears of revenues of said land up to the time of this agreement. The debts, bequests, forfeitures and extortions of said dead count which can be legitimately proved will be paid according to what is contained in the will of that count. In witness of which thing we have had the present letters sealed by our seal. Enacted at Pontoise, in the year of the lord 1247 [old style] on the Monday after the Sunday when "Invocavit me" is sung.

Original letter:

Karolus filius regis Francie, Andegavie et Provincie comes, notum facimus universis presentes litteras inspecturis, quod cum nobilis mulier et karissima domina et mater nostra B. comitissa Provincie, a nobis peteret usumfructum terre tocius comitatus Provincie, sicut in testamento bone memorie R. Berengarii, quondam comitis Provincie, viri ejus, continetur, tandem inter dictam dominam comitissam et nos fuit compositum amicabiliter in hunc domum, videlicet: quod nos tenebimus dictam terram, excepto doario ipsius domine comitisse et excepta terra quam ipsa tenebat quando dictus comes defunctus decessit et de qua ipsa tunc erat in possesione vel sesina. Et habebimus duas partes onmium proventuum terre predicte et dicta domina comitissa terciam partem; ita tamen quod expense que fient pro custodia castrorum, pro senescallo, judicibus, ballivis et aliis officialibus dicte terre nostre et etiam que fient pro guerra et pro conservatione et pro defensione terre seu recuperatione jurium terre fient de communi obventione proventuum terre. Super quibus omnibus credetur bone fidei nostre et dicto nostre vel juramento senescalli, aut illius qui loco nostri fuerit pro tempore, si presentes non essemus in terra. De toto autem residuo proventuum et gausidorum terre debet habere dicta domina comitissa terciam partem, exceptis donis que fient gratis nobis vel comitisse Provincie, filie sue, uxori nostre; ita tamen quod communes obventiones terre propter hoc non diminuantur, et exceptis etiam que fient in istis sex casibus: videlicet si iremus in subsidium Terre Sancte, si nos essemus novus miles, vel filius noster novus miles fieret, si filiam nostram maritaremus, si emptionem terre faceremus excedentem summam mile marcharum argenti, si iremus ad imperatorem, vel si imperator veniret in terram Provinciie. Verumptamen de questa tantum modo que fiet ad presens pro cruce nostra debet habere dicta domina comitissa duo milia librarum viennensium, hoc tamen salvo quod solutio istius pecunie non possit nocere nobis alias in casu consimili vel aliis sex casibus supradictis, quia ipsa domina comitissa de cetero in isto casu seu aliquo de predictis casibus nichil percipiet in dictis questis. Pro supradictis autem expensis non tenetur eadem domina comitissa nisi in quantum se extendent fructus tercie partis quam ipsa debet habere quolibet anno ut est dictum. In dicta vero tercia parte nichil percipiet eadem domina comitissa si ipsam maritari contingat. Ceterum nos ponemus senescallum, judices, ballivos et alios officiales dicte terre quoscumque voluerimus, et jurabit senescallus quod jura dicte domine comitisse ad terciam partem quam ipsa habebit, ut supradictum est pertinencia fideliter servabit, et reddet eidem ipsam terciam partem, sicut est superius ordinatum, terminis inferius annotatis, videlicet: ad festum nativitatis, beati Johannis Baptiste, et ad sequens festum sancti Michaelis, et ad festum Purificationis beate Marie proximo subsequentis. Preterea nos non tenemur reddere dicte domine comitisse aliquid pro omnibus arreragiis proventuum dicte terre, usque ad tempus istius presentis compositionis. Insuper debita, legata, forefacta et extorsiones dicti comitis defuncti que legitime probari poterunt solventur secundum quod in testamento ipsius comitis continetur. In cujus rei testimonium presentes litteras sigillo nostro fecimus sigillari. Actum apud Pontycaram anno domini millesimo ducentesimo quadragesimo septimo, die lune post dominicam qua cantatur .

Historical context:

This is Charles's statement of the agreement between himself and his mother-in-law over her claims to all the usufruct of Provence which he acknowledges were left to her in her husband's will. Beatrice agrees to forego her claims to the usufruct and to payment of arrears and Charles grants her one-third of the revenue of the county annually. But Charles's officers did not, according to Beatrice, honor the agreement and she continued to press her claims until the king of France, also her son-in-law and Charles's brother, resolved the dispute in 1257, with Beatrice insisting that the king be responsible for Charles's payments. The legal wrangling began quite early. Five months after the original agreement, a detailed arbitration judgment was handed down by the bishop of Albano and the cardinal of St. Sabine (Viard #7), giving Charles possession of certain castles while recognizing the countess's right to them, "pro bono pacis," for the sake of peace, awarding others to her, declaring him but not his officials free of arrears to be paid to the countess and reaffirming her third of comtal revenues.

Manuscript source:

Archives des Bouches-du-Rhône, B.342.

Printed source:

Francisque Viard, Beatrice de Savoye (Lyon: L'Echo de Savoie, 1942) 72-74, document #6, and Sternfeld, Karl von Anjou.

Date:

03/1248