A letter from Marguerite of Provence (c.1280)

Translated letter:

To the very high and very noble prince, her very dear and beloved nephew, Edward, by the grace of God king of England, Marguerite, by that same grace queen of France, greetings and the complete love of an aunt. Very dear nephew, when we did homage to the king of Germany for the land of Provence which belongs to us and our dear sister, your good mother, by rightful inheritance, we made that known to you by master William of Beaufort, our clerk/cleric, and we asked you to help us recover our inheritance. To which you answered that you would help us willingly, for which we thank you as much as we can. We also thank you for the very good counsel you gave us and the three ways/means you suggested we ask from our son. Which counsel we have followed, and we have asked the king our son, who promised us two of the three, that is he will help us and it pleases him that we ask your aid and the aid of our friends who are in [his] kingdom and elsewhere; about the third, that our son the king forbid anyone in his kingdom to harm us, we have not ... yet spoken to him. But since that way/means is easier than any of the others, we do not expect to fail; for since he has the will to help us, it is not likely that he would suffer or want any of his people to harm us. And on pursuing our need/claim ... he sent by letter that he would willingly undertake to make peace between us and the king of Sicily, and begged us that we send you our messengers on this matter; which messengers we sent him with the counsel and will of the king our son and the king our son himself sent his messengers to arrange the peace, and to send to the pope, by messenger, to hold our need as his. But our messengers and our son's came back from the pope without accomplishing anything and although we are inclined to peace whenever it is spoken of, and we wish to recover our right by peaceful means rather than in any other way, the king of Sicily has never shown any will to use peaceful means, nor have we ever seen him, now or earlier, offer anything of substance; but his intention has always been to put off the claim and satisfy us with [empty] words. And when we have shown that our counsel was to go ahead in our claim and to pursue it by other means, the prince, son of the king of Sicily, came to this country and brought words of peace between the king our son and the king of Castile, and the fact that the king of Castile reneged on the agreement that you should arrange this peace and sided with the prince surprised us and many other people, and God grant that good come of it; for which we do not have great hope and for ... which we would not want to obstruct it. We have been advised to delay our claim until ... this treaty that the prince brought is resolved; at the same time we want to provide for and pursue it in such a way that we can ... [our] right in place and time, and work for it with the help of God and the king our son, and you, in whom we trust most in all our needs ... to no one more, after our son. So we beg as dearly as we can that you will help us forcefully in this ... it would be to your honor and your advantage. And send us, if it please you, as quickly as you can by letter what help you would give to accomplish our claim vigorously by this coming Easter, with the help of God and you. And know, fair nephew, that we think that many of our friends on this side advise us ... we find in much ... to help us. May Our Lord keep you. Dated Corbeil le Bremen, the Sunday before St. Lawrence.

Original letter:

A très haut et très noble prince, son très chier et très amé neveu, Eduard, par la grace de Deu roi d’Angleterre, Marguerite, par cele meime grace, reine de France, salut et enterine amor de tante. Très chiers niés, quant no fumes entrées en l’omage du roi d’Alemaigne de la terre de Provence qui apartient à nos et nostre chere suer, vostre bonne mère, par droit héritage, nos le vos feimes à savoir par mestre Guillaume de Beaufort, nostre clerc, et vos requeimes que vos nos pousissés aidier à recovrer nostre héritage. A laquelle chose vos nos respondistes, dont nos vos mercions tant come nos poens, que vos nos aideriés volontiers. Si vos mercions aussi mout du bon conseil que vos nos donastes et des troies voies que vos nos loaste de requerre nostre fil. Lequel conseil nos avons ensuis, et avons requis le roi nostre fil, qui nos a otroié les dues des trois voies, c’est à savoir que il nos aidera, et li plait que nos requerons vostre aide et l’aide de nos amis qui sont en son roiaume et aillors; et de la tierce voie qui est que nostre fil le rois défende que nus de son royaume ne nos nuise, n’avons-nos....encore parlé à lui. De laquele voie, qui est plus legière que nule des autres, nos ne créons mie faillir; car puisque il a volonté de nos aidier, il n’est pas semblans qu’il soffre ne vuille que ses gens nos nuisent. Et sur ce que nos porchacions ensi nostre besoigne....nos manda par sa lettre que il s’entremetroit volontiers de faire pais de nos et du roi de Cécile, et nos pria mout que nos envoiessons à vos nos messages sus ceste chose; lesquex mesages no li envoiames du conseil et de la volenté le roi nostre fil, et meimement li rois nostre fis i envoia les suens messages pour treattier de ceste pais, et manda à l’apostoile, par ses messages, qu’il tenoit nostre besoigne à soue. Mès li mesage nostre fil et li nostre sunt revenu de l’apostoile sans riens faire et ja soit ce que nos nos soions enclinés à pais toutes les fois que l’an nos en a parlé, et qui vousisisiens plus recovrer nostre droit par voie de pais que en autre manière, le roi de Cécile ne fit onques semblant acertes que il eust volonté d’aler par voie de pais, ne ne veimes onques, ne or, ne autrefois, que il offrist chose qui fust convenable de paine; mès a esté tos jors s’antentions et est d’aloigner la besoigne et de mener nos par paroles. Et quant nos avons montré que nostre conseus estoit d’aler avant en nostre besoigne et de porchacier la par autre voie, et sus ce, li prince fil au roi de Cécile est venus en cest païs, et a aporté paroles de pais entre li roi nostre fil et le roi de Castele, dont nos et mout d’autres gens se sont merveillié de ce que li roi de Castelle a lesié les paroles qui se devoient traiter par vos de cete pais, et s’est pris au prince, et Deus doint que biens en vigne; de laquel chose nos n’avons pas graunt espérances, et por....lequel nous ne voudrions mie qu’il fust empéchiés por nos. Nos avons en consoil de metre en délai nostre besoigne jusque tant a....que cest treitiés que li prince a aporté tornera; toute voie, nos nos volons porveoir et porchacier en telle manière que nos puissons....droit en lue et en temps et à oeuvrer li à l’aide de Deu et du roi nostre fil, et de vos, en vos nos fions de totes nos besoignes plus....en nul autre aprè le roi nostre fil. Si vos prions tant chierement come nos poons plus, que vos nos veuillez aidier si efforciément à cest....ce soit à vostre honour et à vostre profit. Et nos mandés, se il vos plet, au plus hastivement que vos porés par vos lettres, quele aide vos nos voudrois faire por pourchascier nostre besoigne vigoreusement à cest pasqueries que vien, à l’aide de Deu et de vos; et d....nos. Et sachiés, beus niés, que nos avons avis que plusors de nos amis per deçà, que il nos advice les....nos trovons en mout....de nos aidier. Nostre Sire vos guart. Danné à Corboeil le Bremen, le dimanche avant la Seint-Lorens.

Historical context:

The dowager queen presses her nephew to support her (and his mother's) claims in Provence against Charles of Anjou, king of Sicily and widower of their sister Beatrice. (Cf. Eleanor of Provence, ep.209, Epistolae 656.html.) Beatrice had been her father's heir but the other sisters were left a share of the land, which they were never able to possess. Marguerite had done homage to Rudolph of Hapsburg for her share, but European alliances involving the pope, the king of Germany, the king of Sicily and the king of Castile, kept shifting, usually to the detriment of the sisters' claims. The son of Charles of Anjou, Charles of Salerno, is the prince who was sent to negotiate with Alfonso X of Castile. The letter is in French.

Printed source:

Lettres de Rois, Reines et Autres Personnages des Cours de France et D'Angleterre, ed. M. Champollion-Figeac (Paris: Imprimerie Royale, 1839), 1.252-54, ep.199

Date:

c.1280