A letter from Alphonse of Poitiers (1263)

Translated letter:

To the most excellent and dearest lady and his sister, Marguerite, by the grace of God most illustrious queen of the French, Alphonse, son of the king of France, count of Poitiers and Toulouse, greetings and a will prepared to [do her] pleasure with fraternal love. We have recently received letters of your serenity whose tenor we have fully understood. But since a different narration of the fact generates some perplexity and hesitation in the soul of the hearer, we wish to declare to your ladyship briefly the truth of the thing and the process of the affair that has gone on between the noble men lord Gaston, viscount of Béarn, your relative on one side, and our faithful B., count of Comminges on the other, as far as that affair touches us. First, we want it not to be hidden from you that that land, castle or fortress, over which said lord Gaston and the count of Comminges have been fighting and from which the war between them took its origin, are not in our fiefs or arrière-fiefs, but completely separate from our jurisdiction, dominion, and control. We offer absolutely no help, counsel, or favor in them to the mentioned count of Comminges, in defending or invading those places about which they are contending, nor have we offered any impediment, or do so now or propose to do so, to your said relative claiming, defending, or invading, in those places and lands for which he began to make war, and similarly the count, as may seem expedient to them. Nor have we ever prevented or caused to be prevented that either might acquire friends from our land or elsewhere who might give them help and favor in those places and lands, excepting only if anyone might attempt to perpetrate harm by armed hand in our fiefs over which there has been no contention. Your magnificence should not therefore be surprised if, by our request, we have prevented said viscount of Béarn from entering hostilely with arms into those that concern our fief, since there is nothing within our fiefs that is under contention in whole or in part between him and the mentioned count, especially since we are always prepared and shall be to show the full complement of justice to whoever complains among our men. And we have often told this to said viscount and the oftmentioned count offers himself and always has to stand before us at law without evasion. Whence, having taken counsel at the instance of said count, since he is our liege man, we can not and ought not fail in defending our fiefs which he holds from us. Truly said viscount, having scorned our requests and scorned our prohibition in injury to us and not a little harm to our jurisdiction, attacked our fiefs with arms, where he caused not small harm and perpetrated much damage, for which, though requested by our messengers by letter and by us from our own mouth, he has not yet wished to make amends, which displeases us not undeservedly and will displease us until amends are made. Let the prudence of your highness consider whether because of this [we] or our men [should] be considered to have wronged said lord Gaston de Béarn if, while defending our fiefs not invading others, we have disposed to oppose not so much a just impetus from him but rather perpetrating of the harms which still now he threatens to commit in our fiefs. Truly, since there is mention in your letters about making peace between said nobles, you should not doubt that we have sent letters and messengers especially deputed to treat of a peace between them, but as one of the messengers reported to us, a man worthy of faith, lord Gaston did not show himself favorable and did not wish to appear at the assigned day and place to discuss the peace proposal. Nonetheless, out of reverence for you and for the good of peace that would provide indemnity for poor farmers, who are always entangled in the madness of others, with a willing spirit, we would take care to interpose ourselves to make peace, if we knew it was probable that lord Gaston would show himself tractable. So considering what has gone on, it seems to us and to others that it should displease you if lord Gaston attempts to enter our fiefs hostilely with arms, and we ask you to be displeased by what he has already illicitly attempted and if, let it not be so, he should attempt such [again].

Original letter:

Excellentissime et karissime domine ac sorori sue, Margarite, Dei gracia Francorum regine illustrissime, Alfonsus, filius regis Francie, comes Pictavie et Tholose, salutem et cum dilectione fraterna paratam ad beneplacita voluntatem. Serenitatis vestre litteras nuper recepimus quarum tenorem pleno colegimos intellectu. Sane quia varia facti narracio nunnunquam perplexitatem et scrupulum generat in animo audientis veritatem rei et processum negocii quod vertitur inter nobiles viros dominum Gastonem, vicecomitem Bearnensem, consanguineum vestrum, ex una parte, et fidelem nostrum B., comitem Convennarum, ex altera, quatenus ipsum nos tangit negocium, dominacioni vestre optamus sub compendio declarare. In primis itaque vos volumus non latere quod terra illa, castrum seu fortalicium, pro quibus, dicti dominus Gasto et comes Convennarum sibi invicem adversantur et unde guerra inter ipsos mota traxit originem, de nostris non movent, feudis seu retrofeudis, sed omnino separata sunt a juridiscione nostra, dominio et districtu, et in illis nullum prorsus prestamus auxilium; consilium vel favorem memorato comiti Convennarum,in deffendendo,vel invadendo loca ipsa de quibus est contencio inter partes, nec ullum, impedimentum fecimus aut facimus, nec facere proponimus, quominus prefatus consanguineus vester in illis locis et terris quorum occasione guerra sumpsit exordium possit se vindicare, deffendere vel invadere, et comes similiter, prout sibi viderint expedire, nec unquam inhibuimus aut inhiberi fecimus quominus uterque possit sibi amicos acquirere tam de terra nostra quam aliunde, qui in illis locis et terris eisdem prestent auxilium et favorem, illud solum attendentes ne in nostris feudis, de quibus nulla prorsus mota est contencio, aliqui manu armata attenptent malificia perpetrare. Unde non debet mirari vestra magnificencia si, premissis a nobis precibus, inhiberi fecimus dicto vicecomiti Bearnensi ne in hiis que de nostro movent feudo intret cum armis hostiliter, cum nec in toto nec in parte aliquid in nostris existat feudis propter quod orta est contencio inter ipsum et comitem memoratum, presertim cum nos semper parati simus et fuerimus cuilibet conquerenti de nostris hominibus exhibere celeris justicie complementum, et hoc dicto vicecomiti sepe dux[er]imus intimandum, et sepedictus comes se offerat et semper obtulerit coram nobis absque ullo diffugio stare juri. Unde, deliberato consilio, ad instanciam dicti comitis, cum sit homo noster ligius, in deffendendis nostris feudis, que tenet a nobis, deesse non possumus nec debemus, dictus vero vicecomes, contemptis precibus et spreta inhibicione in nostrum prejudicium et jurisdicionis nostre non modicum detrimentum, feuda, nostra cum armis aggressus est, ubi dampna dedit non modica et maleficia plurima perpetravit, que, licet requisitus tam per nuncios quam per litteras et a nobismetipsis ore proprio, nondum voluit emendare, quod nobis displicet nec immerito et displicebit quousque fuerint emendata. Avertat itaque celsitudinis vestre prudencia an propter hoc [nos] vel nostri dicto domino Gastoni de Bearno reputari injuriosi existere [debeamus], si duntaxat nostra feodadeffendendo, non alia invadendo, minus justo impetui suo necnon maleficiis perpetrandis, que adhuc minatur in nostris feudis se facturum, nimirum, prout licet, disposuimus obviare. Verum quia in vestris litteris de reformanda pace inter dictos, nobiles fiebat mencio, procul dubio vobis constet quod nos litteras et nuncios misimus ad tractandum de pace inter ipsos specialiter deputatos, set, sicut nobis retulit aliquis nunciorum, vir utique fide dignus, dominus Gasto in nullo se prebuit favorabilem nec assignatis die et loco ad tractandum de reformacione pacis voluit comparere. Nichilominus tamem, ob reverenciam vestram et propter bonum pacis utque provideretur indempnitati pauperum agricollarum, qui semper plectuntur quicquid delirent alii, adhuc libenti animo ad reformacionem pacis curaremus interponere partes nostras, si sciremus probabiliter quod dominus Gasto vellet se in hac parte tractabilem exhibere. Consideratis itaque hiis que premissa sunt, videtur nobis et aliis quod vobis displicere deberet si dominus Gasto feuda nostra hostiliter cum armis ingredi attemptaret, et vos rogamus quod vobis displiceat de jam attemptatis illicite et si, quod absit, ipsum contingerit talia attemptare.

Historical context:

On the dispute between Gaston de Béarn and the count of Comminges, see ep.1867 (545.html). Alphonse goes into greater detail about Gaston's aggression and refusal to come to terms in this letter.

Printed source:

Correspondance Administrative d'Alfonse de Poitiers, ed. Auguste Molinier (Paris: Imprimerie Nationale, 1894), Collection de Documents indédits sur l'Histoire de France, 2.526-28, ep.1988.

Date:

1263