A letter from Blanche of Navarre, Countess of Champagne (May, 1201)

Translated letter:

I, Blanche, countess palatine of Troyes, make known to the present and future that I, by my own will, swore to my lord Philip, illustrious king of the Franks, so that he would better believe me and be sure of me, to keep the agreements contained in this document in good faith and to observe them without evil artifice, and I will not initiate proceedings myself or through another, nor shall I allow proceedings to be initiated, which might free me from these agreements by the pope or any cleric or laymen or by anyone else; and if any of them should absolve me, I have sworn that I would not accept it, lest I be therby absolved from the following agreements. These are the agreements: I, by my own will, have sworn that I shall not accept a husband without the counsel and assent and will of my lord Philip, king of the Franks, and that I shall hand over my daughter and my other infant if I were pregnant by my husband count Thibaut. And moreover I shall give over to him the fortresses of Bray-sur-Seine and Montereaux-Fault-Yonne and the surety of all men who are residents in those castles and all the knights who are enfeoffed there, so that if I should reneg on these agreements all the abovementioned men would hold themselves with my lord Philip king of the Franks, and they would help him against me and against every man or woman. My lord of Merrol will give the same surety to the lord king for himself and his castle of Merrol and all the knights enfeoffed of Provins and all the men of Provins, and in the same way all the men of Lagny and Meaux and all the knights enfeoffed there. Count Louis [of Blois] will do homage to me as castle ward (baillio), except for the agreements which I have with my lord Philip, king of the Franks, and I shall have that count Louis swear that if I reneg on said agreements he will hold himself with my lord Philip, king of the Franks, for himself and all the fiefs he held from count Thibaut of Champagne. In the same way I shall have William, count of Joigny, and William count of Sancerre, and Guy of Dampierre, and Gaucher of Conches, and Geoffrey of Joinville, and Hugo count of Rethel, and the count of Grand-Pré and the lord of Traînel and the lord of Marigniac, or their successors, if it should happen that some of them die during the term of these agreements. William, archbishop of Reims received me as [his] woman ward, except for the agreements which I have with my lord Philip, king of the Franks, and the duke of Burgundy will receive me in the same way as [his] woman. I shall carry out these agreements with my lord king of the Franks in good faith and without evil artifice within the days he will name as swiftly as I can and I shall do liege homage to my lord Philip, king of the Franks, as his ward and the fiefs allotted, that I shall keep good faith to him as my lord liege against all who can live and die, and I, in separate years shall give to my lord Philip, king of the Franks, 500 pounds income for the care of Bray and Montereau, namely half on the Nativity of the Lord and the other half on the feast of St. John the Baptist. About the Jews it will be thus: those from whom the land of the lord king was seized (from their bodies) after the death of my husband count Thibaut, I shall hold to the payment and compacts which that count established with those Jews, and I shall not extract anything more from them by force. As approved, etc. Enacted at Sens, in the year of the Lord 1201, in the month of May. Dated by the hand of Walter chancellor. Noted by Alerme.

Original letter:

Ego, Blancha, comitissa Trecensis palatina. Notum facio tam presentibus quam futuris quod ego, mea propria voluntate, jurav[i] domino meo Philippo, illustri regi Francorum, ut melius mihi crederet et ut de me securus esset, has conventiones que in hac carta continentur bona fide tenere et sine malo ingenio observare, nec impetrabo per me vel per alium, vel impetrari sustinebo, quod ab his conventionibus sim liberata neque per apostolicum, neque per clericum, neque per laicum, neque per aliquem alium; et, si exinde mihi fieret aliqua absolutio, juravi quod illam non reciperem, ne me propter hoc absolutam haberem a subsequentibus conventionibus. Iste autem sunt conventiones: Ego, mea propria voluntate, juravi quod sine consilio et assensu et propria voluntate domini mei Philippi, regis Francorum, non accipiam maritum, et quod ei tradam filiam meam et alium infantem meum si ego remansi gravida de marito meo comite Theobaldo. Et praeterea fortelicias de Braio et de Mosterolo eidem tradam et securitatem omnium hominum qui sunt mansionarii in eisdem castell[is] et omnium militum qui sunt exinde feodati, ita quod si ego resilirem ab his conventionibus, omnes supradicti homines tenerent se cum domino meo Philippo, rege Francorum, et juvarent eum contra me ipsam et contra omnem hominem sive feminam. Eandem vero securitatem faciet dominus Merroliarum, domino regi, de se et de suo castello Merroliarum, et omnes milites feodati de Pruvino, et omnes homines de Pruvino, et eodem modo omnes homines de Latiniaco et Meldis, et omnes milites exinde feodati. Comes vero Ludovicus mihi faciet homagium sicut de baillio, salvis conventionibus quas ego habeo cum domino meo Philippo, rege Francorum, et faciam eidem comiti Ludovico jurare quod si ego a predictis conventionibus resilirem ipse teneret se cum domino meo Philippo, rege Francorum, de se et de omnibus feodis, que de comite Th[eobaldo] Campanie tenuit. Eodem modo faciam jurare Willelmum comitem Joviniaci, et Guillelmum comitem Sacricesaris, et Guidonem de Donna Petra, et Galcherum de Castellione, et Galfridum de Jovis Villa, et H[ugonem] comitem de Retest, et comitem Grandis Prati, et dominum Trianguli, et dominum Marigniaci, vel successores istorum predictorum, si aliquos ex eis infra complementum istarum conventionum mori contigerit. Guillelmus vero Remensis archiepiscopus me recepit in feminam tanquam de baillio, salvis conventionibus quas ego habeo cum domino meo Philippo, rege Francorum, et dux Burgundie eodem modo me recipiet in feminam. Has siquidem conventiones, bona fide et sine malo ingenio, domino meo regi Francorum prosequar infra dies competentes quos mihi nominabit, quamcitius potero, et ego faciam domino meo Philippo, regi Francorum, hominagium ligium sicut de baillio et sicut feoda apportant, quod ego portabo ei bonam fidem, sicut domino meo ligio, contra omnes qui possunt vivere et mori, et ego, singulis annis, domino meo Philippo, regi Francorum, reddam quingentas libras provinensium pro custodia Braii et Mosterolii, videlicet medietatem in Nativitate Domini et aliam medietatem in festo sancti Johannis Baptiste. De judeis sic erit: quod illos de quibus terra domini regis saisita erat de corporibus eorum, post mortem mariti mei comitis Theobaldi, tenebo ad censam et pactiones quas idem comes eisdem judeis statuerat, nec ab eis aliquid amplius per vim extorquebo. Quod ut ratum, etc. Actum Senonis, anno Domini MCCI, mense maio. Datum per manum Galteri cancellarii. Nota Alermi.

Historical context:

Blanche declares the details of her agreement with King Philip. The king records the same agreement in a separate document (Longnon, 1.470, ep.7) which mentions that he has received Blanche as his liege for the entire feof of her deceased husband, Thibaut III, his dearest nephew: “de feodo illo integre quod karissimus nepos et fidelis noster Th, quondam comes Trecensis, de nobis tenebat, Blancham uxorem ejus, comitissam Trecensem in feminam ligiam recepimus.”

Manuscript source:

Cartulary of Philip Augustus, Vatican folio 28 verso.

Printed source:

Documents relatifs au Comté de Champagne et de Brie, 1172-1361, ed. Auguste Longnon (Paris: Imprimerie Nationale, 1901) v.1 Les Fiefs, 469, ep.6; also in Evergates, Cartulary, 405-07, #449.

Date:

May, 1201