A letter from Cunegund of Swabia, Queen of Bohemia (1245)

Translated letter:

In the name of the Lord amen. We Cunegund, by the grace of god queen of the Bohemians, greetings to all who will see this letter. Since the age of man is fleeting but the letter lives, by which life action lives, proved by the witness of letters. Therefore to cut off any measure of ambiguity, let the present age of men know as well as posterity to come in Christ, that we with the consent of our beloved husband king Wenceslas at the request of the illustrious queen Constance have conferred on Lambino, our knight, and his heirs for the debts by which we were bound to him whatever we possessed in out towns of Stremy and Zelcin, with all their appurtenances, meadows, forests, fisheries, hunting grounds, waters, fields cultivated or uncultivated, by whatever name they are assessed, we have conferred to be possessed by perennial right. Lest, however, as time proceeds, this our donation might be changed by our heirs, we have ordered this letter to be written as testimonial evidence and caution, and fortified by the force of our seal. About the rest, which is not part of our donation in those towns, we testify that said Lambino bought them by hereditary right from Bernard Nigrum, citizen of Prague and Pitrolf, chamberlain of the lord king, and Chrabkan, a nobleman. Dated by the hand of Frederick our notary and schoolman of Vysehrad in the year of the Lord 1245, 2nd indiction.fn

Original letter:

In nomine Domini amen. Nos Cunegundis, dei gracia Boemorum regina, omnibus hanc litteram inspecturis salutem. Quoniam labilis est etas hominum, sed vivit littera, qua vivente vivit et actio litterarum testimonio comprobata: Ad resecandum igitur totius ambiguitatis scrupulum noscat tam presens hominum etas, quam in Christo successura posteritas, quod nos cum consensu dilecti mariti nostri regis Wencezlai ad petitionem illustris regine Constantie contulimus Lambino, militi nostro, suisque heredibus pro debitis, quibus eidem tenebamur, quicquid in villis nostris Stremi et Zelchin ad nos pertinebat, cum omnibus suis attinentiis, pratis, silvis, piscationibus, venationibus, aquis, agris cultis sive incultis, quocumque nomine censeantur, iure perhenni contulimus possidendum. Ne autem tempor[e pro]cedente per heredes nostros hec nostra donatio valeat immutari, pro evidenti testimonio et cautela hanc scribi iussimus litteram nostrique sigilli munimine roborari. De residuo autem, quod in eisdem villis ad nostram non pertinebat donationem, testamur dictum L. apud Bernardum Nigrum, civem Pragensem, et Pitrolfum, camerarium domini regis, et Chrabkam, nobilem virum, iure hereditario comparasse. Datum per manum Friderici, notarii nostri ac scolastici Wisgradensis, anno Domini MCCXLV, indicitione II.

Historical context:

The queen confers her holdings in the towns of Stremy and Zelcin on her knight, Lambino, along with what he bought from various people in those towns, to discharge debts.

Printed source:

Codex Diplomaticus et Epistolarius Regni Bohemiae, ed. Gustavus Friederich, Jindrich Sebanek and Sasa Duskove (Prague: 1962), 4.175-76, ep.86.

Date:

1245