A grant of land

Sender

Isabella/Elizabeth of Anjou

Receiver

Public

Translated letter:

Isabella by the grace of God queen of Hungary to all the faithful of Christ who will look at the present page greetings/salvation in the savior of all.  The institutions of orthodox faith command that mother church be revered by all God worshipers (Christians), in which the teaching/discipline of those always singing psalms/hymns is tended and ordered by faith to grow and increase in number so that as that mother of religion and the place of prayer to be venerated with all faith should be numbered by witness of law, so its goods deputed/appointed to Christ for the use of those serving it should be preserved, so that it may carry on continually unbroken.  But ours alas, by which the venerable most holy church of Veszprém to be embraced with all reverence of devotion is reduced to the poverty of extreme loss by the invasions of the malevolent, so that the number of those officiating is not only diminished but rather reduced almost to nothing.  To its restoration and worthy renewal indeed to be established as it  had been, both  for reverence and purity of the catholic faith and particularly for the rights/laws of patronage, which we are known to possess as it were, we should rise especially in it with every effort while the worship of the divine in the most holy church seems to transcend most laudibly all immensity of things, by witness of investigated right/law the immensity of royal generosity has the claim by title.  Therefore so that the said venerable church of Veszprém which is subject to us alone by right of patronage, as was said above, ought to be restored to its former state and as is expedient to be reformed as suitable by divine mercy, we have conferred on that church for the certain use of the chapter because of its losses, the people of our wine-givers in the Kál valley beside Balatinum in the county/ispánate of Zala with all its appurtenances, as pertains to our county and estate of Segesd in various towns beside Balatinum in common mixed with other peoples of the king and churches, except the five dwellings of the wine-givers in the town Pechel [given] to the virgin sisters of St. Catherine from the Veszprém valley for the remedy of the soul of the lord king Stephen of good memory our dearest father-in-law long ago conferred at the request of lord Ladislaus illustrious king of Hungary our dearest consort and the multiple and deserving urgings of the venerable father Peter bishop of Veszprém to be possessed in perpetuity with the will and pleasure of all our barons.  In memory and perpetual stability of which thing we have granted the present letters to the church strengthened by the protection of our double seal.  Dated by the hand of the venerable father Philip bishop of Vác chancellor of our court in the 1276th year of the Lord, third nones of August, fourth indiction.  

Original letter:

Isabella Dei gratia regina Hungarie omnibus Christi fidelibus presentem paginam inspecturis salutem in omnium salvatore. Ortodoxe iubent fidei instituta matricem a cunctis fore deicolis ecclesiam reverendam, in qua colitur et precipitur fidei dissciplina Deo psallentium semper in numero concrescere et augeri, ut sicut ipsa religionis mater et omne fidei oratorium venerandum iuris testimonio recensetur, sic et eius bona Christo in eadem famulantium usui deputata serventur, ut expedit iugiter inconcussa. Sed nostra, proh dolor, per quam venerabilis sacrosancta Vesprimiensis ecclesia omni devotionis reverentia amplexanda sic ad extreme exinanitionisa inopiam est deducta incursibus malignorum, quod nedum eam officiantium est numerus imminutus, quin ymo pene ad nichilum est redactus. Ad cuius restaurationem et redintegrationem condignam ymo potius ad erectionem quasi primariam tum propter reverentiam et catholice fidei puritatem, tum specialius propter iura patronatus, que nos quasi possidere dinosscimur, potissimum in eadem debemus assurgere toto nisu, dum iuris testimonio explorati omnem rerum immensitatem laudabilius transcedere videatur in sacrosanctam divini cultus ecclesiam plurima rerum immensitas regalis largitionis titulo prerogata. Ideoque ut venerabilis Vesprimiensis ecclesia antedicta, que nobis solis iure patronatus est subnixa, prout superius est expressum, in statum pristinum valeat instaurari et sicut expedit, divinis miseriis abilius reformari, eidem ecclesie ad usum certum capituli pro suis dampnis contulimus populos vinidatorum nostrorum in valle Kaal existentium iuxta Balatinum in comitatu Zaladiensi cum suis pertinentiis universis, sicut ad comitatum seu clicium nostrum Segusdiense pertinebat in variis villis iuxta Balatinum promiscue cum aliis regis ecclesiarumque populis intermixtim exceptis quinque mansionibus vinidatorum in villa Pechel sororibus Beate Katerine virginis de valle Vesprimiensi pro remedio anime domini regis Stephani bone memorie soceri nostri karissimi iam dudum collatis ad petitionem domini Ladizlay illustris regis Hungarie karissimi consortis nostri multiplicique et meritoria instantia venerabilis patris domini Petri Wesprimiensis episcopi de voluntate et beneplacito omnium baronum nostrorum perpetuo possidendas. In cuius rei memoriam firmitatemque perpetuam presentes eidem ecclesie concessimus litteras duplicis sigilli nostri munimine roboratas. Datum per manus venerabilis patris Ph. [= Philippi] Vachiensis episcopi, aule nostre cancellarii anno Domini Mo CCo septuagesimo sexto, IIIo Nonas Augusti, indictione quarta. 

Historical context:

The queen claiming it as her duty and prerogative confers the wine-growers of the Kál valley apparently with the land they inhabit on her church of Veszprém which has been devastated by attacks.  

Printed source:

Az Árpád-házi hercegek, hercegnök és a királnék okleveleinek kritikai jegyzéke, Regesta ducum, ducissarum stirpis Arpadianae necnon reginarum Hungariae critico-diplomatica, E. Szentpétery, A. Zsoldos (Budapest, 2008), 108, #167.

Date:

1276, August 3

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.7916/07a1-w766

This is an archived work created in 2024 and downloaded from Columbia University Academic Commons.