A letter from Peter Raymond

Translated letter:

From this hour forward I, Peter Raymond, son of the woman Beatrice, shall be faithful to you, count William, my lord, son of countess Adela, and to your wife Sancia, daughter of the late countess Almodis, without fraud or any evil trick and without any deception and without artifice in righteous faith.  And from this hour forward I, said Peter, will not deceive/betray you, said count and countess, in your life nor the limbs which are held in your body, not your districts or county, nor your castros or castles or cliffs or hills, developed or barren, earth and honor, allods or fiefs, which you, said count and countess have today and ought to have and will acquire in the future.   And from this hour forward I shall not deceive/betray you, said count and countess in that castrum which is called Figols, nor in those fortifications that are in it or will be in the future.  I will not take it from you nor dispute them with you, nor deceive/betray you about them, not I, said Peter, nor a man or men, woman or women, by my counsel or by my artifice.  And if a man or men, woman or women, who would take from you, or deny all the above or anything from all the above, I, said Peter, from that hour forward would not have peace or alliance nor hold with him or them, her or them, until you, said count and countess have recovered the whole that you will have lost of all the above without deception.  And said castrum and said fortifications of Figols I would not refuse or dispute you by any trick nor [would] anyone for me and with my consent; but I would give you power over it, without deception, you and yours whom you would wish and order, and this as many times as you requested by yourself or through your messengers or messenger.  And similarly I would hold this and keep it in all the above, in which I have power, and all the castles and fortifications which I hold and shall hold or ought to hold through you, without deception, as was said.  And I will be a help to you to hold and have and defend powerfully, without deception, as many times as you requested or commanded by yourself or through your messengers or messenger.  I would not have or hold alliance with your enemies or enemy, male or female, infidel or infidels, to your harm, as far as I knew.  I would not refuse or dispute justice with you by any trick of those or of mine.  I would not reveal your counsel or counsels to your harm, as far as I knew.  I would not make nor hold nor pledge faith to a lord or lords, and if I have done, I would not hold it without your allowing him or them to whom you would allow me freely.

As was written above, so after you I said Peter shall hold and keep it, without deception, to your son or daughter or him or her to whom you would leave the county of Berga (Bergitano) or ought to, in words or by the will you have after your death, and I would take it from his hand and commend myself to his hands and swear such oath to him as I swear today to you; and I would do this within the first 30 days in which you were dead and I knew it, without evil dispute and without any rewards, over the oaths and pledges and fealties and all the aforesaid.  As is written above and below, I shall hold and keep it, without deception, to you, said count and countess, without deception, entirely, except what you absolve me of with willing spirit without any force.  And because of what is written above, I Peter pledge to you, said count and countess, and to the aforesaid after your death, every fief or allod which I have or ought to have or anyone holds through me and I shall hold to that day in your whole land or honor, without deception, as I hold and keep all this to you or after you to them, without deception, as is written.  Which if I should not do and keep as written, the pledge would be forfeit entirely into your power to do what you will with all of it and, after you to them, without trouble from me or others. 

Original letter:

De ista hora in antea ego, Petrus Remundi, filius qui sum Beatricis, femine, fidelis ero ad te, Guilielmum comitem, seniorem meum, filius qui es Adale comitisse, et ad uxorem tuam Sanciam, que fuit filia Almodis, comitisse, sine fraude et ullo malo ingenio et sine ulla decepcione et sine engan per directam fidem. Et de ista hora in antea ego Petrus predicto no dezebre te, comitem, et comitissam predictos de tua vita neque de tuis membris que in corpus tuum se tenent, neque de tuis comitatibus comitatu, neque de tuos kastros aut castellos vel rochas vel puios, condirectos vel heremos, terra et honorem, alodes vel fevos, quos tu, prefate comes, et comitissa hodie habes et habere debes et in antea adquisieris Et de ista hora in antea no dezebre te, prefatum comitem, et comitissam de ipso kastro qui Figols vocatur, neque de ipsas fortezas que in eo sunt aut in antea erunt. No t o tolre ni te n tolre ni t o contendre ni te n engannare ni te n dezebre nec ego, prefatus Petrus, nec homo nec homines, femina nec femine, per meum consilium nec per meum ingenium. Et si homo est aut homines, femina vel femine, qui tibi tollat vel tollant, vetet vel vetent predicta omnia aut aliquid de predictis omnibus, ego, prefatus Petrus, de illa hora in antea finem nec societatem non aure, ne tenre cum illo vel cum illis, cum illa vel cum illas, donec tu, prefate come, et comitissa recuperatum habeas hoc totum, quod perdideris de iam dictis omnibus, sine tuo engan. Et predictum castrum et predictas fortedas de Figols no t vedare nec contendre per ullum ingenium nec ullus per me et meo assensu; set poderos te n fare, sine tuo engan, te et tuos quos volueris et mandaveris, et hoc per quantes vegades lo m recherras o les me recherras per te ipsum vel per tuos missos vel missum. Et si­militer t o tenre et o atendre de predictis omnibus, quibus potents ero, et de omnibus kastellis et fortedis quos per te teneo et tenuero vel tenere debeo, sine tuo engan, sicut predictum est. Et predicta omnia adiutor te sere a tener et ad aver et a defendre potencialiter, sine tuo engan, per quantes vegades me n recherras, o me n comonrras per te ipsum vel per tuos missos vel missum. Et de ipso adiutorio no t engannare ne comonir no me n vedare per ullum ingenium per quantes vegades me n recherras o me n comonras per te ipsum vel per tuos missos vel missum. Societatem non aure ne tenre cum tuis inimicis aut inimico, inimicas vel inimica, infidelibus vel infidele, ad ullum tuum damnum, me sciente, Iusticiam ni dret no t vedare ne t contendre per ullum ingenium nec de ipsis neque de meis. Tuum consilium aut consilia no descubrire ad ullum tuum damnum, me sciente. Seniorem nec seniores no fare ni tenre ni affidare et, si factum eo habeo, no l tenre sine tuo solvemento et illum vel illos, quibus gratis me solveris.

Sicut superius scriptum est, si o tenre et o atendre, sine engan, ego, predictus Petrus, post te ad tuum filium vel filiam vel ad illum vel illam, cui vel quibus comitatum de Bergitano dimiseris vel debitaveris dictis vel testamento quod habeas post mortem tuam, et per suam manum o prendre et manibus ad illum me n comannare et tale sacramentum le n iurare, quale hodie iuro ad te; et hoc faciam infra primos xxx dies quibus mortuus fueris et ego hoc sciero, sine mala contencione et sine alio lucro, de sacramentis et pignoribus et fidelitatibus et predicta omnia. Sicut superius scriptum est et inferius, si o tenre et o atendre, sine tuo engan, ad te, predictum comitem, et comitissam, sine tuo engan, totum, exceptus quantum vel de quanto me n absolvras tuo gradiente animo sine forcia, tam ab forsfactura quam sine forsfactura, et post te quantum vel de quanto predicti me n absolveran suo vel eorum gradiente animo sine ulla forcia. Et propter hoc quod superius scriptum est, mito in pignora ego Petrus ad te, predictum comitem, et comitissa, et ad predictos post mortem tuam, omnem fevum vel alodium quod habeo vel habere debeo aut ullus per me tenet et ad illum diem tenuero in totam terram tuam vel honore, sine tuo engan, ut hoc tibi, vel post te eis, totum teneam et atendam, sine tuo engan, sicut prescriptum est. Quod si non fecero et ita non atendero sicut prescriptum est, incurrat predictum pignus integriter in potestate tua ad faciendum quod volueris de omnibus, et, post te in eorum, sine mea vel aliorum inquietudine.

Historical context:

An oath taken to William Raymond and his wife Sancia. A castrum is an administrative unit with a fortification/castle at the center.

Printed source:

Liber Feudorum Maior, II. 74-75, #564.

Date: