Sold – 1170 AD: The Year Thomas Becket Was Murdered
Medieval Manuscript From the Reign of a Crusader King, Transferring Ownership of a French Vineyard.
It was the year Thomas Becket was murdered and a Spanish monk founded the Dominicans. There was a Crusader king in Jerusalem, and it would be another 17 years before that city would be taken by Saladin. The King of France was Louis VII, who donned the cross and went on the...
It was the year Thomas Becket was murdered and a Spanish monk founded the Dominicans. There was a Crusader king in Jerusalem, and it would be another 17 years before that city would be taken by Saladin. The King of France was Louis VII, who donned the cross and went on the Second Crusade. Count Raymond of Toulouse (1148-1194) controlled the Languedoc region of France, which was already noted for its distinctive culture. The following document is a piece of this Medieval tapestry, one of the few survivors from that remote age. Of great interest are the facts that vineyards are the subject of the transaction (the city of Causse is in the middle of the Southern French wine country, near Bordeaux and Roquefort), and the likelihood that some of the people involved were Crusaders (as only men of substance, such as knights, would have bought and sold land like this, and many knights would have followed their king on Crusade).
An oblong document on vellum dated April 8, 1170, for land in the city of Causse, France, between Ramundus de Podio and Bernardo Carle. “In the Name of God, I, Ramundus de Podio, son of Petri de Podio, in consultation with and agreement with my brother Arnaldus de Podio sell to you, Bernardo Carle and to your son, Petri Carle, all the rights in the title that I myself, Ramundus and my brother Arnaldus have and hold in the tithing of Saint Mary of Causse and that piece of land we own in the tithing of Saint Mary of Airoux…There are three dozen virgates which adjoin on the southwest side the land of the Abbot and monks of Soricinus, and we call this fief Devise…and an area of vines which adjoins the land of the Abbot of Soricinus and a quarter of the wood called Devise…and another area of vines at Podaque which adjoins to the south the public road, and another part of this is cottage land called Carles…and an area at Ysola with vines which adjoins on the north side of the vines of the Coserants and is in the middle of the land of Duralforas which adjoins on the southwest the land of the Abbot of Soricinus, and for the aforementioned title included in this sale Bernardus Carles has given Ramundus de Podio aforesaid 40 shillings of Toulouse and to this sale the aforesaid Ramundus and Arnaldus de Podio are guarantors…This agreement made the day before the Nones [9th] of April in the house of Peter of Causse to which the witnesses are Arnaldus Matfredus and Hugh of Castille and Arnaldus of Coserans and Peter of Causse and Peter Arnaldus of Spoez, copied by Ramundus Claretus at the command of Ramundus de Podio aforesaid and Bernard and Peter Carle, the year of Our Lord MCLXX in the reign of Louis King of France and Ramundus, Count of Toulouse and of Bishop Hugh.” A remarkable document, older by 150 years than Medieval documents generally seen offered in the U. S., with tremendous detail down to the names of the parties and witnesses (even including the name of the scribe in whose hand the document was written). A Bernardo de Podio was at this time a member of the Knights Templars; perhaps these de Podios had a similar connection. The document is in Latin with a full transcription and translation. At the top can be seen the lower half of some capital letters, indicating that there was another copy written above this which contained the tops of the letters. This would have been kept in a public record office, and the two copies could be fit together by the letters to prove their connection in case there was ever any question about the document.
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