St. Michael's monastery in Pula, represented by abbot Andrew, exchanges properties with an Urso.
In nomine dominia Iesu Christi, regnante domno Heinrico rexb anno IIII, die XVIIIIc februariid, indictione, Polae.
Item commutaverunt inter se Iohannesf abbas et Adam avocato suo cum Urso filio bone memorię Marięg: dant itaque Andreas abbas de monasterio sancti Michaelis cum Adam avocato suo ad ipsum Ursonem, hoc est terram quę dedit Olmannush et Andreas fratres ad sanctum Michaelem in loco qui vocatur Sancta Afra secus via publica et alterum latus secus terram sancti Thome, et poniti caputj in ortalibus Basilii filiusk bone memorie Constantino, et aliutl caputm in corona et terra sancti Thomę – habeat, teneat ipse Urso et sui eredesn ad proprium.
Et si ego Andreas abbas aut successoribuso meis inquirere voluerimusp ipsam terram, componamus tibi Urso vel heredibus tuis duplum de terra in consimili loco.
Redditq advicem ipse Urso ad supradictum Andream abbatemr et in monasterium sancti Michaelis pro ipsa terra, hoc est omness proprietates quę habuit mater mea in fundo Rumianit quę est tercia porcione et ipsasu mater mea per suum testamentum mihi dedit, quę proprietas fuit de bone memorie Magiperga avia meav – habeat, teneat ad proprietatem sancti Michaelis.
Et si ego Urso aut heredes meiw aut parentes mei inquirere voluerimus et inde ipsam terciam partem de ipsis terris sive soretox quę mihi pertinet subtraerey voluerimus, componamus duplum de terra in consimili loco et hancz commutacionisa' cartamb' permaneat in sua firmitate.
Hactum Polac'.
(SC) Signum manus Andrea de Grisovolad' et Penzo et Andreas filii sui et Iohannes filio bone memorie Amantino et Iohannes frater tabellii.
Et ego Andreas tabellioe' scripsi.
a) om. Kandler. b) domno Heinrico rex] sic B. c) XVIII ed. Margetić. d) ex frebruarii corr. B. e) indictione, Pola] sic B om. numerum indictonis; fort. pro indictione IIII; in C. Pola ed. Kandler. f) Iohannes abbas] sic B: pro Andreas abbas. g) Mariae em. Kandler et saepe sic; Marie ed. Margetić et saepe sic -e loco -ę. h) Almannus ed. Kandler. i) pone ed. Kandler; ponet ed. Margetić. j) campus ed. Kandler; campum ed. Margetić. k) Basilii filius] sic B. l) sic B: pro aliud; ulius ed. Kandler; alius ed. Margetić. m) campus ed. Kandler et Margetić. n) sic B; heredes em. Kandler. o) succoribus ed. Margetić. p) voluerim ed. Kandler. q) ex redit corr. B. r) Andream abbatem] Andrea abbas ed. Margetić. s) omnimode ed. Kandler. t) mariani ed. Kandler. u) ipsum ed. Kandler; ipsos ed. Margetić. v) Magiperga avia mea] sic B: pro Magipergae aviae meae. w) heredes mei] ex heredibus meis corr. B; heredibus meis ed. Margetić. x) sorcio ed. Kandler; sorte ed. Margetić. y) sic B; subtrahere em. Kandler. z) hec ed. Margetić. a') comutacionis ed. Kandler. b') carta ed. Kandler et Margetić. c') Pole ed. Margetić. d') Grisonola ed. Kandler et Margetić. e') tabellius ed. Kandler.
The document survives only as a copy transcribed by a single hand on the same piece of parchment along with a document from 992 - see it edited here.
Based on paleographical evidence (late phase of Carolingian miniscule), the copy was made sometime in the late 11th or 12th century. Perhaps the parchment was once a part of a cartulary that is nowadays lost.
The date of the charter is highly problematic because the copyist forgot to copy the number of the indiction - the document only has "indictione Pola". The only dating element is thus the fourth year of reign of King Henry.
Since the scribe Andrew is mentioned as the composer of both this act as well as the 992 charter featured on the same piece of parchment, the only King Henry that comes under consideration is King Henry II, king of "the Romans" (that is, German king) from 7th of June, 1002, and king of Italy from 15th of May, 1004. If one counts the years of kingship from Henry II's first crowning, the date ends up being 1006 (the fourth year of Henry II's kingship being from the 7th of June 1005 to 6th of June 1006); if, on the other hand, one counts the years only from his Italian coronation, the year ends up being 1008. Which option to choose?
The 992 charter is dated based on Otto III's reign as rex Romanorum; therefore, it would be safe to assume that the regnal years in this charter as well refer to Henry II's first crowning, the one from the 7th of June, 1002. The date would thus be 19th of February, 1006.
Moreover, the year 1006 corresponds to the 4th indiction. The fact that the number of the indiction was omitted could be ascribed to the fact that the copyist saw "IIII" as both the regnal year and the indiction and erroneously only copied it once. This is, of course, a highly conjectural argument.
In any case, both Kandler's and Margetić's dating (1005 and 1007, respectively) must be abandoned.
Finally, two abbots of St. Michael's monastery are mentioned: John and Andrew. Abbot John is mentioned in a charter issued by the bishop of Poreč in 1030 (edited here), whereas only Andrew is mentioned in the charter as the abbot who exchanged lands with the said Urso. There are two possibile solutions to this apparent incongruence: either the copyist made an error and wrote "Iohannes" instead of "Andreas" in the very first line of the dispositio; or it was Andrew who had first exchanged properties with Urso, but the charter certifying this exchange was made only subsequently, under Andrew's successor John. If the latter is the case, than the charter must be defined as a non-dispositive carta, that is, a notitia in the form of a carta.
Su concessione del Ministero della Cultura - Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana. Divieto di riproduzione.
The digital facsimile of B (Venice, Biblioteca Marciana, ms. lat. XIV 101 (=2804), p. 300) is published free of charge by the generous concession of the Biblioteca Marciana di Venezia. We wholeheartedly thank our dear colleagues at Marciana Library for their support of open access scholarship.
Photo by the editor. The editor has subsequently overlaid a red arrow simply to denote the precise line where the hereby edited charter begins.
The image remains under the exclusive copyright of Biblioteca Marciana.