King Henry IV (or III) confirms the jurisdictions and immunities of the Bishopric of Poreč.
In nomine domini nostri Iesu Christi, amen. Anno a nativitate Eiusdem millesimo ducentesimo octuagesimo sexto, indictione quarta decima, die iovis quarto decimo mensis martii. Cum venerabilis pater dominus Bonifatius Dei gratia episcopus Parentinus vocasset coram sua presentia in ecclesia Parentii omnes clericos, tam civitatis quam diocesis Parentii, presentibus dictis clericis qui voluerunt et potuerunt comode interesse, presentibus quoque multis de populo, tam viris quam mulieribus civitatis et diocesis Parentii, legi fecit infrascriptum privilegium et precepit mihi Beltramo notario infrascripto quod illud privilegium autenticarem et publicarem et in publicam formam redigerem, ita quod perpetuo valeat et teneat et ei fides adhibeatur tamquam publice, autentice et originali scripture, cuius privilegii tenor est:
In nomine sancte et individue Trinitatis.
Heinricusa divina favente clementia Francorum et Longabardorum rex.
Si ecclesiarum Dei curam gerimus easqueb diligere studuerimus, nostri imperii fastidiumc augmentari minime ambigimus.
Quocirca omnium sancte Dei Ecclesie fidelium nostrorumque presentium scilicetd ace futurorum noverit universitas, qualiter * Alemarus sancte Parentine ecclesie episcopus nostram postulavit clementiam, * quatinus nos pro Dei amore nostreque anime remedio nostra preceptali auctoritate omnia predia sue ecclesie, que antea a nostris antecessoribus imperatoribus, regibus pro suarum animarum remedio prefate ecclesie donaveruntf, qua in basilica sancti beatum corpus Mauri requiescit, sive que ab aliquibus Deo devotis fidelibus data sunt, vel que danda erunt, confirmare et corroborare dignaremur.
Cuius dignis postulationibus aures nostre pietatis inclinantes pretaxate ecclesieg prediah nominativei:
[1] Montana,
[2] Rosarium,
[3] Nigrianum,
[4] Turrim que est supra piscationemj Nonek,
[5] et * Cervarel,
[6] et Medelanum,
[7] et castrum Pisinum,
[8] et illud quod a * nostris antecessoribus largitum est, videlicet Ruvinum,
[9] etm quantum ad Episcopatum sancte Parentine ecclesie donatum est, scilicet in loco qui dicitur Duo Castella et Valles
cum omnibus pertinentiis * iuste acn legaliter ad predictum Episcopatum pertinentibus necnon villis, terris, campis, vineis, pratis, aquis aquarumque decursibus, molendinis, piscationibus, venationibus, montibus, planitiebus, valliso, cum omnibus rebus mobilibus et immobilibus que dici vel nominari possunt, seu in quocumque loco prenominatus Episcopatus terram habet, per hoc nostrum preceptum confirmamus eidem episcopo Alemaro suisque successoribus et corroboramus.
Precipientes denique iubemus, ut nullus dux, patriarcha, archiepiscopus, episcopus, marchio, comes, vicecomes nullaque Regni nostri magna vel parva persona pretaxatum episcopum suosque successores de omnibus predictis rebus molestare temptet nec ad ulla placita hominibus supra terram sancte Parentine ecclesie residentibus, qui ab ipsap reclamationem habent, sine advocato episcopi nullam contrarietatem facientq nec inviter ducantur nisi ante presentiam episcopi sine legali iuditio, sed liceat eidem presuli suisque succcssoribus quiete, * pacifice cuncta sua predia tenere et firmiter possidere, omnium hominum contradictione penitus remota.
Si quiss igitur nostre huius pagine violatort fuerit, quod minime credimus, sciat se compositurum auri boni libras mille, medietatem camere nostre et medietatem prefato presuli suisque successoribus.
Quod, ut verius credatur diligentiusqueu ab omnibus observetur, * manu propria * roborantes sigillo nostro * insigniri iussimus.
Signum domni Heinrici (SM) invictissimi regis.
[Gregorius cancellarius vice Hilthol]phiv archiepiscopi recognovi.
[Data IIII nonas]w martii anno Dominice incarnationis millesimo [sexagesimo]x, indictione tercia decimay, regni vero domni Heinrici tertii regis anno vigesimoz primo.
Actum Verone.
Feliciter, amen.a'
(SN) Ego Ypolitus domini R[aymundi] patriarche Aquilegensis, Ystrie atque Carniole incliti marchionis notarius hoc exemplum unacum Marco de Lena de Veneciis et Beltramo Papa de Mediolano notariis ab autentico scriptum coram predicto domino episcopo fideliter et diligenter ascultavib', et quia utrumque concordare inveni, de ipsius domini episcopi mandato in eiusdem exempli plenam fidem et testimonium me subscripsi.
(SN) Ego Marcus de Lena imperiali auctoritate notarius hoc exemplum unacum Ypolito domini R. et Beltramo Papa de Mediolano notariis ab autentico scriptum coram predicto domino episcopo fideliter et diligenter ascultavi, et quia uttrumquec' concordare inveni, de ipsius domini episcopi mandato in eiusdem exempli plenam fidem et testimonium me subscripsi.
(SN) Ego Beltramus Papa civitatis Mediolani publicus imperiali auctoritate notarius predictis lectioni, autenticationi et publicationi interfui, scripsi et publicavi meoque signo consueto signavi rogatus ac illud privilegium ab autentico fideliter exemplavi, nil addens vel minuens quod sententiam mutet vel intelectum, ipsumque exemplum unacum Ypolito domini R. et Marcho de Lena de Veneciis coram prefato domino episcopo diligenter et fideliter ascultavi, et quia utrumque concordare inveni, de ipsius domini episcopi mandato in eiusdem exempli plenam fidem et testimonium me subscripsi.
a) Henricus et undique sic C. b) ipsasque C. c) sic B; fastigium C et 983_OP. d) silicet et saepe sic C. e) atque C. f) sic BC et 983_OP: pro donata erunt. g) ecclesiae C et 983_OP. h) prędia C. i) nominative iter. C. j) piscionem C. k) Nonę C. l) Cervariam C. m) om. C. n) et C et 983_OP. o) sic BC: pro vallibus. p) episcopo C et 983_OP. q) sic BC et exemplar B 983_OP: pro faciant. r) invitę C. s) quid ex quis corr. C. t) violatum ex corr. C. u) diligentius C. v) Gregorius—Hiltolphi] C; legi non potest quia attramentum evanuit B. w) Data IIII nonas] C; legi non potest quia attramentum evanuit B. x) om. B. y) indictione tercia decima] om. C. z) vicesimo canc. C. a') Feliciter, amen] om. C. b') sic et saepe sic B. c') sic B.
King Rudolph I's 1291 confirmation charter issued to Bishop Boniface - soon to be edited here.
Emperor Charles V's 1529 confirmation charter issued to Bishop Hieronymus - soon to be edited here.
The charter is almost a verbatim replica of Otto II's 983 confirmation charter (see the document here).
The charter, however, presents great difficulties in determining its authenticity and dating.
First, the document is only preserved as a later copy, the oldest of which is the 1286 notarial document that was considered lost (it was lost already in 1937 when the MGH editors of Henry IV's diplomata prepared their monumental edition), but that subsequently resurfaced in the State Archive in Venice.
This 1286 copy (B in this edition) differs from the 16th-century copy in Liber iurium episcopalium I (C in this edition) in several important places in the charter's eschatocol.
Namely, B has the anno Domini dating unfinished ("anno Dominice incarnationis millesimo") and the 13th indiction, whereas C has the anno Domini dating complete and stating the year 1060 ("anno Dominice incarnationis millesimo sexagesimo"), but without the indiction. Both B and C date it to the 21st year of Henry III's reign (although a case could be made for reading only "primo" instead of "vicesimo primo" in C as the first word seems crossed out) and both have it issued in Verona.
Taking all of the eschatocol's elements into consideration, one arrives at only one plausible solution: the Henry III refers to a monarch who reigned from 1054 to 1105 as the king of the Romans and from 1056 to 1105 as the king of the Lombards – that Henry is customarily referred to in scholarship as Henry IV (because Henry I had not been crowned emperor). Thus, the 21st year of his kingship corresponds either to the year 1075 or 1077. The 13th indiction corresponds to the year 1075.
However, Henry IV was not in Verona in the March of 1075; he was in fact in Germany throughout that year.
In the March of 1077, however, Henry IV was indeed in Verona where he issued four charters to various recipients in the Regnum Italicum, purportedly including this one to the Bishopric of Poreč (cf. docs. 287-290 in MGH DD H IV, pp. 374-380). Out of these four, two (docs. 287-288) are dated anno Domini 1077, 15th indiction, 26th year of Henry's appointment as the king of the Romans ("anno ordinationis Heinrici quarti regis XXVI"), and the 24th year of his kingship ("regni vero XXIV"). One document (doc. 287) even refers to the king as Henry III. Three documents were reviewed by Gregory, the bishop of Vercelli (doc. 289 lacks the formula recognitionis and the dating).
Even here, however, the dating elements do not add up: the 15th indiction indeed concurs with the year 1077, but the years of reign result in 1080. However, it seems that all the documents reviewed by chancellor Gregory (cf. docs. 287-293) have the same mistake, with the sole exception being the privilege to the Bishopric of Poreč! The years of Henry's reign were correctly calculated only by chancellor Gebhard of Prague (cf. docs. 295-296) who dated the documents anno Domini 1077, 15th indiction, 23rd year of ordination, and 21st year of kingship - finally, all the dating elements concurring with each other.
Thus, the dating of this Henry's charter to the Bishopric of Poreč must be very flawed and very peculiar as neither the anno Domini dating, nor the indiction corresponds to the year 1077, but recognitor Gregory's standard mistake of erroneously calculating Henry IV's years of reign was somehow not made only in this document. The editors of MGH edition proposed a creative, but informed solution: the original charter (nowadays lost and based on another lost charter issued by Henry II in 1004/5) featured a lacuna in the dating by anno Domini, hence the incomplete phrase in B "anno Dominice incarnationis millesimo"). This incomplete phrase was then carelessly "completed" by the 16th-century copyist of C. Finally, the indiction "XIII" was simply erroneously copied instead of the original "XV" which would correspond to 1077. All of these creative solutions still do not fix the problem of Henry IV's years of reign which are correct but based on the recognitor of the document, should be written erroneously.
All of this leads one to conclude that this particular charter is a forgery, drawn up in the late 13th century in the chancellery of Bishop Boniface with the aim of "correcting" the sloppy interpolated passages of Otto II's 983 charter. Indeed, the enumeratio bonorum is much more elegant in this charter than in Otto II's from 983, removing any doubts regarding the antecedents of pronouns with carefully placed conjunctions: the original "et castrum Pisinum, Medelanum" is inverted and now sounds much better as "Medelanum et castrum Pisinum"; an "et" is added before the clause "quod a regibus largitum est", removing any doubts that the clause refers to Rovinj; another "et" is added before the clause "quantum ad Episcopatum sancte Parentine ecclesie donatum est", again removing any doubts that the clause refers to Dvigrad and Bale; finally, the awkward reference to King Hugh is completely removed.
Based on all of the above, it seems that Bishop Boniface aimed to rekindle the flame of the old conflict, one originally fought in the late 10th and 11th centuries between the bishops of Poreč and the patriarchs of Aquileia over the temporal jurisdictions of Rovinj, Dvigrad, and Bale, and for that he forged a new weapon based on the old, interpolated donation of Otto II - this charter purportedly issued by King Henry III/IV. Interestingly, even though he had the charter read out loud in front of the audience of clergy and the citizens of Poreč and its territory, Bishop Boniface eventually gave up on this forged charter and went back to Otto II's interpolated original which he brought before King Rudolph I, asking the monarch to confirm the charter (which he did in 1291, the charter will be edited here presently). He subsequently waged war armed only with Otto II's charter of 983 and its subsequent confirmation by the incumbent King Rudolph I, but the charters proved to be particularly impotent weapons.
Bishop Boniface eventually failed in his attempt at resurrecting an episcopal lordship that, at least according to surviving primary sources, had never been realized. Just as his predecessors lost the battle against the patriarchs of Aquileia, so too did Bishop Boniface lose his, this time to Patriarch Raymond della Torre (who continued to hold Dvigrad and Bale), to the counts of Gorizia (who continued to hold Pazin and, most probably, various jurisdictions in Tar and Vižinada, although recognizing that they held it from the bishops of Poreč), and to Venice (who continued to hold the lion's share of claimed territories: Motovun, Poreč, and Rovinj). This was also the last attempt at episcopal lordship in the Diocese of Poreč.
The publication of the facsimile of B (Venice, Archivio di Stato di Venezia, Miscellanea atti diplomatici e privati, busta 7, document number 243) is granted free of charge by Archivio di Stato di Venezia by way of the “simplified procedure” of publishing archival facsimiles (La circolare della Direzione generale archivi n. 39 del 29 settembre 2017: procedura semplificata: pubblicazioni online che perseguano finalità scientifiche o pedagogiche, non beneficino di inserzioni pubblicitarie o commerciali e non siano soggette ad accesso a pagamento).
Photo by Archivio di Stato di Venezia.
The digital facsimile remains under the exclusive copyright of Archivio di Stato di Venezia.