Answering the pleas of Aquileian Patriarch Berthold V, Emperor Frederick II decrees that throughout Friuli and Istria criminal justice administration and everything else pertaining to corporal punishments and coercion (merum et mixtum imperium) resides exclusively with the patriarch of Aquileia, threatening to deprive of their fiefs anyone who would dare to administer criminal justice on patriarchal territories.
Fridericusa Dei gratia Romanorum imperator semper augustus, Ierusalemb et Siciliec rex.
Per presens scriptum notum fieri volumusd universis Imperii fidelibus, tam presentibus quam futuris, quod dilectus princeps noster Bertholduse venerabilisf patriarcha Aquilegensisg in nostrah proposuit presencia constitutus, quod cum quidam in Foroiulioi et in Istriaj existentesk, qui al predecessoribus suis vel ab ipso per Aquilegensem ecclesiam infeudatim sunt in mansis paucis vel pluribus, et quandoquidemn obtinuerunto in eisp advocatiam gratiaq conferentis, idemr infeudati privatis eorum utilitatibus et suis proventibus non contenti, de furtiss et aliis criminalibust causis et penisu iudiciumv sanguinis inferentibus et de quibusdam que spectant ad merum et mixtum imperium, que omnia pertinent iurisdictioniw eiusdem principis nostri ratione regalium, sex auctoritate propria temere intromittanty ex hoc tantum, sicut dicitur, quod mansos cum omni iure obtinentz, ad iuris iniuriama' attemptantesb'. Quare nostre celsitudini supplicavitc' ut, cum hec omnia tam predecessores sui quam ipse auctoritate Imperii obtineantd', dignaremure' temeritati repugnantiumf' obviare et iurisdictionem suam servari integre mandaremusg'.
Cum igitur specteth' ad imperatoriami' maiestatem principum nostrorum iuri prospicerej', attendentesk' insuper immensaml' devotionem predicti nostri principis, venerabilis patriarche, quem ad nostra et Imperii servicia semper et ubique paratum et expositum invenimus, ut in sua iurisdictione incomodumm' vel iniuriamn' non incurrat, predictamo' abusivam consuetudinem ab eisdem infeudatis inventam vel hactenus approbatam penitus abolemus, presentis scripti auctoritate generaliter inhibentes quod nulli eorumdem infeudatorum in Foroiuliop' vel inq' Istria de cetero liceat occasione mansi siver' mansorum quos ab Aquilegensi ecclesias' feudalitert' obtinere noscuntur vel sub pretextuu' advocatie vel occasione sumptav', quod mansos cum omni iure obtineant, cum verbum ipsumw', silicetx' cum omni iure privatas et anexas ipsisy' mansis utilitates exponat, de criminalibus causis, furtis etz' fustigationibus, vel consimilibus que ad iudiciuma'' sanguinis spectantb'' vel merum et mixtum imperium sapiunt, cognoscere vel temerec'' se intromittere sine predicti patriarche indulgentia vel mandato, sed tantum idem patriarcha et officiales sui, quos auctoritate ordinarie iurisdictionis loco et vice sua duxeritd'' deputandos, predictam iurisdictionem exerceante'' sicut decet.
Si quif'' vero contra presentis nostre prohibitionis edictumg'' venire presumpserith'' et in abusione solitai'' temptaveritj'' permanere, presumptoresk'' ipsos eisdeml'' mansorum sive advocatie feudism'' ingratos decernimus et indignos maxime cum privilegium mereaturn'' amittereo'' qui concessa sibi abutitur potestate.
Ad cuius rei memoriam etp'' stabilem firmitatem presens scriptum fieri et sigillo maiestatis nostre iussimus communiriq''.
Datum in castrisr'' in obsidione Brixie, anno Dominice incarnationis millesimo ducentesimo tricesimo octavos'', menset'' octobrisu'', duodecimev'' indictionis, imperante domino nostro Frederico secundow'' Dei gratia invictissimo Romanorum imperatore semper augusto, Ierusalem et Sicilie regex'', imperii eius anno octavodecimoy'', regni Ierusalem terciodecimoz'', regni vero Sicilie quadragesimo primoa'''.
Feliciter, amen.
a) Fredericus C; Federicus DE. b) Inerusalem D. c) CED; Sycilie B et undique sic. d) fieri volumus] inv. E. e) Beltrandus C; Bartholdus D; Bertoldus E. f) CDE; om. B. g) Acquilegiensis et saepe sic C; Aquileiensis et saepe sic D. h) nostri E. i) Foriiulii C. j) DE et undique sic; Histria et undique sic C; Ystria et undique sic B. k) CDE; existens B. l) qui a] quia E. m) inpheudati et saepe sic C. n) quidam D. o) obtinuerit C; obtineant D; obtinuerunt corr. ex obtinuerit E. p) obtinuerint in eis] in eis obtinuerit C; in eis obtineant D; in eis obtinuerunt E. q) gratie CD. r) iidem CE. s) CDE; furtibus B. t) CDE; criminibus B. u) poenis D. v) iudicum C. w) iurisditioni C. x) et C. y) DE; intromitant C; intromittunt B. z) ex hoc—iure obtinent] om. C. a') in iniuriam C. b') atemptantes C; attentantes D. c') suplicavit D. d') obtinente C. e') dignemur C. f') ex obviantium corr. et seq. repugnare canc. D. g') mandaremur C. h') spectat D. i') imperialem C. j') prosicere E. k') attentantes D. l') CDE; inmensam B. m') incommodum E. n') incomodum vel iniuriam] iniuriam vel incomodum inv. CDE. o') om. C. p') CE; Foroiulii BD. q') om. C. r') seu C. s') ab Aquilegensi ecclesia] CDE; ad Aquilegensem ecclesiam B. t') om. C. u') pretestu C. v') prescripta D. w') om. C. x') sic BC; .s. E; om. D. y') ipsius D. z') om. CDE. a'') iudicum C. b'') spectat C; om. D. c'') CDE; om. B. d'') duxerunt D. e'') exerceat E. f'') quis C. g'') editum C. h'') presumpserint E. i'') abusione solita] abusionem solitam D. j'') C; tentaverit D; temptaverint BE. k'') presumptuosos C. l'') eorumdem D. m'') feudi D; pheudis E. n'') meretur D. o'') CDE; ammittere B. p'') om. E. q'') conmuniri D. r'') CDE; castro B. s'') millesimo ducentesimo tricesimo octavo] MCCXXXVIII CD. t'') mensis CDE. u'') CDE; octubris B. v'') XII CDE. w'') Frederico secundo] inv. C. x'') Ierusalem—rege] om. C. y'') XVIII CD. z'') XIII CD. a''') quadragesimo primo] XLI CD.
“Item privilegium concessum per Federicum imperatorem quod nullus de Foroiulio vel Istria intromittat se de iurisdictione sanguinis vel aliis criminalibus causis sine licentia domini patriarche in MCCXXVIII cum bulla cerea.” – Thesauri claritas, opus saec. XIV, ed. Bianchi, Thesaurus ecclesiae Aquileiensis (Udine 1847), n. 1166, p. 340.
The oldest surviving copy dates to 1303 and it is a vidimus on the basis of the lost original (ms. B, digitally reproduced below).
However, there was once a vidimus made in 1262, also on the basis of the original, authenticated by three notaries. This 1262 vidimus is also considered lost, but it was used as a template for the copy in D. Based on ms. D, the heading of this 1262 vidimus is the following: Hoc est exemplum sumptum ex auctentico cuiusdam privilegii integri domini Federici Romanorum imperatoris sigillati eius sigillo cereo integro et ilęso, cuius tenor talis est, and the notarial attestations are the following: Ego Hermannus de Perticha imperiali auctoritate notarius ex mandato mihi facto per venerabilem patrem dominum Gregorium sancte sedis Aquilegensis patriarcham presens exemplum cum eius originali integro vidi, tenui ac fideliter auscultavi, ipsum verbo ad verbum, sicut in eo erat et legabatur, rescribens nihilque addens in eo quod sententiam variet sive sensum, sub anno Domini Mo CCo LXIIo, indictione V, die decimo intrante februario in Austria Civitate in camera patriarchali. Ego Iohannes de Lupico Sacri Imperii publicus notarius vidi et cetera. Ego Conradus imperiali auctoritate notarius et cetera.
Editor's Apology:
In my article "King Otto IV's Donation of the Margraviate of Istria to the Patriarchate of Aquileia" published in 2022 in Historijski zbornik (available here), I have made an embarrassing error: although I originally stated correctly that the 1303 parchment contains the copies of Frederick II's confirmations of Berthold's regalian rights issued in 1232 and 1238 (the hereby edited charter), I have subsequently, in table 1 on page 20, erroneously equated the 10th vidimus of 1303 parchment as "Frederick II’s promulgation and confirmation of the peace treaty signed between Patriarch Berthold and the Commune of Koper issued in 1238". This is not true; the 10th vidimus of 1303 charter is the document hereby edited, whereas the 1238 confirmation of the treaty signed between Patriarch Berthold and the Commune of Koper is preserved in a different manuscript tradition *edited here as 1238_FBI).
The publication of the facsimile of B (Venice, Archivio di Stato di Venezia, Miscellanea atti diplomatici e privati, busta 10, doc. 333) 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 editor has overlaid a red arrow onto the facsimile simply to mark the exact place on the parchment where the edited document begins.
The facsimile remains under the exclusive copyright of Archivio di Stato di Venezia.