Oderzius, the bishop of Pićan, confirms to the noble lord Heinz of Pazin the feudal grant previously made by his predecessor Bishop Ulrich, allowing him to settle two of his colonists in Beram, and additionally grants him further feudal rights in recognition of his faithful services.
Pater Oderisius ordinis predicatorum, miseratione divina Petenensis episcopus, nobili et potenti viro domino Ançoni de Pisino salutem [et sinceram]a in Domino caritatem.
Vestra circa nos favorabilis benivolentia plurimaque servitia nobis et ecclesie Petenensi exib[ita]b nos inducunt, ut vestris volitis, in quantum possumus, assistamus.
Cum igitur dominus Wlricus bone memorie predecessor noster [con]cessitc vobis in feugudum duos vestros colonos ponendos in Vermo, et petiveritis dictum feugudum confirmari a nobis, [vestris]d petitionibus inclinati, predictum feugudum vobis et heredibus vestris a vobis legitime descendentibus duximus presentib[us conf]irmandume.
Concedimus insuper vobis ob remunerationem [fi]de[lium]f obsequiorum et heredibus vestris, ut supra in vinculum dilectionis n[ostre perpetue]g servandum eodem modo in feugudum et iure feugudi, quod possitis ponere et tenere feudum vestrum [...]h seu feugudum vobis fecimus, pro eo quod [...]i [promis]istisj et ad sancta Dei evangelia corporaliter i[ura]st[is]k ex nunc nobis et nostris successoribus fidelem esse vassallum nos [et su]ccessoresl nostros res et iura episcopalia fovere, def[endere et perpetualite]rm observare.
Ceterum omnibus predictis sic peractis, nos in r[obur]n et confirmationem concessionis predicte cum a[nu]l[o nostro]o, presentibus fratre Francisco vicario nostro, domino Iohanne archidyacono, [...]ciop et Francisco germanis nostris et Francisco vicecomite nostro, de dictis feugudis legitime investimus.
In cuius [rei t]estimoniumq presentes litteras vobis fieri fecimus, sigilli nostri appensione munitas.
Actum est hoc [in pa]latior nostro anno domini millesimo [C]CCs X, die VII mensis aprelis.
a) et sinceram] lac. A; et em. Kos; et sinceram em. Banić. b) lac. A; em. Kos. c) lac. A; em. Kos. d) lac. A; em. Kos. e) presentibus confirmandum] lac. A; em. Kos. f) fidelium] lac. A; em. Banić. g) nostre perpetue] lac. A; em. Banić. h) lac. spatii circiter 80 litterarum A. i) lac. spatii circiter 4 litterarum A: fort. pro nobis. j) lac. A; em. Banić. k) lac. A; em. Banić. l) et successores] lac. A; em. Kos. m) defendere et perpetualiter] lac. A; em. Kos. n) lac. spatii circiter 4 litterarum A; em. Banić. o) anulo nostro] lac. A; em. Kos. p) lac. spatii circiter 3 litterarum A: fort. pro Vercio. q) rei testimonium] lac. A; em. Banić. r) lac. A; em. Banić. s) lac. A; em. Kos.
Milko Kos, the original editor of the charter, did an outstanding job reading and transcribing the document. I have endeavored to surpass this edition by filling in some gaps left by Kos, guided by the barely visible shapes of letters and editorial intuition.
Still, the datatio chronica is very legible and without a shadow of doubt it writes “millesimo CCCoX, die VIIo mensis aprelis”. True, on the verso side of the parchment, a later hand summarized the document and wrote the date “Anno Domini MoCCCoIX.” but the “IX.” should be read as “.X.”. Thus, the date of the charter is corrected from April 7, 1309 to April 7, 1310.
Furthermore, the datatio topica is partly illegible due to a small lacuna and parchment damage precisely after the word “hoc”. Still, the illegible part is very small, three letters maximum. After this lacuna, there are visible letters “alatio” preceded by a letter with a descender, which is therefore very easily deducible as a -p, resulting in the word “palatio”. Between the “Hoc” and the “palatio” there is enough space for only a very short word of either one, two or maximally three letters. The only word that fits is “in”, giving the full datatio topica: “Actum est hoc in palatio nostro”, followed by the datatio chronica. While unusual as it does not contain any toponym, such a datatio topica is by no means unique (see, e.g., numerous cases of such datatio topica in Rodolfo Maiocchi, Codice diplomatico dell’Università di Pavia: 1361–1400, vol. 1 (Bologna 1915), e.g., doc. 25, pp. 22–23, “Datum et actum in episcopali palatio nostro”). Taking all into consideration, it is deduced that the document is issued in Pićan, where there truly was an episcopal palace already in the 14th century.
Regarding the recipient, the “noble and powerful lord Ançus of Pazin” is most certainly to be identified with Henry Heinzmann of Pazin, Carstmann’s brother and a powerful ministerial of the counts of Gorizia active precisely during this period (see De Franceschi and Štih, cited above, who both follow this identification).
The charter reveals a two-part transaction: first, the confirmation of an existing feudal grant allowing Heinz to settle two colonists in Beram, and second, the award of additional feudal rights as compensation for Heinz’s faithful services to both the bishop and the church of Pićan. This pattern of rewarding continued loyalty with expanded privileges reflects standard practice for maintaining vassal relationships.
The document explicitly records the formal investiture ceremony conducted with the bishop’s ring, emphasizing the symbolic and legal significance of the feudal bond. The oath of vassalage, though partially lost in the lacunae, appears to follow conventional formulas requiring fidelity to the bishop and his successors, as well as protection of episcopal rights and properties.
Unfortunately, a major lacuna of approximately eighty letters obscures what appears to be a significant clause regarding additional feudal grants or conditions, limiting our understanding of the full extent of this arrangement. The presence of high-ranking ecclesiastical witnesses—including the vicar, archdeacon, and the bishop’s viscount—indicates the importance of this act within the bishop of Pićan’s jurisdictional sphere.
Finally, this charter serves as a “smoking gun” that clearly demonstrates the bishops of Trieste had no jurisdictional prerogatives in Beram, and that the castles “Vermes, unus maiore et alius minore” over which the Bishopric of Trieste claimed rights in temporalibus do not refer to this town in the vicinity of Pazin, but rather to Gornje and Dolnje Vreme in present-day Slovenia (see doc. 911_BT).