Henry III, King of the Romans, confirms the donations of his predecessors to the Bishopric of Trieste as well as all the immunities and privileges enjoyed by the said Church, including the jurisdiction over Umag and Monfalcone.
In nomine sancte et individue Trinitatis.
Henricus divina favente clementia rex.
Si sanctis ac venerabilibus locis digna concessimus munera, tam anime nostre quam corpori proficuum esse minime ambigimus.
Quocirca omnium sancte Ecclesie Dei fidelium presentium scilicet et futurorum comperiat universitas qualiter nos, interventu ac peticione nostri dilecti fidelis Poponis patriarche nec non et Cadoloya nostri dilectissimi cançelariib atque ob remedium anime nostre parentumque nostrorum, Adalgero sancte Tergestine sedis presuli suoque episcopio in honore sancte Dei genitricis Marie sanctique Iusti martiris ibi corporaliter quiescentis constructo ac dedicato omnia illa, scilicet res, predia, possessiones, familias, que ab antecessoribus nostris regibus vel imperatoribus per totam Istrie provintiam seu loca eidem ecclesie preceptaliter concessa seu confirmata fuerunt, tam Umagum sive Fontanam Georgicam quamque cetera loca, simili modo donamus, confirmamus atque coroboramus, prout iuste et legaliter possumus, per hanc nostram regalem sive preceptalem paginam, statuentes et modis omnibus precipientes firmiterque iubemus, ut in prescripta sancte Tergestine sedis ecclesia sive episcopio, tam in eius plebibus quam monasteriis, titulis aliisve ecclesiis, domibus seu urbanis sive rusticanis vel in prenominatis locis aut in aliquibus eiusdem episcopii possessionibus nullus dux, marchio, comes, vicecomes nullaque Regni nostri magna parvaque persona placitum tenere audeat, aut eiusdem ecclesie massarios excusatos vel commendatos, colonos, liberos, aldiones, servos seu quosque super prefate ecclesie proprietatem residentes quoquo modo distringere, pignorare, angariare necnon ad pretorium comitis ad laborem constringere aut census, reddibitiones, donaria aliquo ingenio exigere presumat, sed liberos, massarios, excusatos vel commendatos, quos legalis coactio ad placitum querere exigit, sine patrono aut advocato suo nullus venire compellat, ut legalis intentio legali examine diffiniatur.
Hec eadem ettiamc in omnibus liberis et erimannis prefate ecclesie massariis quippe excusatis vel commendatis et colonis omnimodis observari iubemus, videlicet ut ab eis nec donaria, reddibitiones, pignorationes vel iniuste districtiones exigantur, sed unus quisque, quem regalisd censura exigit, a patrono suo ad placitum deducatur; ⟨terciam partem, quam rei publice debuerunt, nulli comiti dent, nisi eorum pontifici;⟩ ne pignorationis occaxioe aditum rapine depredatoribus in aliquo prestet.
Insuper concedimus autem iam dicto Adalgero episcopo suisque successoribus ut licentiam habeant undecumque potuerint homines atrahere et colocare super eiusdem ecclesie terras ad comanendum et delaborandum.
Si quis igitur huius nostri precepti violator extiterit, mille libras auri optimi se compositurum noverit, dimidium camere nostre et dimidium sepedicto episcopo sueque ecclesie.
Et ut hec nostra regalis institutio stabilis et inconvulsa permaneat, hoc preceptum manu propria roborantes sigillo nostro iussimus insigniri.
Signum domini Henrici tercii (SM) serenissimi et invictissimi regis.
Kadelohus cançelarius vice Herimanni archicançelarii recognovit.
Datum est tercio kalendas ianuarii, indictione octava, anno Dominice incarnationis millesimo quadragesimo, anno domini Henrici ordinationis [eius]f duodecimo, [regnante]g quoque primo.
Actum in civitate Ratisbona.
Feliciter, amen.
a) sic B. b) sic B et undique sic. c) sic B. d) sic B: fort. pro legalis. e) sic B. f) spatium vacuum reliquit B; em. Banic prout proposuerunt Bresslau et Kehr. g) spatium vacuum reliquit B; em. Bresslau et Kehr.
The document is considered authentic, although the line "terciam partem, quam rei publice debuerunt, nulli comiti dent, nisi eorum pontifici" is suspected to be a later interpolation as the document is only preserved in copy, the oldest one dating from the 14th century.
The charter is based on the earlier donations of Italian kings to the Bishopric of Trieste, namely the donation charter of King Hugo from 929 (see the document here), a document of dubious authenticity. Interestingly, the charter makes no mention of Sipar, one of the three places mentioned in Hugo's 929 donation, recording only Umag and Monfalcone (Fontana Georgica being a part of the insula Paciana as read in a 1289 document (edited in Pietro Kandler, ed., Codice diplomatico istriano, 2nd ed. (Trieste 1986), vol. 2, doc. 424; soon to be edited in FIM as well).
The opinion that this Fontana Georgica refers to the settlement Funtana north of Vrsar is simply erroneous. It stems from 17th-century chorographer Prospero Petronio who, in re-elaborating the chorography of Bishop Giacomo Filippo Tommasini, erroneously connected the Fontana villa with the Fontana Georgica from the investitures of the bishops of Trieste.
The bishops of Trieste relinquished the majority of their temporal possessions to Andrea Dandolo, the future Venetian doge and the author of the famous chronicle of Venice, on the 13th of December, 1333 (edited in Pietro Kandler, ed., Codice diplomatico istriano, 2nd ed. (Trieste 1986), vol. 3, doc. 636; soon to be edited in FIM as well), including Sipar, Umag and the possessions in Monfalcone (Fontana Georgica and insula Panciana), as well as "everything in whatsoever villages, places and territories of Istria, from and including the said fort Sipar all the way to the city of Pula" (generaliter in quibuscumque villis locis vel territoriis Ystriae a praedicto castro Syparo inclusive usque ad civitatem Pole).
The publication of the facsimile of A (Venice, Archivio di Stato di Venezia, Miscellanea atti diplomatici e privati, busta 1, document number 17) 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 the editor.
The image remains under the exclusive copyright of Archivio di Stato di Venezia.