Charter of Homage and Fealty

In the name of the Lord, I, Bernard Atton, Viscount of Carcassonne, in the presence of my sons, Roger and Trencavel, and of Peter Roger of Barbazan, and William Hugo, and Raymond Mantellini, and Peter de Vietry, nobles, and of many other honorable men, who have come to the monastery of St. Mary of Grasse, to the honor of the festival of the august St. Mary: since lord Leo, abbot of the said monastery, has asked me, in the presence of all those above mentioned, to acknowledge to him the fealty and homage for the castles, manors, and places which the patrons, my ancestors, held from him and his predecessors and from the said monastery as a fief, and which I ought to hold as they held, I have made to the lord abbot Leo acknowledgment and homage as I ought to do

Therefore, let all present and to come know that I the said Bernard Atton, lord and viscount of Carcassonne, acknowledge verily to thee my lord Leo, by the grace of God, abbot of St. Mary of Grasse, and to thy successors that I hold and ought to hold as a fief in Carcassonne the following: that is to say, the castles of Confoles, of Leocque, of Capendes (which is otherwise known as St. Martin of Sussagues); and the manors of Mairac, of Albars and of Musso; also, in the valley of Aquitaine, Rieux, Traverina, Herault, Archas, Servians, Villatritoes, Tansiraus, Presler, Cornelles. Moreover, I acknowledge that I hold from thee and from the said monastery as a fief the castle of Termes in Narbonne; and in Minerve the castle of Ventaion, and the manors of Cas sanolles, and of Ferral and Aiohars; and in Le Roges, the little village of Longville; for each and all of which I make homage and fealty with hands and with mouth to thee my said lord abbot Leo and to thy successors, and I swear upon these four gospels of God that I will always be a faithful vassal to thee and to thy successors and to St. Mary of Grasse in all things in which a vassal is required to be faithful to his lord, and I will defend thee, my lord, and all thy successors, and the said monastery and the monks present and to come and the castles and manors and all your men and their possessions against all malefactors and invaders, at my request and that of my successors at my own cost; and I will give to thee power over all the castles and manors above described, in peace and in war, whenever they shall be claimed by thee or by thy successors.

Moreover I acknowledge that, as a recognition of the above fiefs, I and my successors ought to come to the said monastery, at our own expense, as often as a new abbot shall have been made, and there do homage and return to him the power over all the fiefs described above. And when the abbot shall mount his horse I and my heirs, viscounts of Carcassonne, and our successors ought to hold the stirrup for the honor of the dominion of St. Mary of Grasse; and to him and all who come with him, to as many as two hundred beasts, we should make the abbot's purveyance in the borough of St. Michael of Carcassonne, the first time he enters Carcassonne, with the best fish and meat and with eggs and cheese, honorably according to his will, and pay the expense of shoeing of the horses, and for straw and fodder as the season shall require

And if I or my sons or their successors do not observe to thee or to thy successors each and all the things declared above, and should come against these things, we wish that all the aforesaid fiefs should by that very fact be handed over to thee and to the said monastery of St. Mary of Grasse and to thy successors.

I, therefore, the aforesaid lord Leo, by the grace of God abbot of St. Mary of Grasse, receive the homage and fealty for all the fiefs of castles and manors and places which are described above; in the way and with the agreements and understandings written above; and likewise I concede to thee and thy heirs and their successors, the viscounts of Carcassonne, all the castles and manors and places aforesaid, as a fief, along with this present charter, divided through the alphabet. And I promise to thee and thy heirs and successors, viscounts of Carcassonne, under the religion of my order, that I will be good and faithful lord concerning all those things described above.

Moreover, I, the aforesaid viscount, acknowledge that the little villages of Cannetis, Maironis, Villamagna, Aiglino, Villadasas, Villafrancos, Villadenz, Villaudriz, St Genese, Conguste and Mata, with the farm-house of Mathus and the chateaux of Villalauro and Claromont, with the little villages of St. Stephen of Surlac, and of Upper and Lower Agrifolio, ought to belong to the said monastery, and whoever holds anything there holds from the same monastery, as we have seen and have heard read in the privileges and charters of the monastery, and as was there written

Made in the year of the Incarnation of the Lord 1110, in the reign of Louis. Seal of Bernard Atton, viscount of Carcassonne, seal of Raymond Mantellini, seal of Peter Roger of Barbazon, seal of Roger, son of the said viscount of Carcassonne, seal of Peter de Vitry, seal of Trencavel, son of the said viscount of Carcassonne, seal of William Hugo, seal of lord abbot Leo, who has accepted this acknowledgment of the homage of the said viscount.

And I, the monk John, have written this charter at the command of the said lord Bernard Atton, viscount of Carcassonne and of his sons, on the day and year given above, in the presence and witness of all those named above.

Charter of Homage and Fealty

By: Gaius Brady Lange

Monk John

• Wrote charter between Lord Atton and Leo in 1110 C.E.
• From France
• Not much information on him

Analysis of the Charter of Homage and Fealty

Impacts

• Homage: acknowledgment of the bond of tenure that existed between the vassal and lord
• Fealty: sworn loyalty to a lord by a vassal
• Many lords had vassals, but also are vassals themselves (Atton had a lot of vassals, but Leo was lord over him)
• Some vassals also had many lords
• Loyalties became complex along with the hierarchy system
• If an agreement between a vassal and lord couldn't be upheld the monastery would get all of the lords or vassals belongings (the deals were serious)
• Loyalty, honor, and deals were huge and meant not to be broke or else a huge punishment would follow
• What would happen if a lord fought with another lord that had similar vassals?
• Loyalty was huge
• System could be very corrupt
• Vassal better choose wisely who they side with

What is this Document?

Historical Significance

• Spread feudalism
• Indirectly ended feudalism because it showed how complex the system is
• Primary source of how an agreement between a vassal and lord was (recorded history)
• Showed powerful lords sometimes had lords themselves
• Showed how detailed and professional their agreements were
• Made loopholes for their agreement harder
• Encouraged more written contracts

Who: Monk John

When: 1,110 C.E.

Where: France

What: Regards to the nature of feudalism with vassals, lords, and fiefs. Lord Bernard Atton was a powerful lord over a lot of things, but lord Leo is lord over Atton. Overall, he explains how feudalism doesn't work indirectly because most lords had more land than the king and many lords were vassals themselves while they had vassals.

• This showed the time period (1110 C.E.) had civilized contracts/agreements
• The document also recorded their strict and detailed agreement
• Spread feudalism throughout Europe because it was actually set in stone to see
• Made it seem feudalism was a secure and just structure
• Showed the church was a big influence in feudalism
• Showed the people of this time period made huge commitments and were to follow them
• Hence loyalty, honor, and trust was huge for their society

Sources

Lock, Alicia. "Western Civilizations Blog." : Charter

of Homage and Fealty of Bernard Atton, A.D. 1110. Web. 01 Mar. 2016. <http://alicialochwestciv.blogspot.com/2012/03/charter-of-homage-and-fealty-of-bernard.html>.

John, Monk. "Feudal Documents - Charter of

Homage and Fealty." Feudal Documents. Web. 01 Mar. 2016. <http://historymuse.net/readings/feudaldocuments.html>.