A letter from Eleanor of Provence (04/08/1254)

Translated letter:

Whereas it appears by letters patent of Peter de Monte Forti, whom the king sent from Gascony to Paris to meet brother Alan de Kancia, one of the Knights Templars in England, to whom the king committed 1,500l. to take to Paris to the use of Alfonse, count of Poitou and Toulouse, that the said Alan paid to the count in the presence of the said Peter, at Mid-Lent, 1253, 1,451l. 12s. for 7,258l. 2s. 10d. money of Bordeaux, wherein the king was bound to the count for maltolts, rapine, damages and grievances which the king’s men of Gascony committed upon the men of the count; and that the said Alan paid the residue into the queen’s wardrobe by order of the queen; the king acquits the said Alan and the house of the Knights of Templars in England of the receipt of the said 1,500l. By the queen.

Historical context:

When Henry III went to Gascony to deal with a rebellion, he appointed Eleanor to run the government with the counsel of his brother Richard of Cornwall (who was married to Eleanor’s sister Sanchia). The Patent Rolls record the actions she took in that position.

Scholarly notes:

(!1) After the first two volumes of the Patent Rolls published in Latin, the editors shifted to English translations, explaining that the "language tends gradually to become more formal and verbose."

Printed source:

Calendar of the Patent Rolls, Henry III, 1247-58, 4.367; summary in English.(!1)

Date:

04/08/1254