A charter issued by Chlothild, an 'illustrious woman devoted to God,' records that she has installed her niece Mummola as the abbess of the monastery for women which she has founded at Bruyères-le-Châtel (northern Gaul) in honour of *Mary (mother of Christ, S00033) and other saints, whose relics are deposited there, and that she has granted it a number of properties. Written in Latin, probably at Lamorlaye (northern Gaul), 10 March 673.
E08402
Documentary texts - Charter or diploma
Documentary texts - Donation document
Late antique original manuscripts - Parchment sheet
ChLA XIII, 564 (excerpts)
[...] Iggitur ego, in d(e)i nomin(e), Chrothild[is], cogitans qualiter peccatorum meorum facinora possem abstergere et ad aeterna gaudia peruenire [...] Et ideo, in d(e)i nomine et in honore s(an)c(t)i Mariae, gen[itricis] d(omi)ni nostri Jh(esu)m Chr(ist)i et citherorum s(an)c(t)orum, quorum pignora in ipso monastirio habentur inserta, in loco noncopante Brocaria, situm in pago Stampense, prope de fluuiolo Urbia, i[uu]ante Christo, monasterio puellarum deuota mente decriui fundare, ubi nepte m[ea] Mummolam instetuemus abbatiss(am) [...] Ad d[ictum] locum s(an)c(tu)m uel predicta congregacionem, cedo ad diae presente et cessumque in perpetuo esse uolo et de iure meo in iure dicto locum consestentis trado adque transfundo, hoc est: [...] Si quis uero, quod futurum esse non credo, si ego ipsa aut alequi de heredebus uel proheredebus meis uel quislibet oposeta persona contra presentem deliberacion(em) uenire conauerit, iram s(an)c(t)i Trinetatis incurrat et a lemenebus s(an)c(t)arum aeclisiarum excomunis apariat [...] S(i)gn(u)m ☩ in(lustris) d(e)o deuotae Chrothilde, qui hanc deliberacion(em) pro animae nostrae remedium fieri rogauem(us), manu propr(ia) firmauem(us) [...] [Actum] Morlacas uico puplico, quod fec(it) mins(is) marcius, dies dieci, ann(o) xvi regn(i) dom(n)i nostri Chlothachariae, glor(iosissimi) regis [...]
'... Therefore I, in the name of God, Chlothild, thinking that I might be able to wipe clean my sins and attain eternal happiness... have for this reason, with a devoted mind, ordered there to be founded a monastery for women, with Christ's help, in the name of God and in honour of holy Mary, mother of our Lord Jesus Christ, and other saints, whose relics are held within that monastery, in the place called Bruyères, situated in the pagus of Étampois, near the river Orge, where I have installed as abbess my niece Mummola... To this aforesaid holy place and congregation, I grant on this present day, and wish to be perpetually handed over from my right into the right of this place these properties: ... And if anyone, which I do not believe will happen, whether myself or any of my heirs, or any person, should strive to come against this present decree, let them incur the wrath of the holy Trinity, and be seen to be excommunicated from the thresholds of the holy churches... The sign ☩ of the illustrious woman devoted to God, Chlothild, who asked this decree to be made for the remedy of our soul; and we have confirmed this with our own hand... Enacted at the public place of Lamorlaye, on the tenth day of March, in the sixteenth year of the reign of our lord, the most glorious King Chlothar (III)...'
Text: Atsma and Vezin, 1981, 63-8.
Translation: B. Savill.
Cult building - monastic
Non Liturgical ActivityBequests, donations, gifts and offerings
Construction of cult buildings
RelicsUnspecified relic
Protagonists in Cult and NarrativesWomen
Ecclesiastics - abbots
Ecclesiastics - monks/nuns/hermits
Family
Source
This charter survives almost intact as an original parchment manuscript (412 x 422 mm), now Paris, Archives nationales, K 2 n. 10.Discussion
This is an exceptionally rare survival of an original foundation charter for a late antique/early medieval monastery. Bruyères is situated about 36 km/22 miles south of Paris.Bibliography
Editions and facsimilesH. Atsma and J. Vezin, Chartae Latinae Antiquiores XIII. France I (Zurich, 1981), no. 564.
Chartes originales antérieures à 1121 conservées en France, no. 4462, online at http://telma.irht.cnrs.fr/outils/originaux/charte4462/
Further reading
L. Levillain, 'Études mérovingiennes: la charte de Clotilde (10 mars 673),' Bibliothèque de l'École des chares, 105 (1944), pp. 5-63.
Benjamin Savill
21/02/2023
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S00033 | Mary, Mother of Christ | Maria | Certain | S00518 | Saints, unnamed | citheri sancti | Certain |
|---|
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