RRR: Confirmation/renewal of grants
970
year: 1176
initiator: Rainaldus ecclesie Montis Syon minister
recipient: King Amalric
institution: Mount Sion
text: Dec. 25 1175 - Dec. 24 1176. With the agreement of his chapter, Rainaldus ecclesie Montis Syon minister confirms under seal an exchange made with King Amalric [between Feb. 18 1163 and Dec. 24 1173], in which the abbey surrendered a vineyard at the foot of Mt Sion, below the house known as that of Germanus, together with another little vineyard [vineola] adjacent to it to the south, at the crossroads next to the house of Germanus, in exchange for a vineyard next to the church of St Procopius. The purpose is to construct a pool [lacus] for the use of all Christians [on the site of the vineyards]. Witnesses: Petrus abbas Josaphat; domnus Ribaldus abbas Latine; domnus Rogerius abbas Templi; Rohardus castellanus; Anselmus de Brie; Anselmus Babic.
Dec. 25 1175 - Dec. 24 1176. With the agreement of his chapter, Rainaldus ecclesie Montis Syon minister confirms under seal an exchange made with King Amalric [between Feb. 18 1163 and Dec. 24 1173], in which the abbey surrendered a vineyard at the foot of Mt Sion, below the house known as that of... more
sources: Bresc-Bautier, Cart St-Sépulcre, p. 313, no. 161 (RRH no. 536)
RRR: Permission/licence/authorization
971
year: 1176
initiator: Constance, comtesse de S Gilles
recipient: Inhabitants of the casale of Bethduras
text: *Dec. 25 1175 - Dec. 24 1176. Constance, comtesse de S Gilles and daughter of King Louis VI of France, gives the inhabitants of the casale of Bethduras, which she had bought from Jean Arrabit with the approval of King Baldwin IV and on the advice of Baudouin d’Ybelin, his brother Balian and his daughters Eschive and Estiennette, the right to cultivate the lands, reserving to herself a fourth part of the produce.
*Dec. 25 1175 - Dec. 24 1176. Constance, comtesse de S Gilles and daughter of King Louis VI of France, gives the inhabitants of the casale of Bethduras, which she had bought from Jean Arrabit with the approval of King Baldwin IV and on the advice of Baudouin d’Ybelin, his brother Balian and his... more
sources: Delaville Le Roulx, Cart Hosp 1:337, no. 491 (RRH no. 539a)
year: 1177
initiator: Josbertus, master of the Hospital
recipient: Sibilla de Roma
institution: Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem
text: Jan. 1-31. Josbertus sancti Hospitalis Jerusalem magister grants a house, which on its eastern side is next to the presbyterum [capicerius] of the church of St Julian and the house of Brainus Sirianus, to Sibilla de Roma for an annual census of 2 and a half besants, payable on the Feast of All Saints. Sibilla can do what she likes with the property, but the Hospital of St John of Jerusalem will have preemption rights and the house may not be sold to milites or churches. Witnesses: of the brothers of the Hospital, frater Garnerius preceptor; frater Goffridus thesaurarius; frater Stephanus Hospitalis; frater Bernardus magister asinarie, who negotiated this lease; frater Berardus custos operis; frater Godescalcus custos helemosine; frater Sancius helemosinarius; and others; of the burgenses of Jerusalem, Willelmus Beraldi; Goffridus Macellarius; Bernardus Coqus; Bertrandus Coqus; Bernardus Barberius.
Jan. 1-31. Josbertus sancti Hospitalis Jerusalem magister grants a house, which on its eastern side is next to the presbyterum [capicerius] of the church of St Julian and the house of Brainus Sirianus, to Sibilla de Roma for an annual census of 2 and a half besants, payable on the Feast of All... more
sources: Delaville Le Roulx, Cart Hosp 1:349-50, no. 508 (RRH no. 540)
RRR: Dispute/arbitration
973
year: 1177
initiator: Amalricus vicecomes Neapolitanus
recipient: Church of Saint Mary of the Valley of Jehoshaphat
institution: Saint Mary of the Valley of Jehoshaphat
text: Feb. 20. With the agreement of his wife Theophania and his brother Raginaudus, Amalricus vicecomes Neapolitanus renounces under seal his dispute with St Mary of the Valley of Jehoshaphat over [the land that extends] from the bridge by way of the hillside to the plain of Casresil and the plain at [the gastina of] Casresil. Witnesses: dominus Boemundus de Neapoli; dominus Ato juvenis de Marla; dominus Martinus de Taphilia; dominus Ugo de Gorrando; dominus Bernardus Pelliparius; dominus Guillibertus de Funda; dominus Guido de Escar; of the monks of St Mary of the Valley of Jehoshaphat, dongnus Petrus de Sancto Lazaro; dognus Willelmus de Sicilia; dognus Johannes de Escar; dominus Matheus anglicus; dominus Willelmus de Tieta; dominus Ernaudus Gascus. The charter was drawn up by Petrus clericus.
Feb. 20. With the agreement of his wife Theophania and his brother Raginaudus, Amalricus vicecomes Neapolitanus renounces under seal his dispute with St Mary of the Valley of Jehoshaphat over [the land that extends] from the bridge by way of the hillside to the plain of Casresil and the plain at [... more
sources: Delaborde, Chartes, pp. 86-7, no. 39 (RRH no. 542)
RRR: Correspondence/envoy
974
year: 1177
initiator: Rabbi Moses b. Maimon
recipient: Sages of Tyre
text: May 1-30. [144] Old Cairo. Rabbi Moses b. Maimon [Maimonides] replies to questions put to him by the Sages of Tyre, the disciples of Rabbi Ephraim of Tyre. (1). Maimonides is asked to explain a Talmudic passage [Nedarim 88b] relating to the financial claim of a husband to his wife’s acquisitions during their marriage. This question arises from a previous correspondence with Ephraim of Tyre, since deceased. (2) Maimonides is asked to explain a Talmudic passage [Nazir 3b], according to which a Nazirite, who is barred from drinking wine, may not do so even for ritual purposes. (3) Asked for the source of a statement by Rabbi Isaac Alfasi, Maimonides replies that he does not know the source. (4) Asked whether a linen garment must have fringes [tzitzit] made of linen, Maimonides endorses the opinion of Isaac Alfasi that the fringes of a linen garment should be made of linen. (5) Maimonides is asked about the meaning of the term ‘ten idle men’ mentioned in the Palestinian Talmud [Megillah 1:6]. (6) Maimonides is asked whether the custom of the Jews of Tyre to celebrate two days of Purim [on the fourteenth and fifteenth of Adar] is legitimate. Cities with a wall from biblical times (paradigmatically Jerusalem) celebrate on the fifteenth, and all other communities celebrate on the fourteenth. Maimonides agrees with the opinion of the Sages’ teacher, Ephraim of Tyre, that no blessings may be recited in the Purim celebrations on the fifteenth. (7) Maimonides is asked whether the custom of the Jews of Tyre to observe the second festival day on Tabernacles, Passover and Pentecost is legitimate. Within the religious borders of the Land of Israel, only one festival day is observed, whereas throughout the Diaspora, Jewish communities observe two days. The popular custom among the Jews of Tyre is to follow the Diaspora practice, but the Sages suggest that Tyre should be considered part of the Land of Israel. Maimonides rejects their suggestion, and commends the popular custom. (8) Following questions posed by their late teacher, Rabbi Ephraim, Maimonides is asked by the Sages to explain the lottery of tasks in the Temple service, described by the rabbis [in Mishnah Yoma chapter 2]. He replies that Ephraim’s questions had been anticipated by earlier rabbis. (9) Asked about the southern border of the Land of Israel for religious purposes, Maimonides sends a map of the religious borders of the land, and explains that the southern border begins from Ascalon. 10) Maimonides is asked about the application of the Sabbatical-year laws in Syria and the Land of Israel, with regard to lands worked by Gentiles. (11) Maimonides is asked about the application of tithe laws in the Land of Israel and Syria, in regard to lands worked by Gentiles. (12) Maimonides is asked whether the prohibition of mixed seeds [Leviticus 19] applies to lands worked by Gentiles. (13) Maimonides is asked whether a ruling by two scholars of Tyre, Meir (of Carcassonne?) and Hiyya, [145] is correct. The two scholars had ruled that in Tyre, as in other places outside the Land of Israel, two portions of hallah should be taken from bread dough. One is burned and the other is given to a priest for his personal consumption. Maimonides endorses the position of these scholars. (14) Asked to explain the physiological meaning of ‘uprooting’ as an [invalid] form of slaughtering, mentioned in the Talmud [Hullin 9a], Maimonides replies that practical experience in slaughtering is key to understanding this concept, and that, in any case, the question arises rarely with respect to quadrupeds and is a practical concern only with poultry. (15) Asked to explain the movement of the sun, since some people say that the sun follows a 6 lunar-month cycle, yet others claim it is a 12-month cycle, Maimonides replies that the sun itself moves into a different zodiac sign every month, but the highest sphere, which contains the stars, moves every day. He ends by pointing out that it is easier to explain these matters face-to-face. (16) Asked whether statements in the Talmud about the position of the sun over the course of the day relate to summer or winter, Maimonides replies that the Talmud speaks of variable hours, the length of which changes each day, but that these descriptions would not apply accurately to every latitude. In any case, this is a matter for astronomy and not for Jewish law. (17) Maimonides is asked to explain a Talmudic passage [Nedarim 81a]. (18) Maimonides is asked what types of ink may be used for ritual scrolls [such as Torah scrolls and phylacteries]. The questioners refer to different inks by their Arabic names, and Maimonides replies by describing the various methods of production and the relevant discussions in the Talmud. (19) Maimonides is asked a series of questions relating to the production of ritual objects: phylacteries, mezuzah scrolls and ritual fringes [tzitzit]. (20) Maimonides is asked about the correct wording of the blessing recited before blowing the shofar [ram’s horn] during New Year celebrations. (21) Maimonides is asked whether, for the purpose of avoiding mixture of milk and meat, the udder of a lamb is to be treated like that of a nursing sheep and must be cooked separately from other meat; and also whether certain non-binding prohibitions in the laws of kosher food may be revealed to non-scholars. Maimonides responds that the udders are treated alike. As for revealing non-binding prohibitions, Maimonides supports this fully, and recounts that in the [Muslim] West, where Jewish travellers cook their food in inns, Gentiles throw forbidden foods into the pot in order to render the Jews’ food invalid. Because knowledge of these non-binding prohibitions is widespread among Jewish lay people and even among women and servants, the travellers all know that the amount of forbidden food can be outnumbered by the rest of the food in the pot. (22) Maimonides is asked to explain a biblical verse [Leviticus 7, 34]. (23) Asked whether the ritual impurity that adheres to Jewish graves is likewise applicable to the graves of non-Jews, Maimonides replies that the impurity imparted by corpses and by graves applies equally to Jews and Gentiles, while other forms of death impurity [such as tent impurity] are exclusive to Jewish dead. (24) Asked whether priests, who receive agricultural tithes, are required to give the tithe of animals, which is offered as a sacrifice in the Temple, Maimonides replies that they are required to do so, as are non-priests. (25) Maimonides is asked about a law relating to oaths. (26) Asked whether a Jew may circumcise a non-Jew, and whether the law differentiates between Christians and Muslims on this point, Maimonides replies that it is permitted, without distinction between Christian and Muslim, and any Jewish religious precept fulfilled by a Gentile is considered laudable. (27) Asked whether the Talmudic statement [Sanhedrin 49a], that a Gentile who studied the Torah must die, is binding and whether Jews must avoid teaching Jewish lore to Gentiles, Maimonides replies that while the statement is true, such a Gentile is never actually executed. Jews may teach the commandments to Christians in order to draw them to Judaism, but they may not teach them to Muslims, who would only use the knowledge in order to criticize Judaism, because of a different attitude towards the Old Testament. (28) Maimonides is asked to explain a statement in the Talmud [Shabbat 75a] censuring people with astronomical expertise who do not engage in calendrical calculations.
May 1-30. [144] Old Cairo. Rabbi Moses b. Maimon [Maimonides] replies to questions put to him by the Sages of Tyre, the disciples of Rabbi Ephraim of Tyre. (1). Maimonides is asked to explain a Talmudic passage [Nedarim 88b] relating to the financial claim of a husband to his wife’s acquisitions... more
sources: R. Moses b. Maimon, Responsa, pp. 204-86, nos. 119-50, summarized by Pinchas Roth and Jonathan Rubin
year: 1177
initiator: Willelmus comes Ioppen
recipient: Abbey of Mount Sion
institution: Mount Sion
text: *Oct. 1 1176 - Jun. 30 1177. Wi[llelmus] comes Ioppen, with the agreement of his wife, gives land in the territory of Jaffa to the abbey of Mt Sion.
*Oct. 1 1176 - Jun. 30 1177. Wi[llelmus] comes Ioppen, with the agreement of his wife, gives land in the territory of Jaffa to the abbey of Mt Sion.
sources: Mayer, UKJ 2:763-4, 843, nos. 448, 492
RRR: Eleemosynary grant
976
year: 1177
initiator: Baldwin IV
recipient: Petrus prior and the canons of the Holy Sepulchre
institution: Holy Sepulchre
text: Dec. 25 1176 - Jun. 30 1177. Jerusalem. Baldwin, per dei gratiam in sancta civitate Ierusalem Latinorum rex VIus, confirms under seal, regie maiestatis auctoritate, an exchange made with Petrus prior ecclesie sancte Resurrectionis and the canons of the Holy Sepulchre. The king makes a sealed eleemosynary grant of an annual rent of 2 quintarii of grapes, collected from his vineyards near the church of the Holy Cross, in return for the tithe of the vineyards next to the church of St Procopius, which his father King Amalric gave to the abbey of Mt Sion in exchange for the lacus Germani, which is for the common use of all the city. Witnesses: Willelmus marchisius Ascalonitanus et Ioppensis comes; Iohannes de Assur; Anselmus de Bria; Roardus castellanus Ierusalem; Petrus de Creseca; Anselmus Dabim: Willelmus Patrum. The charter was drawn up by Lambertus domni regis capellanus.
Dec. 25 1176 - Jun. 30 1177. Jerusalem. Baldwin, per dei gratiam in sancta civitate Ierusalem Latinorum rex VIus, confirms under seal, regie maiestatis auctoritate, an exchange made with Petrus prior ecclesie sancte Resurrectionis and the canons of the Holy Sepulchre. The king makes a sealed... more
sources: Mayer, UKJ 2:673-5, 764, nos. 393, 449 (RRH no. 552)
RRR: Eleemosynary grant
977
year: 1177
initiator: Sibilla comitissa Ioppe et Ascalone
recipient: Rodricus comes and the professed brothers of his Order Montjoie
institution: Order of Montjoie
text: Dec. 25 1176 - Jun. 30 1177. Sibilia, daughter of King Amalric, Ioppes et Ascalonis comitissa, makes a sealed eleemosynary grant, to benefit particularly her soul and the soul of her husband Guillelmus comes. She gives Rodricus comes and the professed brothers of his Order [Montjoie] the turris puellarum in the city of Ascalon, a garden beside it, and 2 other towers on the walls of the city, situated between the turris puellarum and the church of St Mary, and another tower towards the sea on the other side of the turris puellarum. She also gives an annual rent of 100 besants, payable from the revenues of the city gate in 4 instalments: in the octave of Christmas, at Easter, at the Nativity of St John the Baptist and on the Feast of St Remigius on 1 October. Witnesses: Rainaldus princeps Antiochenus; Iocelinus comes regius senescaldus; domnus Balduinus de Rames; Iocelinus de Semunsac; Balduinus frater eius; Guillelmus Rufus vicecomes; Gerardus de Rumeilei; Guillelmus Tyriensis.
Dec. 25 1176 - Jun. 30 1177. Sibilia, daughter of King Amalric, Ioppes et Ascalonis comitissa, makes a sealed eleemosynary grant, to benefit particularly her soul and the soul of her husband Guillelmus comes. She gives Rodricus comes and the professed brothers of his Order [Montjoie] the turris... more
sources: Mayer, UKJ 2:843-5, no. 493 (RRH no. 553)
year: 1177
initiator: Rainald of Châtillon, lord of Hebron and Montreal
recipient: Rodricus comes and the professed brothers of his Order Montjoie
institution: Order of Montjoie
text: *Dec. 25 1176 - Jun. 30 1177. Guillaume comte d’Ascalon et de Joppé and comtesse Isabelle/Sibille his wife agree to a gift made to the military order of Montjoie and its master comes Rodericus by Reinaudus quondam Antiochie princeps [Rainald de Châtillon, by now lord of Montréal and Hebron].
*Dec. 25 1176 - Jun. 30 1177. Guillaume comte d’Ascalon et de Joppé and comtesse Isabelle/Sibille his wife agree to a gift made to the military order of Montjoie and its master comes Rodericus by Reinaudus quondam Antiochie princeps [Rainald de Châtillon, by now lord of Montréal and Hebron].
sources: Mayer, UKJ 2:845-6, no. 494
RRR: Eleemosynary grant
979
year: 1177
initiator: Patriarch Amalric of Jerusalem
recipient: Petrus prior and the canons of the Holy Sepulchre
institution: Holy Sepulchre
text: Jun. 1-30. Patriarch Amalric of Jerusalem makes a sealed eleemosynary grant to Petrus prior Dominici Sepulcri and his chapter, conceding jurisdiction [juriditio] over a vineyard that had belonged to Petrus de Sancto Jacobo, whose share in it the canons of the Holy Sepulchre had bought. The vineyard is bordered on the east and north by a vineyard belonging to the abbey of St Mary of the Latins. On the west is the royal highway [strata regia] that goes from the leprosary of St Lazarus to the lacus Legerii. On the south is the street [via] that goes from the church of St Stephen to the same highway. The grant is made by the patriarch on the conditions that when he dies, the canons will feed 13 poor persons and 13 clerics to sing psalms for his Requiem; that annually on the anniversary of his death 13 poor persons shall be fed; and that 2 candles, costing 1 besant, should be brought to the patriarchal chapel and lit at Michaelmas. Witnesses: of the canons of the Holy Sepulchre, Hugo de Nigella sacerdos; Constantinus sacerdos; Odo diaconus: Rogerius diaconus; Robertus de Roma subdiaconus; Petrus Barchilonensis subdiaconus; of the patriarchal familia, Galfredus dapifer; Girardus capellanus; Petrus clericus; WiIlelmus crucifer, who wrote the charter; Aldebertus pincerna et preceptor domus patriarche; Petrus Lombardus. The charter was drawn up by Monachus cancellarius.
Jun. 1-30. Patriarch Amalric of Jerusalem makes a sealed eleemosynary grant to Petrus prior Dominici Sepulcri and his chapter, conceding jurisdiction [juriditio] over a vineyard that had belonged to Petrus de Sancto Jacobo, whose share in it the canons of the Holy Sepulchre had bought. The vineyard... more
sources: Bresc-Bautier, Cart St-Sépulcre, pp. 314-15, no. 162 (RRH no. 543)