3 September 1335

 

We, Charles, by divine grace King of Hungary, declare to all through the present document that, desiring that ourselves, our sons and successors of our successors, and our kingdoms be, with the famous sovereign, Lord John, by the same divine grace magnificent King of Bohemia, Earl of Luxembourg, our beloved brother and his magnificent sons, the first-born Lord Charles, Earl of Moravia, Lord Charles, Prince of Carinthia, and their successors, united in ties of fraternal love, and remain steadily and forever in the sincere feeling of love and indissoluble friendship with no fraudulence but in a pure and humble way, therefore, in our present document we, together with our first-born son Louis, by our oath on the holy Gospels of God that we, our sons and their successors, to the aforementioned Lord John, King of Bohemia, our brother, his aforementioned sons, their successors and the aforementioned kingdom, Bohemia, with its joined parts, are obligated to be of eternal assistance against everyone of any condition, office, and honour, except for the magnificent sovereigns Lord Robert, King of Jerusalem and Sicily, and Casimir, King of Poland, and their sons and successors, kinsmen and all the relatives with whom we are tied by blood in Italy or any territories that we want and to which we are obliged. If the monarch and his successors conduct a campaign outside of the borders of Bohemia against their neighbours, or neighbouring enemies of any of them, then, upon their request, we promise and are obligated to render him, his sons or successors, assistance with our armed force and bowmen without fraudulence and ruse. If someone passes the borders of the aforementioned kingdom of Bohemia, with hostile intention, attacking violently him, his sons and successors, and the kingdom with its adjoining territories, then we, our sons, and successors of our sons promise and are obligated to help the king of Bohemia, his sons and their successors personally with all the power of our kingdom, Hungary, to his, his sons' or their successors' request. Similarly, our brother, the King of Bohemia, whether in the present status, the royal honour he performs or in a different, higher honour that may be felicitously reached and performed in the future, with his aforementioned sons and their successors give us, our sons, and successors and our kingdoms help forever against everyone with no exception of any status or honoured man in the same way - as they could better - so if we, our sons or our successors conduct a campaign outside of the borders of our kingdoms against our neighbours, or neighbouring enemies, to our request, the king, his sons, and successors of the kingdom of Bohemia with the help of their armed force and bowmen shall help us. But if the borders of our kingdoms are passed by anyone with hostile intention attacking us, our sons and successors and our kingdoms, then our brother, the king, his son and successors of Bohemia ought, to our request, to help us, our sons and their successors personally with all the power of their kingdom, Bohemia, without fraudulence and ruse. Moreover, we promise that refugees, fugitives and convicts in general coming from Bohemia to our kingdom shall not be recruited, any of ours shall not be allowed to recruit and give support to them either. And similarly, our brother, the King of Bohemia, his sons and successors, shall not support or recruit convicts, refugees, or fugitives coming from our kingdoms to Bohemia or to neighbouring territories, but, after the announcement, we, the kings, by our successors and officials, shall expel the convicts. Moreover, if, between us, our sons and successors on one part, and Lord Albert, Lord Otto, Princes of Austria and Styria, or their successors on the other part war or conflict should break out at anytime, we shall make no peace or agreement without the consensus of the King of Bohemia, his sons and successors, according to our oath above, except for that case in which our brother, the King of Bohemia, his sons and successors, with a previously expressed consensus, contribute to it. Similarly, if our aforementioned brother, the King of Bohemia, his sons and successors, from the present or in a future war wish to make an agreement with the Princes of Austria and Styria or their successors, they cannot fulfil it, according to the oath above, without us and our sons, except the case in which we, our sons, or successors have previously contributed to the consensus. Whenever we, the kings, our sons, and successors, or our people, by rendering help or by any other way, come into contact, they shall always be entirely and mutually secure. We promise, under possible penalty of papal excommunication, in the name of our sons and successors, to keep the entirety of the present document as we ought to: that is, according to the oath above. Our brother, Lord King of Bohemia is also obliged to keep such, in his, his sons' and successors' names, and vice versa, as it has been declared in the articles above, under oath and penalty. As testimony to the entire action and every single article, we, the aforementioned King of Hungary, with our son, Louis, have the present letter patent strengthened by our pendant seals. Concluded at Visegrád, in Hungary, on the Sunday before the birth of the glorious Virgin, in the year of the Lord 1335.

On the fold: Entered into the registry by John de Glacz. Charter issued on September 3, 1335, with the seals of Charles of Anjou and his son Louis (Original: National Archives, Prague).

 

"3 September 1335". In: Rácz, György (ed.): Visegrád 1335. Bratislava, 2009, pp. 86-88.