A letter in High German (1315)

Queen of the Romans

Infanta Isabella of Aragon came to the forefront of the European political scene at the beginning of the 14th century, by birth and by marriage. She was the daughter of King James II of Aragon and Blanche of Anjou. And they married her to Frederick the Fair, Duke of Austria and Styria, and King of the Romans, son of Emperor Albert I and Elizabeth of Carinthia.

With the marriage of Isabella and Frederick, the royal house of Aragon became connected to the Habsburg family, which hoped to ascend to the throne of the Holy Roman Empire. But the war for the imperial crown was long and cruel, making the embittering the reign of the young couple. In the end, the defeat at Mühldorf against Louis IV of Bavaria led to Frederick's captivity. They both died in 1330, when Isabella was barely 28 years old.

The letter

The letter reveals the importance that the Austrian court placed on this wedding. It was written in German, a language the new sovereign did not yet understand, by her brothers-in-law Albert and Otto, expressing good wishes for her arrival. Isabella received it on her way to her new home.

She married by proxy on 8 October 1313 in a sumptuous ceremony in Barcelona Cathedral. The wedding was followed by magnificent celebrations. The union was blessed by Pope Clement V of Avignon, where the Infanta's royal entourage stopped on its journey to the northeast. She was then welcomed on the banks of the Rhine by relatives of the Duke. She was crowned Queen of the Romans on 11 May, 1315 in Basel, after a solemn marriage ceremony in Ravensburg on 28 April. Isabella was about 13 years old at the time.

The letter, which was studied by Finke, is one of the oldest preserved private letters written in Middle High German.

“Unserer herzenlieben swester Elspete der hochgebornen schonegin von Rom enbieten wir Albert unde Otto ir brueder von Gots genaden herzoge in Osterriche und in Steyr unser getruelich dienst mit bruoderlicher liebe [...]. Ouch bitten wir dich vleizechlich, swenne du zu unserm lieben herren und bruoder chomest [...] daz du im sagest unser dienst getruelich und gedench an uns, als wir dir getrouwen”

[= “To our dear sister Elisabeth, the exalted Queen of the Romans, we offer Albert and Otto, brothers by the grace of God, dukes in Austria and Styria, our faithful service with brotherly love. […] We also earnestly ask you, when you come to our dear brother […] to faithfully tell him of our service and remember us as we trust in you.”].

Royal letters from the Chancery of the Crown of Aragon

The letter is among thousands of loose documents that have been kept together with the records of the Chancery of the Crown of Aragon since the creation of the Royal Archives of Barcelona (1318). These loose documents include both important deeds relating to the house and royal estate, as well as letters and papers received, confiscated, or cancelled and not sent to their recipient.

The Archive of the Crown of Aragon preserves more than 42,000 documents in the series of royal letters, in successive order of reigns. Those from the time of James II alone number some 20,000.

Document in PARES

Transcription and translation

Bibliography