Dédition of Nice in Savoy
The dédition of Nice in Savoy is a Charte September 28th 1388 which seals the fastening of Nice to the Savoy and the creation of the Comté of Nice. The original of this charter was lost and the title comes from a copy of the 16th century entitled Dedizione beyond città E vicaria di Nizza AD Amedeo VII tells di Savoia .
The dédition term is a legal term which characterizes the voluntary tender of people or a commune to a sovereign. A dédition is carried out by the establishment of a written contract establishing the rights and obligations of each one.
The 34 articles of the text of the dédition of 1388 emphasize that the first concern of Niçois is to obtain protection against the house of Anjou and its allies local, the counts of Vintimille and of Tende. It is about a military and legal protection. There is, then, the wish to preserve the privileges of the city and the desire to obtain house of Savoy of new advantages (installation of the capital of the Provence to Nice or concession of harbor facilities).
Causes of the dédition
May 22nd, 1382, Jeanne I {{Re}}, queen of Jerusalem and Sicily, the Duchy of Pouille and the Principality of Capoue, countess of Provence and Forcalquier, more known under the name of Jeanne Queen, perished assassinated. Although married four times, it did not have any direct successor. In 1372, it had designated for its heir his cousin Charles, duke of Duras (or Durazzo, today Durrës in Albania), then in 1380, reconsidering its choice, it had adopted the duke of Anjou, Louis I {{er}}, one of the brothers of the king de France Charles V. With died of the queen, each one was claimed heir and the troops of the applicants clashed in a long and painful conflict. After the death of the two protagonists, the conflict was continued by their wives in the capacity as regents of their minor sons.
Provence itself was torn between the two parts, Marseilles holding for the Anjou and Aix-en-Provence declaring itself for Duras. Majority of the communes, whose Nice, was also favorable to Duras. To these political disturbances came to be still added the Great Schism of the Catholic church, Angevins choosing the Pape of Avignon Clément VII and them Duras that of Rome, Urbain VI.
In 1387, in continuation of a reversal of situation, Aix-en-Provence joined itself the house of Anjou, leaving the partisans of Duras in minority. In an unexpected way, Provence in the east of the VAr, i.e. the country niçois, was found only vis-a-vis the partisans of Anjou, maintaining very numerous thanks to the substantial advantages distributed liberally by the latter. Ladislas de Duras, young king of Naples driven out its capital by a revolt, appeared unable to help what remained of its partisans; several lords of the mountains niçoises had paid besides homages to Louis II of Anjou.
With the beginning of the year 1388, Georges de Marle, seneshal of Louis II, concentrated troops around Nice to invest the city. Seeing that, the municipal officials sent a delegation at Ladislas de Duras to ask of the assistance. It was answered to them that the king of Naples could not help them and that consequently, it made it possible Niçois to be given to such lord that they would like it, and who could ensure their protection, provided that he were not an adversary of Duras. With the return of the delegation and after deliberation, it was decided to choose the count of Savoy Amédée VII, called “the red count”. As of reception of the embassy niçoise, this one was started for Nice immediately, seizing aubaine to open its mountain states on a Mediterranean port.
Amédée VII arrived at the Abbaye of Saint-Pons, with the doors of Nice, on September 27th and the Council of the Forty gave mandate to the four Syndics to go to ask for the protection of Savoy. The following day September 28th, 1388, was written by front notary the pact of “dédition” under the terms of which the count of Savoy committed himself to control and be protecting Nice and his viguery. The act maintained for king Ladislas the possibility of recovering its field in the three years to come, on the condition of refunding with the count de Savoie all the expenses by him exposed in this business. Failing this, the transfer would become final and the inhabitants would be held to lend oath of homage and fidelity.
Three years later, Ladislas being unable to refund the expenditure of Amédée VII, the country niçois returned definitively, and until 1860, in Savoy by taking the new ground name “of Provence” then “county of Nice”, the word “county” having an administrative and nonfeudal direction since there was never of count de Nice, except lasting Louis XIV during the short periods which it occupied the city (1691 - 1696,1703 - 1706). The four vigueries constituting the future county of Nice were those of Nice, Puget-Théniers, Sospel and valley of Lantosque, and Barcelonnette, the latter since 1385 being placed under the protection of the counts de Savoie.
The text of the thirty-four articles of Dédition
The original text was translated by Eugene Cais de Pierlas (in “the town of Nice during the first century of the domination of the princes of Its way”, Turin 1898, page 35.)
1.Le count de Savoie promises to control and to protect Nice and its viguery with its own expenses against whoever would like to seize some and especially against the countess of Anjou and the lords of Tends and of Brigue.
2. At the request of the syndics of Nice it is committed making its possible to take again at the house of Anjou the other cities and grounds of the counties of Provence and Forcalquier and to reduce them under the banner of the emperor and his.
3.Si king Ladislas in the three years space will be able (sic) to refund with the count the expenditure which it will have made for the occupation and the guard of the known as grounds and which will be evaluated on simple assertion of the prince, this one will have to give the grounds to him that it occupied.
4.Le count promises that during these three years of occupation, or afterwards, it will not yield nor will sell the city and the viguery of Nice either with the duchess of Anjou or to king de France or to any other lord, except however to king Ladislas.
5.La town of Nice swears to obey during these three years with the count and with its officers as it did it to the counts de Provence and to leave him the pleasure of the revenues of the city and the viguery which the former sovereigns in spite of that enjoyed the city will not be held to lend the homage to him, but the prince will be free to receive that of the citizens who would like to do it.
6.Le count obliges for him and its heirs to cancel any sale or donation which it could make of strongholds or other domanial goods, as much in the city that in the viguery.
7.Le count will grant unrestricted passage to any person and especially to Niçois who by sea or ground would wish to carry helps of men, weapons or vivres to king Ladislas.
8.Le count will defend the passage to all people wanting to fight king Ladislas or to seize our fields.
9.Le count promises that so in the three years space king Ladislas will be (sic) capable to him to refund all the expenses of the occupation and of the guard of all the cities and grounds dependant on this last and who put themselves or will put themselves under its protection and which the aforementioned count refuses the refunding and the restitution of these fields, in this case the inhabitants, of their own movement and without being guilty of rebellion, will be able to withdraw from the domination counts of Savoy, and to turn over to that of Ladislas.
10.Le count will not be able, in the criminal and civil judgments, to transport some person that it is of a place with another, or of a jurisdiction with another, unless the rights of the count were directly reached.
11.La town of Nice and its viguery will be able to preserve the gabelles ones and the taxes established for the needs for the war and which belong to him, or to abolish them, but the taxes due to the court will be paid to the count.
12 If the count would succeed in seizing all the county of Provence and Forcalquier, it will establish in the town of Nice the residence of the seneshal and other large officers, as that was practiced for the town of Aix under the queen Jeanne this privilege however will depend only on the good pleasure of the count.
13.Le count promises to grant letters of mark and reprisals against any foreign person who would refuse to return justice to an inhabitant of Nice, according to the use of Italy.
14.Le count will preserve at Nice gabelle salt and will deliver salt to the inhabitants to the usual price of 2 pennies and half by setier in time of war the price will be fixed by it by the count and the syndics of Nice.
15.Le count promises not to grant neither peace nor truce to the duchess of Anjou without the opinion of Niçois and this during all the time that it will aim to the conquest of the counties of Provence and Forcalquier.
16.Pendant the period of time susindiquée the count will not be able to prevent any Niçois from carrying assistance or help to king Ladislas, except however the case where that was of damage to the count or the city.
in the future 17.Jamais the count will not oblige directly or indirectly Niçois to be gone against king Ladislas, except if this one made the war against the count of Savoy or a city dependant on him.
18.Si Niçois will be declared in favor of one of the popes, the count will try to obtain from him the lifting of any excommunication which would have as an aim the usurpation of goods or incomes religious or the destruction of castles, households or other religious buildings.
19.Le count is committed driving out their fields, by way of conquest or of exchange, the counts de Vintimille lords of Tends and of Brigue, in order to ensure the freedom of communication between Nice and Piedmont.
20.Le count grants frankness and immunity of straight of shore and forty the abroads who will however bring to Nice food products of supply that according to the good pleasure of the count.
21.Le count promises that if it will acquerra (sic) other grounds in the counties of Provence and Forcalquier, to the judge of Nice are reserved the first names is civil that criminal, for the grounds in on this side Siagne, like for those of the valleys of Barcelonnette, Etienne Saint, the viguery of Puget-Théniers and the bailliage of Sigale this jurisdiction will be exclusively of the competence of the judge of Nice by perpetual privilege, even if the supreme court would not be established in Nice, or that appeared preferable for the general advantage of the country.
22.Le count will make restore the goods, strongholds and castles located in the district of Nice at the people of the city to which one would have confiscated them because of the wars which took place between king Ladislas and the duke of Anjou.
23 If count says it would not manage to conquer the remainder of Provence, it will not allow only the inhabitants of the viguery of Nice who were rebellious to king Ladislas, went against the city and acted with its detriment, can there go back and preserve their goods, except of course the rights of their creditors.
24.Lorsque the town of Nice will have decided in favor of one of the popes, the count will try to obtain from him that it frees the houses located in the city and who belong to the abbey of Pons Saint, while giving to this one, compensation, one or more of the castles which belong to the rebellious lords with Ladislas and who by this means would arrive at the capacity of the count.
25.On will establish in the aforementioned city a casana, like it there of with the use in several areas of Italy.
26.Comme it arrives that the traders unload in Nice of the bales which they intend to be then dispatched in the areas of the East, occident or north, the only citizens of Nice will have the right to receive these goods, so that the profit is exclusively reserved for them.
27.Sur the request of the syndics the count of Savoy orders that one will cancel all the investigations and criminal trials whose the court of Nice is already seized, or who could start there because of the last events as a sign of nullity one will burn the registers and cartulaires these lawsuits, except however the rights which the injured people and the banns could have to which the culprits would be held.
28.Si the count will add (sic) other conquests to those which it has just done, it will try to obtain that one restores with the recipients the rights of which they would have been private.
29.Sur the request presented by the count of Savoy which one has to deliver to him the fortress of Nice and the other castles of the viguery in force of the protectorate which was conferred to him, it was agreed that Jean Grimaldi lord of the baronnie of Beuil and the syndics would decide if it were the case or not to make this delivery.
30.Les syndics of Nice, in the name of their agents, promises by oath that during the three following years they will obey the count and that this one will exert on them the mother and mixed empire, the high one and low jurisdiction and will enjoy all the honors and all the incomes just like under the mode of the former counts de Provence. The publications will be done to the known as count and to imperial vicar.
31. With the three years expiry, if king Ladislas will not be able (sic) not to refund the count, Nice and its viguery will make act of homage and fidelity to that the count.
32.Le count then will be held to confirm with the city and viguery of Nice, all the privileges which were formerly granted to them by the Jeanne queen and kings Charles and Ladislas.
33. In the case however where king Ladislas during the three years above arrived to a degree such of power, that it could refund all the expenses in question and that the count after having restored the occupied territories was committed in a war with the duchess of Anjou or his descendants, in this case the viguery of Nice would be required to give him, as subsidy and during the war, incomes of any kind which the royal court had formerly the right to perceive.
34. Whenever king Ladislas sold or yielded to the count his rights on the viguery, this one at once will lend a formal homage of it to him.
References
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