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Home Towns - Potsdam The Potsdam Deed of Endowment Otto III, 933

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This deed of endowment, presenting the towns of Poztupimi (Potsdam) and Geliti (Geltow) as a gift to the Quedlinburg Abbey constitutes the oldest written evidence of Potsdam as a town. The original, writen in Latin, is stored in the state archives of Saxony-Anhalt in Magdeburg, Germany. Picture at Wikipedia pdf file at www.potsdam.de Below is the full text of the deed in English (translated by Volker) and in Latin.

In the name of the Holy Trinity, Otto, King by the grace of God Let it be known to all our faithful subjects in present an future, that We, guided by our beloved grandmother, the supreme empress Adelheit, according to her wishes, and also according to the wishes of our faithful followers, the honorable Hildebal, bishop of the church at Worms, markgrave Eckhard, markgrave Gero and Lord Lothar, have given our beloved aunt Mathilde, honorable abbess of the Quedlinburg Abbey, two towns in our possession, called Poztupimi and Geliti, located in the province called Hevellon on the island Chotiemuizles and that we have given her these places with all useful belongings, such as bondsmen and bondsmaiden, homes, buildings, estates, both cultivated and not, acres, meadows, fields, pastures, forests and their prey, lakes and rivers and their fish, mills, roads, detours entrances and exits both discovered and yet to discover and all other things one could find a name for; and that we turned our rights on all these items over to her in a way that she, the above mentioned amiable abbess Mathilde, our truthful aunt, may have full authority over these our properties given to her, so she can use them as she pleases and can hand them over, trade them, sell them or rather keep them. To authorize this deed for now and in future, we have ordered to authenticate this paper with our seal and have, as shown below, signed it with our own hand. Signature of Lord Otto, most glorious of Kings. On behalf of archbishop Willigis, I, Hildebald, bishop and chancellor attest to this paper. given on July 3, in the year 993 of the incarnation of the Lord, in the 6th indiction and in the 10th year of the reign of Otto III to Merseburg. Praise the Lord.

In nomine sanctae et individuae trinitatis. Otto, divina favente clementia rex. Omnium fidelium nostrorum tam praesentium quam et futurorum piae devotioni pateat, quemadmodum nos ob interventum et votum dilectae aviae nostrae Adalheidis videlicet imperatricis augustae nec non et petitionem fidelium nostrorum Hildibaldi Uuormaciensis ecclesiae venerabilis episcopi, Eggihardi marchionis, Geronis marchionis et Liutharii comitis carae amitae nostrae Mathhildi scilicet Quitiliniburgensis ecclesiae honorabilis abbatissae dedimus de nostra proprietate duo loca Poztupimi et Geliti dicta in provincia Heuellon vocata et in insula Chotiemuizles sita atque eadem loca cum omnibus utensilibus ad ea rite pertinentibus in mancipiis utriusque sexus areis aedificiis terris cultis et incultis agris pratis campis pascuis silvis venationibus aquis aquarumve decursibus piscationibus molendinis viis et inviis exitibus et reditibus quaesitis et inquirendis cunctisque aliis appenditiis quae adhuc dici possunt a nostro iure in suum ius perpetualiter habenda transstulimus. Ea videlicet ratione ut eadem iam dicta Mathhild amabilis abbatissa cara amita nostra de praefata proprietate sibi a nobis tradita liberam dehinc faciendi quod velit potestatem habeat, sive eam tradere vel commutare aut vendere seu magis sibi retinere voluerit. Et ut haec nostra donatio praesenti ac futuro tempore firma consistat, hoc praeceptum inde conscriptum sigilli nostri inpressione signare iussimus manuque propria ut infra videtur corroboravimus. Signum domni Ottonis (MF.) gloriosissimi regis. Hildibaldus episcopus et cancellarius vice Uuilligisi archiepiscopi recognovi. Data V nonas iulii anno dominicae incarnationis DCCCCXCIII Indictione VI anno autem tertii Ottonis regnantis decimo. Actum Mersaburg feliciter.

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