Abstract

This paper analyzes a charter dated 15 March 1310, cited by Farlatus, in which a king confirmed a series of villages and their territorial boundaries to the monasteries of Praskvica and Gradiste (Imbëcizë). The donation, originally made by Queen Helena and later reaffirmed by royal authority, includes several settlements and a detailed boundary description extending from inland landmarks to the coastal area of Spizza. The document reflects the legal and administrative mechanisms governing monastic landholdings in a politically and ethnically mixed coastal–hinterland zone. Its confirmation by Archbishop Marinus underscores the ecclesiastical validation of property rights in the early fourteenth century.

Original diploma

The transmission history of the 1310 charter is complex. The original diploma is no longer extant, and later versions circulated in Italian and Latin translations. As noted by later scholars, some surviving documents appear to be early modern fabrications produced by monastic communities seeking to reaffirm property rights. Nevertheless, the recurrence of identical toponyms and boundary descriptions across multiple versions suggests that the underlying geographical tradition may preserve authentic medieval elements.

Translated from latin:

“He narrates; one such source is Farlatus. In this place, and not separately, must also be adduced the charters that have appeared, by which the same king, on March 15, 1310, confirmed to the monastery of Praskvica, and likewise to the monastery of Gradiste, or Imbëcizë, the villages Burina, Brates, Toplis, Septina, Berglian, Segllan, and Theseus, together with their boundaries (from the small bridge in the lake toward Gradiste, from the summit of Mount Dievin, toward Spizza, toward Calez, Flies, Ostro Vixzam, and Zelenika, which looks out toward the sea), donated by his mother Helena. Marinus, the archbishop, approved [this]”

Toponyms reconstructed and restored to Albanian

Latin Form	Albanian	Certainty
Burinam	Burimë / Burim	High
Brates	Bratë / Brratë	Medium
Toplis	Topli / Topël	Medium
Septinam	Shtatinë	Medium–Low
Berglianem	Bërgjan / Breglan	Medium
Segllanem	Zejlan / Zgjallan	Low
Theseem	Thesë / Thes	High

Source

Acta et diplomata res Albaniae mediae aetatis illustrantia. Collegerunt et digesserunt dr Ludovicus de Thalóczy, dr Constantinus Jireček et dr Emilianus de Sufflay. Volume 1. 1913