Letter 19
To the most noble Grimoald, my dear friend in Christ,
The monastery situation has been resolved satisfactorily, thanks to your intervention, and I want to express my gratitude properly. The monks have written to me with great relief, and I have told them to pray for you with especial fervor — which they needed no encouragement to do.
I raise now a different matter: the condition of the road between Cahors and [the neighboring city], which is the main route for commerce and for pilgrims in this part of the kingdom and which has been in a state of dangerous disrepair for several years. The bridge at [the river crossing] in particular is no longer safe for loaded vehicles.
The maintenance of the roads is in principle a responsibility of the royal administration, but in practice the roads in provincial areas like this one are maintained only if someone makes a specific effort to see that they are. I am making that specific effort, and I ask your support.
I estimate the cost of proper repair at a figure I will include separately. If the royal treasury can contribute, I will seek matching contributions from the bishops along the route and from the local magnates who depend on the road.
Desiderius
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.