Letter 21
To our trusted servant in the king's service,
The matter of the eastern estates has been resolved as we directed, and we thank you for your efficient handling of it. There remains, however, the question of the annual renders from the Rhine valley properties that were last audited in the time of the late king.
We direct you to conduct a full audit of these properties and report to us the current state of the renders: what has been paid, what remains outstanding, and what the condition of the properties themselves suggests about future yields. We are aware that several years of disputed succession have allowed certain obligations to be neglected; we do not intend to allow that situation to continue.
On the second matter you raised: the bishop's request for royal confirmation of his church's property rights in the disputed valley is under consideration. We will respond separately.
By order of the royal court
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.