Mercedes' Master of Defense

I had the chance to do some scroll text work again.  This one is for Mercedes Vera de Califia's Master of Defense.  I left the Spanish terms that had no English equivalent in Spanish.   I would have liked to have gotten the whole thing in medieval Spanish but time and availability of my 16th century Spanish expert did not work out.

On the other hand, Mercedes' persona is explicitly a Spanish woman living in England, so the mixed English and Spanish works out just fine.

Wilhelm, by right of arms, King of the East, and Vienna, by agency of the same right the Queen, to all prelates, dukes, duchesses, counts, countesses, ricos homes, priors of the Orders, Knight-commanders, alcades of castles and fortified as well as unfortified places, adelantados, merinos[1], lieutenants of all cities, towns and places, presidents and Auditors of our Council and our tribunals and our chanceries, town councilors, and the jurados, officers and omes buenos of the cities, towns and other places of our Kingdom, and all other vassals and subjects of whatever estate, condition and dignity you may be, and every one of you, health and greetings.  Considering our veneration for the greatness, the excellence, the nobility and the eminent virtues of our servant Mercedes Vera de Califia, and having taken testimony from persons of good repute and witnessed with our own eyes the excellence of the said Mercedes in all matters of the rapier, and considering also the great benefit and advantage that our Realm has received from the labors of the said Mercedes in the government of rapier combat among our people, it is our great pleasure to direct and ordain that the said Mercedes be gifted, invested, and endowed with the Order of Defence, with all privileges, benefits, usages, liberties, profits, easements and rightful pertinents in and by all ways pertaining thereunto, to have and hold the same perpetually and as freely and quietly, fully and honourably as any other member of the Order aforenamed.  In witness whereof we have ordered this instrument to be drawn up, marked with our ensigns manual, and countersigned by the Brigantia Herald, whom we have commanded to cause the said instrument to be read aloud in our Court.  Given in the city of Quintavia upon the 8th of December in the fifty-third year of the Society, being the first year of our reign.



[1]  No, not the sheep.  You're clearly thinking of someone else's scroll.