Books: The Magna Carta
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A note from Michael Hart, preparer of the 0.1 version.
This file contains a number of versions of the Magna Carta,
some of which were a little mangled in transit. I am sure
our volunteers will find and correct errors I didn't catch,
and that version 0.2 - 1.0 will have significant improvments,
as well as at least one more version in Latin.
Version 1.0 may contain a dozen different versions.
The Text of Magna Carta
JOHN, by the grace of God King of England, Lord of Ireland, Duke of
Normandy and Aquitaine, and Count of Anjou, to his archbishops,
bishops, abbots, earls, barons, justices, foresters, sheriffs,
stewards, servants, and to all his officials and loyal subjects,
Greeting.
KNOW THAT BEFORE GOD, for the health of our soul and those of our
ancestors and heirs, to the honour of God, the exaltation of the holy
Church, and the better ordering of our kingdom, at the advice of our
reverend fathers Stephen, archbishop of Canterbury, primate of all
England, and cardinal of the holy Roman Church, Henry archbishop of
Dublin, William bishop of London, Peter bishop of Winchester, Jocelin
bishop of Bath and Glastonbury, Hugh bishop of Lincoln, Walter Bishop
of Worcester, William bishop of Coventry, Benedict bishop of
Rochester, Master Pandulf subdeacon and member of the papal household,
Brother Aymeric master of the knighthood of the Temple in England,
William Marshal earl of Pembroke, William earl of Salisbury, William
earl of Warren, William earl of Arundel, Alan de Galloway constable of
Scotland, Warin Fitz Gerald, Peter Fitz Herbert, Hubert de Burgh
seneschal of Poitou, Hugh de Neville, Matthew Fitz Herbert, Thomas
Basset, Alan Basset, Philip Daubeny, Robert de Roppeley, John Marshal,
John Fitz Hugh, and other loyal subjects:
(1) FIRST, THAT WE HAVE GRANTED TO GOD, and by this present charter
have confirmed for us and our heirs in perpetuity, that the English
Church shall be free, and shall have its rights undiminished, and its
liberties unimpaired. That we wish this so to be observed, appears
from the fact that of our own free will, before the outbreak of the
present dispute between us and our barons, we granted and confirmed by
charter the freedom of the Church's elections - a right reckoned to be
of the greatest necessity and importance to it - and caused this to be
confirmed by Pope Innocent III. This freedom we shall observe ourselves,
and desire to be observed in good faith by our heirs in perpetuity.
TO ALL FREE MEN OF OUR KINGDOM we have also granted, for us and our
heirs for ever, all the liberties written out below, to have and to
keep for them and their heirs, of us and our heirs:
(2) If any earl, baron, or other person that holds lands directly of
the Crown, for military service, shall die, and at his death his heir
shall be of full age and owe a `relief', the heir shall have his
inheritance on payment of the ancient scale of `relief'. That is to
say, the heir or heirs of an earl shall pay 100 for the entire earl's
barony, the heir or heirs of a knight l00s. at most for the entire
knight's `fee', and any man that owes less shall pay less, in
accordance with the ancient usage of `fees'
(3) But if the heir of such a person is under age and a ward, when he
comes of age he shall have his inheritance without `relief' or fine.
(4) The guardian of the land of an heir who is under age shall take
from it only reasonable revenues, customary dues, and feudal services.
He shall do this without destruction or damage to men or property. If
we have given the guardianship of the land to a sheriff, or to any
person answerable to us for the revenues, and he commits destruction
or damage, we will exact compensation from him, and the land shall be
entrusted to two worthy and prudent men of the same `fee', who shall
be answerable to us for the revenues, or to the person to whom we have
assigned them. If we have given or sold to anyone the guardianship of
such land, and he causes destruction or damage, he shall lose the
guardianship of it, and it shall be handed over to two worthy and
prudent men of the same `fee', who shall be similarly answerable to
us.
(5) For so long as a guardian has guardianship of such land, he shall
maintain the houses, parks, fish preserves, ponds, mills, and
everything else pertaining to it, from the revenues of the land
itself. When the heir comes of age, he shall restore the whole land to
him, stocked with plough teams and such implements of husbandry as the
season demands and the revenues from the land can reasonably bear.
(6) Heirs may be given in marriage, but not to someone of lower social
standing. Before a marriage takes place, it shall be' made known to
the heir's next-of-kin.
(7) At her husband's death, a widow may have her marriage portion and
inheritance at once and without trouble. She shall pay nothing for her
dower, marriage portion, or any inheritance that she and her husband
held jointly on the day of his death. She may remain in her husband's
house for forty days after his death, and within this period her dower
shall be assigned to her.
(8) No widow shall be compelled to marry, so long as she wishes to
remain without a husband. But she must give security that she will not
marry without royal consent, if she holds her lands of the Crown, or
without the consent of whatever other lord she may hold them of.
(9) Neither we nor our officials will seize any land or rent in
payment of a debt, so long as the debtor has movable goods sufficient
to discharge the debt. A debtor's sureties shall not be distrained
upon so long as the debtor himself can discharge his debt. If, for
lack of means, the debtor is unable to discharge his debt, his
sureties shall be answerable for it. If they so desire, they may have
the debtor's lands and rents until they have received satisfaction for
the debt that they paid for him, unless the debtor can show that he
has settled his obligations to them.
(10) If anyone who has borrowed a sum of money from Jews dies before
the debt has been repaid, his heir shall pay no interest on the debt
for so long as he remains under age, irrespective of whom he holds his
lands. If such a debt falls into the hands of the Crown, it will take
nothing except the principal sum specified in the bond.
(11) If a man dies owing money to Jews, his wife may have her dower
and pay nothing towards the debt from it. If he leaves children that
are under age, their needs may also be provided for on a scale
appropriate to the size of his holding of lands. The debt is to be
paid out of the residue, reserving the service due to his feudal lords.
Debts owed to persons other than Jews are to be dealt with similarly.
(12) No `scutage' or `aid' may be levied in our kingdom without its
general consent, unless it is for the ransom of our person, to make
our eldest son a knight, and (once) to marry our eldest daughter. For
these purposes only a reasonable `aid' may be levied. `Aids' from the
city of London are to be treated similarly.
(13) The city of London shall enjoy all its ancient liberties and
free customs, both by land and by water. We also will and grant that
all other cities, boroughs, towns, and ports shall enjoy all their
liberties and free customs.
(14) To obtain the general consent of the realm for the assessment
of an `aid' - except in the three cases specified above - or a
`scutage', we will cause the archbishops, bishops, abbots, earls, and
greater barons to be summoned individually by letter. To those who
hold lands directly of us we will cause a general summons to be
issued, through the sheriffs and other officials, to come together on
a fixed day (of which at least forty days notice shall be given) and
at a fixed place. In all letters of summons, the cause of the summons
will be stated. When a summons has been issued, the business appointed
for the day shall go forward in accordance with the resolution of
those present, even if not all those who were summoned have appeared.
(15) In future we will allow no one to levy an `aid' from his free
men, except to ransom his person, to make his eldest son a knight, and
(once) to marry his eldest daughter. For these purposes only a
reasonable `aid' may be levied.
(16) No man shall be forced to perform more service for a knight's
`fee', or other free holding of land, than is due from it.
(17) Ordinary lawsuits shall not follow the royal court around, but
shall be held in a fixed place.
(18) Inquests of novel disseisin, mort d'ancestor, and darrein
presentment shall be taken only in their proper county court. We
ourselves, or in our absence abroad our chief justice, will send two
justices to each county four times a year, and these justices, with
four knights of the county elected by the county itself, shall hold
the assizes in the county court, on the day and in the place where the
court meets.
(19) If any assizes cannot be taken on the day of the county court, as
many knights and freeholders shall afterwards remain behind, of those
who have attended the court, as will suffice for the administration of
justice, having regard to the volume of business to be done.
(20) For a trivial offence, a free man shall be fined only in
proportion to the degree of his offence, and for a serious offence
correspondingly, but not so heavily as to deprive him of his
livelihood. In the same way, a merchant shall be spared his
merchandise, and a husbandman the implements of his husbandry, if they
fall upon the mercy of a royal court. None of these fines shall be
imposed except by the assessment on oath of reputable men of the
neighbourhood.
(21) Earls and barons shall be fined only by their equals, and in
proportion to the gravity of their offence.
(22) A fine imposed upon the lay property of a clerk in holy orders
shall be assessed upon the same principles, without reference to the
value of his ecclesiastical benefice.
(23) No town or person shall be forced to build bridges over rivers
except those with an ancient obligation to do so.
(24) No sheriff, constable, coroners, or other royal officials are to
hold lawsuits that should be held by the royal justices.
(25) Every county, hundred, wapentake, and tithing shall remain at
its ancient rent, without increase, except the royal demesne manors.
(26) If at the death of a man who holds a lay `fee' of the Crown, a
sheriff or royal official produces royal letters patent of summons for
a debt due to the Crown, it shall be lawful for them to seize and list
movable goods found in the lay `fee' of the dead man to the value of
the debt, as assessed by worthy men. Nothing shall be removed until
the whole debt is paid, when the residue shall be given over to the
executors to carry out the dead man's will. If no debt is due to the
Crown, all the movable goods shall be regarded as the property of the
dead man, except the reasonable shares of his wife and children.
(27) If a free man dies intestate, his movable goods are to be
distributed by his next-of-kin and friends, under the supervision of
the Church. The rights of his debtors are to be preserved.
(28) No constable or other royal official shall take corn or other
movable goods from any man without immediate payment, unless the
seller voluntarily offers postponement of this.
(29) No constable may compel a knight to pay money for castle-guard if
the knight is willing to undertake the guard in person, or with
reasonable excuse to supply some other fit man to do it. A knight
taken or sent on military service shall be excused from castle-guard
for the period of this service.
(30) No sheriff, royal official, or other person shall take horses or
carts for transport from any free man, without his consent.
(31) Neither we nor any royal official will take wood for our castle,
or for any other purpose, without the consent of the owner.
(32) We will not keep the lands of people convicted of felony in our
hand for longer than a year and a day, after which they shall be
returned to the lords of the `fees' concerned.
(33) All fish-weirs shall be removed from the Thames, the Medway, and
throughout the whole of England, except on the sea coast.
(34) The writ called precipe shall not in future be issued to anyone
in respect of any holding of land, if a free man could thereby be
deprived of the right of trial in his own lord's court.
(35) There shall be standard measures of wine, ale, and corn (the
London quarter), throughout the kingdom. There shall also be a
standard width of dyed cloth, russett, and haberject, namely two ells
within the selvedges. Weights are to be standardised similarly.
(36) In future nothing shall be paid or accepted for the issue of a
writ of inquisition of life or limbs. It shall be given gratis, and
not refused.
(37) If a man holds land of the Crown by `fee-farm', `socage', or
`burgage', and also holds land of someone else for knight's service,
we will not have guardianship of his heir, nor of the land that
belongs to the other person's `fee', by virtue of the `fee-farm',
`socage', or `burgage', unless the `fee-farm' owes knight's service.
We will not have the guardianship of a man's heir, or of land that he
holds of someone else, by reason of any small property that he may
hold of the Crown for a service of knives, arrows, or the like.
(38) In future no official shall place a man on trial upon his own
unsupported statement, without producing credible witnesses to the
truth of it.
(39) No free man shall be seized or imprisoned, or stripped of his
rights or possessions, or outlawed or exiled, or deprived of his
standing in any other way, nor will we proceed with force against him,
or send others to do so, except by the lawful judgement of his equals
or by the law of the land.
(40) To no one will we sell, to no one deny or delay right or justice.
(41) All merchants may enter or leave England unharmed and without
fear, and may stay or travel within it, by land or water, for purposes
of trade, free from all illegal exactions, in accordance with ancient
and lawful customs. This, however, does not apply in time of war to
merchants from a country that is at war with us. Any such merchants
found in our country at the outbreak of war shall be detained without
injury to their persons or property, until we or our chief justice
have discovered how our own merchants are being treated in the country
at war with us. If our own merchants are safe they shall be safe too.
(42) In future it shall be lawful for any man to leave and return to
our kingdom unharmed and without fear, by land or water, preserving
his allegiance to us, except in time of war, for some short period,
for the common benefit of the realm. People that have been imprisoned
or outlawed in accordance with the law of the land, people from a
country that is at war with us, and merchants - who shall be dealt
with as stated above - are excepted from this provision.
(43) If a man holds lands of any `escheat' such as the `honour' of
Wallingford, Nottingham, Boulogne, Lancaster, or of other `escheats'
in our hand that are baronies, at his death his heir shall give us
only the `relief' and service that he would have made to the baron,
had the barony been in the baron's hand. We will hold the `escheat' in
the same manner as the baron held it.
(44) People who live outside the forest need not in future appear
before the royal justices of the forest in answer to general
summonses, unless they are actually involved in proceedings or are
sureties for someone who has been seized for a forest offence.
(45) We will appoint as justices, constables, sheriffs, or other
officials, only men that know the law of the realm and are minded to
keep it well.
(46) All barons who have founded abbeys, and have charters of English
kings or ancient tenure as evidence of this, may have guardianship of
them when there is no abbot, as is their due.
(47) All forests that have been created in our reign shall at once be
disafforested. River-banks that have been enclosed in our reign shall
be treated similarly.
(48) All evil customs relating to forests and warrens, foresters,
warreners, sheriffs and their servants, or river-banks and their
wardens, are at once to be investigated in every county by twelve
sworn knights of the county, and within forty days of their enquiry
the evil customs are to be abolished completely and irrevocably. But
we, or our chief justice if we are not in England, are first to be
informed.
(49) We will at once return all hostages and charters delivered up
to us by Englishmen as security for peace or for loyal service.
***here were some strange characters, not completely removed
(50) We will remove completely from their offices the kinsmen of
Gerard de Ath, Peter, Guy, and Andrew de Chanceaux, Guy de Cigogne, and in
future they shall hold no offices in England. The
people in question are Engelard de Cigogn, Geoffrey de Martigny and his
brothers, Philip Marc and his brothers, with Geoffrey his nephew,
and all their followers.
* As soon as peace is restored, we will remove from the kingdom all
the foreign knights, bowmen, their attendants, and the mercenaries
that have come to it, to its harm, with horses and arms.
* To any man whom we have deprived or dispossessed of lands,
castles, liberties, or rights, without the lawful judgement of his
equals, we will at once restore these. In cases of dispute the
matter shall be resolved by the judgement of the twenty-five
barons referred to below in the clause for securing the peace. In
cases, however, where a man was deprived or dispossessed of
something without the lawful judgement of his equals by our father
King Henry or our brother King Richard, and it remains in our
hands or is held by others under our warranty, we shall have
respite for the period commonly allowed to Crusaders, unless a
lawsuit had been begun, or an enquiry had been made at our order,
before we took the Cross as a Crusader. On our return from the
Crusade, or if we abandon it, we will at once render justice in
full.
* We shall have similar respite in rendering justice in connexion
with forests that are to be disafforested, or to remain forests,
when these were first aforested by our father Henry or our brother
Richard; with the guardianship of lands in another persons fee,
when we have hitherto had this by virtue of a fee held of us for
knights service by a third party; and with abbeys founded in
another persons fee, in which the lord of the fee claims to own a
right. On our return from the Crusade, or if we abandon it, we
will at once do full justice to complaints about these matters.
* No one shall be arrested or imprisoned on the appeal of a woman
for the death of any person except her husband.
* All fines that have been given to us unjustly and against the law
of the land, and all fines that we have exacted unjustly, shall be
entirely remitted or the matter decided by a majority judgement of
the twenty-five barons referred to below in the clause for
securing the peace together with Stephen, archbishop of
Canterbury, if he can be present, and such others as he wishes to
bring with him. If the archbishop cannot be present, proceedings
shall continue without him, provided that if any of the
twenty-five barons has been involved in a similar suit himself,
his judgement shall be set aside, and someone else chosen and
sworn in his place, as a substitute for the single occasion, by
the rest of the twenty-five.
* If we have deprived or dispossessed any Welshmen of lands,
liberties, or anything else in England or in Wales, without the
lawful judgement of their equals, these are at once to be returned
to them. A dispute on this point shall be determined in the
Marches by the judgement of equals. English law shall apply to
holdings of land in England, Welsh law to those in Wales, and the
law of the Marches to those in the Marches. The Welsh shall treat
us and ours in the same way.
* In cases where a Welshman was deprived or dispossessed of
anything, without the lawful judgement of his equals, by our
father King Henry or our brother King Richard, and it remains in
our hands or is held by others under our warranty, we shall have
respite for the period commonly allowed to Crusaders, unless a
lawsuit had been begun, or an enquiry had been made at our order,
before we took the Cross as a Crusader. But on our return from the
Crusade, or if we abandon it, we will at once do full justice
according to the laws of Wales and the said regions.
* We will at once return the son of Llywelyn, all Welsh hostages,
and the charters delivered to us as security for the peace.
* With regard to the return of the sisters and hostages of
Alexander, king of Scotland, his liberties and his rights, we will
treat him in the same way as our other barons of England, unless
it appears from the charters that we hold from his father William,
formerly king of Scotland, that he should be treated otherwise.
This matter shall be resolved by the judgement of his equals in
our court.
* All these customs and liberties that we have granted shall be
observed in our kingdom in so far as concerns our own relations
with our subjects. Let all men of our kingdom, whether clergy or
laymen, observe them similarly in their relations with their own
men.
***Strange characters may have ended here.
SINCE WE HAVE GRANTED ALL THESE THINGS for God, for the better
ordering of our kingdom, and to allay the discord that has arisen
between us and our barons, and since we desire that they shall be
enjoyed in their entirety, with lasting strength, for ever, we give
and grant to the barons the following security:
* The barons shall elect twenty-five of their number to keep, and
cause to be observed with all their might, the peace and liberties
granted and confirmed to them by this charter.
* If we, our chief justice, our officials, or any of our servants
offend in any respect against any man, or transgress any of the
articles of the peace or of this security, and the offence is made
known to four of the said twenty-five barons, they shall come to
us - or in our absence from the kingdom to the chief justice - to
declare it and claim immediate redress. If we, or in our absence
abroad the chief justice, make no redress within forty days,
reckoning from the day on which the offence was declared to us or
to him, the four barons shall refer the matter to the rest of the
twenty-five barons, who may distrain upon and assail us in every
way possible, with the support of the whole community of the land,
by seizing our castles, lands, possessions, or anything else
saving only our own person and those of the queen and our
children, until they have secured such redress as they have
determined upon. Having secured the redress, they may then resume
their normal obedience to us.
* Any man who so desires may take an oath to obey the commands of
the twenty-five barons for the achievement of these ends, and to
join with them in assailing us to the utmost of his power. We give
public and free permission to take this oath to any man who so
desires, and at no time will we prohibit any man from taking it.
Indeed, we will compel any of our subjects who are unwilling to
take it to swear it at our command.
* If-one of the twenty-five barons dies or leaves the country, or is
prevented in any other way from discharging his duties, the rest
of them shall choose another baron in his place, at their
discretion, who shall be duly sworn in as they were.
* In the event of disagreement among the twenty-five barons on any
matter referred to them for decision, the verdict of the majority
present shall have the same validity as a unanimous verdict of the
whole twenty-five, whether these were all present or some of those
summoned were unwilling or unable to appear.
* The twenty-five barons shall swear to obey all the above articles
faithfully, and shall cause them to be obeyed by others to the
best of their power.
* We will not seek to procure from anyone, either by our own efforts
or those of a third party, anything by which any part of these
concessions or liberties might be revoked or diminished. Should
such a thing be procured, it shall be null and void and we will at
no time make use of it, either ourselves or through a third party.
We have remitted and pardoned fully to all men any ill-will, hurt, or
grudges that have arisen between us and our subjects, whether clergy
or laymen, since the beginning of the dispute.
We have in addition remitted fully, and for our own part have also
pardoned, to all clergy and laymen any offences committed as a result
of the said dispute between Easter 1215 AD and the restoration of
peace.
In addition we have caused letters patent to be made for the barons,
bearing witness to this security and to the concessions set out above,
over the seals of Stephen archbishop of Canterbury, Henry archbishop
of Dublin, the other bishops named above, and Master Pandulf.
IT IS ACCORDINGLY OUR WISH AND COMMAND that the English Church shall
be free, and that men in our kingdom shall have and keep all these
liberties, rights, and concessions, well and peaceably in their
fulness and entirety for them and their heirs, of us and our heirs, in
all things and all places for ever.