Books: The Magna Carta
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Both we and the barons have sworn that all this shall be observed in
good faith and without deceit. Witness the above mentioned people and
many others.
Given by our hand in the meadow that is called Runnymede, between
Windsor and Staines, on the fifteenth day of June in the seventeenth
year of our reign .
***
[There were many missing spaces in this one, not sure I got them all]
Magna Carta 1215
John, by the grace of God, king of England, lord of Ireland, duke of
Normandy and Aquitaine, and count of Anjou, to the archbishops,
bishops, abbots, earls, barons, justiciars, foresters, sheriffs,
stewards, servants, and to all his bailiffs and liege subjects,
greeting. Know that, having regard to God and for the salvation of our
soul, and those of all our ancestors and heirs, and unto the honor of
God and the advancement of holy church, and for the reform of
our realm, by advice of our venerable fathers, Stephen archbishop of
Canterbury, primate of all England and cardinal of the holy Roman
Church, Henry archbishop of Dublin, William of London, Peter of
Winchester, Jocelyn of Bath and Glastonbury, Hugh of Lincoln, Walter of
Worcester, William of Coventry, Benedict of Rochester, bishops; of
master Pandulf, subdeacon and member of the household of our lord the
Pope, of brother Aymeric (master of the Knights of the Temple in
England), and of the illustrious men William Marshall earl of Pembroke,
William earl of Salisbury, William earl of Warenne, William earl
of Arundel, Alan of Galloway (constable of Scotland), Waren Fitz
Gerald, Peter Fits Herbert, Hubert de Burgh (seneschal of Poitou), Hugh
de Neville, Matthew Fitz Herbert, Thomas Basset, Alan Basset, Philip
d'Aubigny, Robert of Roppesley, John Marshall, John Fitz Hugh, and
others, our liegemen.
1. In the first place we have granted to God, and by this our present
charter confirmed for us and our heirs for ever that the English church
shall be free, and shall have her rights entire, and her liberties
inviolate; and we will that it be thus observed; which is apparent from
this that the freedom of elections, which is reckoned most important
and very essential to the English church, we, of our pure and
unconstrained will, did grant, and did by our charter confirm and did
obtain the ratification of the same from our lord, Pope Innocent
III., before the quarrel arose between us and our barons: and this we
will observe, and our will is that it be observed in good faith by our
heirs for ever. We have also granted to all freemen of our kingdom, for
us and our heirs for ever, all the underwritten liberties, to be had
and held by them and their heirs, of us and our heirs for ever.
2. If any of our earls or barons, or others holding of us in chief by
military service shall have died, and at the time of his death his heir
shall be of full age and owe "relief" he shall have his inheritance on
payment of the ancient relief, namely the heir or heirs of an earl, 100
pounds for a whole earl's barony; the heir or heirs of a baron, 100
pounds for a whole barony; the heir or heirs of a knight, 100 shillings
at most for a whole knight's fee; and whoever owes less let him give
less, according to the ancient custom officers.
3. If, however, the heir of any of the aforesaid has been under age
and in wardship, let him have his inheritance without relief and
without fine when he comes of age.
4. The guardian of the land of an heir who is thus under age, shall
take from the land of the heir nothing but reasonably produce,
reasonable customs, and reasonable services, and that without
destruction or waste of men or goods; and if we have committed the
wardship of the lands of any such minor to the sheriff, or to any other
who is responsible to us for its issues, and he has made destruction or
waste of what he holds in wardship, we will take of him amends, and the
land shall be committed to two lawful and discreet men of that fee, who
shall be responsible for the issues to us or to him to whom we
shall assign them; and if we have given or sold the wardship of any
such land to anyone and he has there in made destruction or waste, he
shall lose that wardship, and it shall be transferred to two lawful and
discreet men of that fief, who shall be responsible to us in like
manner as aforesaid.
5. The guardian, moreover, so long as he has the wardship of the land,
shall keep up the houses, parks, fishponds, stanks, mills, and other
things pertaining to the land, out of the issues of the same land; and
he shall restore to the heir, when he has come to full age, all his
land, stocked with ploughs and "waynage," according as the season of
husbandry shall require, and the issues of the land can reasonably bear.
6. Heirs shall be married without disparagement, yet so that before the
marriage takes place the nearest in blood to that heir shall have notice.
7. A widow, after the death of her husband, shall forthwith and
without difficulty have her marriage portion and inheritance; nor shall
she give anything for her dower, or for her marriage portion, or for
the inheritance which her husband and she held on the day of the death
of that husband; and she may remain in the house of her husband for
fourty days after his death, within which time her dower shall be
assigned to her.
8. No widow shall be compelled to marry, so long as she prefers to
live without a husband; provided always that she gives security not to
marry without our consent, if she holds of us, or without the consent
of the lord of whom she holds, if she holds of another.
9. Neither we nor our bailiffs shall seize any land or rent for any
debt, so long as the chattels of the debtor are sufficient to repay the
debt; nor shall the sureties of the debtor be distrained so long as the
principal debtor is able to satisfy the debt; and if the principal
debtor shall fail to pay the debt, having nothing wherewith to pay it,
then the sureties shall answer for the debt; and let them have the
lands and rents of the debtor, if they desire them, until they are
indemnified for the debt which they have paid for him, unless the
principal debtor can show proof that he is discharged thereof as
against the said sureties.
10. If one who has borrowed from the Jews any sum, great or small, die
before that loan can be repaid, the debt shall not bear interest while
the heir is under age, of whomsoever he may hold; and if the debt fall
into our hands, we will not take anything except the principal sum
contained in the bond.
11. And if any one die indebted to the Jews, his wife shall have her
dower and pay nothing of that debt; and if any children of the deceased
are left underage, necessaries shall be provided for them in keeping
with the holding of the deceased; and out of the residue the debt shall
be paid, reserving, however, service due to feudal lords; in like
manner let it be done touching debts due to others than Jews.
12. No scutage nor aid shall be imposed on our kingdom, unless by
common counsel of our kingdom, except for ransoming our person, for
making our eldest son a knight, and for once marrying our eldest
daughter; and for these there shall not be levied more than a
reasonable aid. In like manner it shall be done concerning aids from
the city of London.
13. And the city of London shall have all its ancient liberties and
free customs, as well by land as by water; furthermore, we decree and
grant that all other cities, boroughs, towns, and ports shall have all
their liberties and free customs.
14. And for obtaining the common counsel of the kingdom anent the
assessing of an aid (except in the three cases aforesaid) or of a
scutage, we will cause to be summoned the archbishops, bishops, abbots,
earls, and greater barons, severally by our letters; and we will
moreover cause to be summoned generally, through our sheriffs and
bailiffs, all others who hold of us in chief, for a fixed date, namely,
after the expiry of at least forty days, and at a fixed place; and in
all letters of such summons we will specify the reason of the summons.
And when the summons has thus been made, the business shall proceed on
the day appointed, according to the counsel of such as are present,
although not all who were summoned have come.
15. We will not for the future grant to any one license to take an aid
from his own free tenants, except to ransom his body, to make his
eldest son a knight, and once to marry his eldest daughter; and on
each of these occasions there shall be levied only a reasonable aid.
16. No one shall be distrained for performance of greater service for
a knight's fee, or for any other free tenement, than is due therefrom.
17. Common pleas shall not follow our court, but shall be held in some
fixed place.
18. Inquests of novel disseisin, of mort d'ancester, and of darrein
presentment, shall not be held elsewhere than in their own county
courts and that in manner following,--We, or, if we should be out of
the realm, our chief justiciar, will send two justiciars through
every county four times a year, who shall, along with four knights of
the county chosen by the county, hold the said assize in the county
court, on the day and in the place of meeting of that court.
19. And if any of the said assizes cannot be taken on the day of the
county court, let there remain of the knights and freeholders, who were
present at the county court on that day, as many as may be required for
the efficient making of judgments, according as the business be more or
less.
20. A freeman shall not be amerced for a slight offense, except in
accordance with the degree of the offense; and for a grave offense he
shall be amerced in accordance with the gravity of the offense, yet
saving always his "contentment;" and a merchant in the same way, saving
his "merchandise;" and a villein shall be amerced in the same way,
saving his "wainage"--if they have fallen into our mercy: and none of
the aforesaid amercements shall be impsed except by the oath of honest
men of the neighborhood.
21. Earls and barons shall not be amerced except through their peers,
and only in accordance with the degree of the offense.
22. A clerk shall not be amerced in respect of his lay holding except
after the manner of the others aforesaid; further, he shall not be
amerced in accordance with the extent of his ecclesiastical benefice.
23. No village or individual shall be compelled to make bridges at
river-banks, except those who from of old were legally bound to do so.
24. No sheriff, constable, coroners, or others of our bailiffs, shall
hold pleas of our Crown.
25. All counties, hundreds, wapentakes, and trithings (except our
demesne manors) shall remain at old rents, and without any additional
payment.***here may be an error
26. If any one holding of us a lay fief shall die, and our sheriff or
bailiff shall exhibit our letters patent of summons for a debt which
the deceased owed to us, it shall be lawful for our sheriff or bailiff
to attach and catalogue chattels of the deceased, found upon the lay
fief, to the value of that debt, at the sight of law-worthy men,
provided always that nothing whatever be then be removed until the debt
which is evident shall be fully paid to us; and the residue shall be
left to the executors to fulfil the will of the deceased; and if there
be nothing due from him to us, all the chattels shall go to
the deceased, saving to his wife and children their reasonable shares.
27. If any freeman shall die intestate, his chattels shall be
distributed by the hands of his nearest kinsfolk and friends, under
supervision of the church, saving to every one the debts which the
deceased owed to him.
28. No constable or other bailiff of ours shall take corn or other
provisions from any one without immediately tendering money therefor,
unless he can have postponement thereof by permission of the seller.
29. No constable shall compel any knight to give money in lieu
of castle-guard, when he is willing to perform it in his own person, or
(if he cannot do it from any reasonable cause) then by another
responsible man. Further, if we have led or sent him upon military
service, he shall be relieved from guard in proportion to the time
during which he has been on service because of us.
30. No sheriff or bailiff of ours, or other person, shall take the
horses or carts of any freeman for transport duty, against the will of
the said freeman.
31. Neither we nor our bailiffs shall take, for our castles or for any
other work of ours, wood which is not ours, against the will of the
owner of that wood.
32. We will not retain beyond one year and one day, the lands of those
who have been convicted of felony, and the lands shall thereafter be
handed over to the lords of the fiefs.
33. All kiddles for the future shall be removed altogether from Thames
and Medway, and throughout all England, except upon the seashore.
34. The writ which is called praecipe shall not for the future
be issued to any one, regarding any tenement whereby a freeman may lose
his court.
35. Let there be one measure of wine throughout our whole realm; and
one measure of ale; and one measure of corn, to wit, "the London
quarter;" and one width of cloth (whether dyed, or russet, or
"halberget"), to wit, two ells within the selvages; of weights also let
it be as of measures.
36. Nothing in future shall be given or taken for a writ of inquisition
of life or limbs, but freely it shall be granted, and never denied.
37. If any one holds of us by fee-farm, by socage, or by burgage,
and holds also land of another lord by knight's service, we will
not (by reason of that fee-farm, socage, or burgage) have the wardship
of the heir, or of such land of his as is of the fief of that other;
nor shall we have wardship of that fee-farm, socage, or burgage,
unless such fee-farm owes knight's service. We will not by reason of
any small serjeanty which any one may hold of us by the service of
rendering to us knives, arrows, or the like, have wardship of his heir
of the land which he holds of another lord by knight's service.
38. No bailiff for the future shall, upon his own unsupported
complaint, put any one to his "law," without credible witnesses brought
for this purpose.
39. No freeman shall be taken or imprisoned or disseised or exiled or
in anyway destroyed, nor will we go upon him nor send upon him, except
by the lawful judgment of his peers or by the law of the land.
40. To no one will we sell, to no one will we refuse or delay, right
or justice.
41. All merchants shall have safe and secure exit from England, and
entry to England, with the right to tarry there and to move about as
well by land as by water, for buying and selling by the ancient and
right customs, quit from all evil tolls, except (in time of war) such
merchants as are of the land at war with us. And if such are found in
our land at the beginning of the war, they shall be detained, without
injury to their bodies or goods, until information be received by us,
or by our chief justiciar, how the merchants of our land found in the
land at war with us are treated; and if our men are safe there, the
others shall be safe in our land.
42. It shall be lawful in future for any one (excepting always
those imprisoned or outlawed in accordance with the law of the kingdom,
and natives of any country at war with us, and merchants, who shall be
treated as is above provided) to leave our kingdom and to return, safe
and secure by land and water, except for a short period in time of war,
on grounds of public policy--reserving always the allegiance due to us.
43. If any one holding of some escheat (such as the honor of
Wallingford, Nottingham, Boulogne, Lancaster, or of other escheats
which are in our hands and are baronies) shall die, his heir shall give
no other relief, and perform no other service to us than he would have
done to the baron, if that barony had been in the baron's hand; and we
shall hold it in the same manner in which the baron held it.
44. Men who dwell without the forest need not henceforth come before
our justiciars of the forest upon a general summons, except those who
are impleaded, or who have become sureties for any person or persons
attached for forest offenses.
45. We will appoint as justices, constables, sheriffs, or bailiffs
only such as know the law of the realm and mean to observe it well.
46. All barons who have founded abbeys, concerning which they hold
charters from the kings of England, or of which they have
long-continued possession, shall have the wardship of them, when
vacant, as they ought to have.
47. All forests that have been made such in our time shall forthwith
be disafforested; and a similar course shall be followed with regard
to river-banks that have been placed "in defense" by us in our time.
48. All evil customs connected with forests and warrens, foresters
and warreners, sheriffs and their officers, river-banks and their
wardens, shall immediately be inquired into in each county by twelve
sworn knights of the same county chosen by the honest men of the same
county, and shall, within forty days of the said inquest, be utterly
abolished, so as never to be restored, provided always that we
previously have intimation thereof, or our justiciar, if we should not
be in England.
49. We will immediately restore all hostages and charters delivered to
us by Englishmen, as sureties of the peace or of faithful service.
50. We will entirely remove from their bailiwicks, the relations of
Gerard Athee (so that in future they shall have no bailiwick in
England); namely, Engelard of Cigogne, Peter, Guy, and Andrew of
Chanceaux, Guy of Cigogne, Geofrrey of Martigny with his brothers,
Philip Mark with his brothers and his nephew Geoffrey, and the whole
brood of the same.
51. As soon as peace is restored, we will banish from the kingdom
all foreign-born knights, cross-bowmen, serjeants, and mercenary
soldiers, who have come with horses and arms to the kingdom's hurt.
52. If any one has been dispossessed or removed by us, without the
legal judgment of his peers, from his lands, castles, franchises, or
from his right, we will immediately restore them to him; and if a
dispute arise over this, then let it be decided by the five-and-twenty
barons of whom mention is made below in the clause for securing the
peace. Moreover, for all those possessions, from which any one has,
without the lawful judgment of his peers, be endisseised or removed, by
our father, King Henry, or by our brother, King Richard, and which we
retain in our hand (or which are possessed by others, to whom we are
bound to warrant them) we shall have respite until the usual term of
crusaders; excepting those things about which a plea has been raised,
or an inquest made by our order, before our taking of the cross; but as
soon as were turn from our expedition (or if perchance we desist from
the expedition) we will immediately grant full justice therein.
53. We shall have, moreover, the same respite and in the same manner
in rendering justice concerning the disafforestation or retention of
those forests which Henry our father and Richard our brother
afforested, and concerning wardship of lands which are of the fief of
another (namely, such wardships as we have hitherto had by reason of a
fief which any one held of us by knight's service), and concerning
abbeys founded on other fiefs than our own, in which the lord of the
fief claims to have right; and when we have returned, or if we desist
from our expedition, we will immediately grant full justice to all
who complain of such things.
54. No one shall be arrested or imprisoned upon the appeal of a woman,
for the death of any other than her husband.
55. All fines made with us unjustly and against the law of the land,
and all amercements imposed unjustly and against the law of the land,
shall be entirely remitted, or else it shall be done concerning them
according to the decision of the five-and-twenty barons of whom mention
is made below in the clause for securing the peace, or according to the
judgment of the majority of the same, along with the aforesaid Stephen,
archbishop of Canterbury, if he can be present, and such others as he
may wish to bring with him for this purpose, and if he cannot be
present the business shall nevertheless proceed without him, provided
always that if any one or more of the aforesaid five-and-twenty
barons are in a similar suit, they shall be removed as far as concerns
this particular judgment, others being substituted in their places
after having been selected by the rest of the same five-and-twenty for
this purpose only, and after having been sworn.
56. If we have disseised or removed Welshmen from lands or liberties,
or other things, without the legal judgment of their peers in England
or in Wales, they shall be immediately restored to them; and if a
dispute arise over this, then let it be decided in the marches by the
judgment of their peers; for tenements in England according to the law
of England, for tenements in Wales according to the law of Wales, and
for tenements in the marches according to the law of the marches.
Welshmen shall do the same to us and ours.
57. Further, for all those possessions from which any Welshman has,
without the lawful judgment of his peers, been disseised or removed by
King Henry our father or King Richard our brother, and which we retain
in our hand (or which are possessed by others, to whom we are bound to
warrant them) we shall have respite until the usual term of crusaders;
excepting those things about which a plea has been raised or an inquest
made by our order before we took the cross; but as soon as we return
(or if perchance we desist from our expedition), we will immediately
grant full justice in accordance with the laws of the Welsh and in
relation to the foresaid regions.
58. We will immediately give up the son of Llywelyn and all the
hostages of Wales, and the charters delivered to us as security for the
peace.
59. We will do toward Alexander, King of Scots, concerning the return
of his sisters and his hostages, and concerning his franchises, and his
right, in the same manner as we shall do toward our other barons of
England, unless it ought to be otherwise according to the charters
which we hold from William his father, formerly King of Scots; and this
shall be according to the judgment of his peers in our court.
60. Moreover, all these aforesaid customs and liberties, the
observance of which we have granted in our kingdom as far as pertains
to us toward our men, shall be observed by all of our kingdom, as well
clergy as laymen, as far as pertains to them toward their men.
61. Since, moreover, for God and the amendment of our kingdom and for
the better allaying of the quarrel that has arisen between us and our
barons, we have granted all these concessions, desirous that they
should enjoy them in complete and firm endurance for ever, we give and
grant to them the underwritten security, namely, that the barons choose
five-and-twenty barons of the kingdom, whomsoever they will, who shall
be bound with all their might, to observe and hold, and cause to be
observed, the peace and liberties we have granted and confirmed to them
by this our present Charter, so that if we, or our justiciar, or our
bailiffs or any one of our officers, shall in anything be at fault
toward any one, or shall have broken any one of the articles of
the peace or of this security, and the offense be notified to four
barons of the foresaid five-and-twenty, the said four barons shall
repair to us (or our justiciar, if we are out of the realm) and, laying
the transgression before us, petition to have that transgression
redressed without delay. And if we shall not have corrected the
transgression (or, in the event of our being out of the realm, if our
justiciar shall not have corrected it) within forty days, reckoning
from the time it has been intimated to us (or to our justiciar, if
we should be out of the realm), the four barons aforesaid shall refer
that matter to the rest of the five-and-twenty barons, and those
five-and-twenty barons shall, together with the community of the whole
land, distrain and distress us in all possible ways, namely, by seizing
our castles, lands, possessions, and in any other way they can, until
redress has been obtained as they deem fit, saving harmless our own
person, and the persons of our queen and children; and when redress has
been obtained, they shall resume their old relations toward us. And let
whoever in the country desires it, swear to obey the orders of the said
five-and-twenty barons for the execution of all the aforesaid matters,
and along with them, to molest us to the utmost of his power; and we
publicly and freely grant leave to every one who wishes to swear, and
we shall never forbid any one to swear. All those, moreover, in the
land who of themselves and of their own accord are unwilling to swear
to the twenty-five to help them in constraining and molesting us, we
shall by our command compel the same to swear to the effect aforesaid.
And if any one of the five-and-twenty barons shall have died or
departed from the land, or be incapacitated in any other manner which
would prevent the foresaid provisions being carried out, those of
the said twenty-five barons who are left shall choose another in his
place according to their own judgment, and he shall be sworn in the
same way as the others. Further, in all matters, the execution of which
is intrusted to these twenty-five barons, if perchance these
twenty-five are present, that which the majority of those present
ordain or command shall be held as fixed and established, exactly as if
the whole twenty-five had concurred in this; and the said twenty-five
shall swear that they will faithfully observe all that is aforesaid,
and cause it to be observed with all their might. And we shall procure
nothing from any one, directly or indirectly, whereby any part of
these concessions and liberties might be revoked or diminished; and if
any such thing has been procured, let it be void and null, and we shall
never use it personally or by another.