Books: The Magna Carta
U >>
Unknown >> The Magna Carta
62. And all the ill-will, hatreds, and bitterness that have arisen
between us and our men, clergy and lay, from the date of the quarrel,
we have completely remitted and pardoned every one. Moreover, all
trespasses occasioned by the said quarrel, from Easter in the sixteenth
year of our reign till the restoration of peace, we have fully remitted
to all, both clergy and laymen, and completely forgiven, as far as
pertains to us. And, on this head, we have caused to be made for them
letters testimonial patent of the lord Stephen, archbishop of
Canterbury, of the lord Henry, archbishop of Dublin, of the bishops
aforesaid, and of Master Pandulf as touching this security and
the concessions aforesaid.
63. Wherefore it is our will, and we firmly enjoin, that the English
Church be free, and that the men in our kingdom have and hold all the
aforesaid liberties, rights, and concessions, well and peaceably,
freely and quietly, fully and wholly, for themselves and their heirs,
of us and our heirs, in all respects and in all places for ever, as is
aforesaid. An oath, moreover, has been taken, as well on our part as on
the part of the barons, that all these conditions aforesaid shall be
kept in good faith and without evil intent. Given under our hand--the
above-named and many others being witnesses--in the meadow which is
called Runnymede, between Windsor and Staines, on the fifteenth day of
June, in the seventeenth year of our reign.
***
The text of THE MAGNA CARTA
The Magna Carta (The Great Charter):
Preamble:
John, by the grace of God, king of England, lord of Ireland, duke of
Normandy and Aquitaine, and count of Anjou, to the archbishop,
bishops, abbots, earls, barons, justiciaries, foresters, sheriffs,
stewards, servants, and to all his bailiffs and liege subjects,
greetings. 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 his holy Church and for the rectifying
of our realm, we have granted as underwritten 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 Marshal, earl of Pembroke, William, earl of
Salisbury, William, earl of Warenne, William, earl of Arundel, Alan of
Galloway (constable of Scotland), Waren Fitz Gerold, Peter Fitz
Herbert, Hubert De Burgh (seneschal of Poitou), Hugh de Neville,
Matthew Fitz Herbert, Thomas Basset, Alan Basset, Philip d'Aubigny,
Robert of Roppesley, John Marshal, 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 forever 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 forever. We have also granted to all freemen of our kingdom,
for us and our heirs forever, all the underwritten liberties, to be
had and held by them and their heirs, of us and our heirs forever.
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 full of age and owe "relief", he shall have his
inheritance by the old relief, to wit, the heir or heirs of an earl,
for the whole baroncy of an earl by L100; the heir or heirs of a
baron, L100 for a whole barony; the heir or heirs of a knight, 100s,
at most, and whoever owes less let him give less, according to the
ancient custom of fees.
3. If, however, the heir of any one 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 reasonable 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 waster 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 therein 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 wainage, according as the season of
husbandry shall require, and the issues of the land can reasonable
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 forty 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 will seize any land or rent for any
debt, as 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 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 anyone 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 under age, 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 not 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 it 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 moveover cause to be summoned generally, through our sheriffs and
bailiffs, and 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 anyone license to take an aid
from his own free tenants, except to ransom his person, 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'ancestor, 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 justiciaries through
every county four times a year, who shall alone with four knights of
the county chosen by the county, hold the said assizes 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 imposed 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, hundred, wapentakes, and trithings (except our
demesne manors) shall remain at the old rents, and without any
additional payment.
26. If anyone 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 us, it shall be lawful for our sheriff or bailiff to
attach and enroll the 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 thence removed until the debt
which is evident shall be fully paid to us; and the residue shall be
left to the executors to fulfill 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 anyone 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 himself 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 those
who have been convicted of felony, and the lands shall thereafter be
handed over to the lords of the fiefs.
33. All kydells 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 anyone, 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 selvedges; 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 anyone holds of us by fee-farm, either by socage or by burage,
or of any other land 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 if 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 serjeancy
which anyone may hold of us by the service of rendering to us knives,
arrows, or the like, have wardship of his heir or 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 anyone to his "law", without credible witnesses brought
for this purposes.
39. No freemen shall be taken or imprisoned or disseised or exiled or
in any way 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 anyone (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 if 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 anyone 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 justiciaries of the forest upon a general summons, unless they are
in plea, or sureties of one or more, who are attached for the forest.
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 disafforsted; 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 by 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 of faithful service.
50. We will entirely remove from their bailiwicks, the relations of
Gerard of 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, Geoffrey 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, crossbowmen, serjeants, and mercenary soldiers
who have come with horses and arms to the kingdom's hurt.
52. If anyone 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 anyone has,
without the lawful judgment of his peers, been disseised or removed,
by our father, King Henry, or by our brother, King Richard, and which
we retain in our hand (or which as 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 we return 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 the wardship of lands which are of the fief
of another (namely, such wardships as we have hitherto had by reason
of a fief which anyone held of us by knight's service), and concerning
abbeys founded on other fiefs than our own, in which the lord of the
fee 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 whom mention
is made below in the clause for securing the pease, 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 the 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, and which we
ought to warrant), we will 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 towards 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 towards 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
observances of which we have granted in our kingdom as far as pertains
to us towards our men, shall be observed b all of our kingdom, as well
clergy as laymen, as far as pertains to them towards their men.
61. Since, moveover, 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 forever, 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 towards anyone, or shall have broken any one of
the articles of this 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 realm, 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 towards 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 everyone who wishes to swear, and we shall never forbid anyone to
swear.