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Title: The Magna Carta

Author: Anonymous

Release Date: March 1, 2006 [EBook #10000]

Language: English

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The Magna Carta

 Contents

The Text of Magna Carta

Magna Carta 1215
The text of THE MAGNA CARTA
 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 improvements, as well
as at least one more version in Latin.

Version 1.0 may contain a dozen different versions.

end chapter
 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 100s. 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.
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]
end chapter
 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.
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.
end chapter
 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.
All those, moveover, 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 foresaid. 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 entrusted
to these twenty five barons, if perchance these twenty five are present and
disagree about anything, or if some of them, after being summoned, are
unwilling or unable to be 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 anyone,
directly or indirectly, whereby any part of these concessions and liberties
might be revoked or diminished; and if any such things has been procured,
let it be void and null, and we shall never use it personally or by another.
62. And all the 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 to everyone. 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 we will and firmly order 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 forever, 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.
end chapter
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