Magna Carta
1215
(from http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/medieval/magframe.htm)
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
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
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 awrit 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
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
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 owher 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 by 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
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