Monday 6 May 2024
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Magna Carta

 

1215

 

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 forus and our heirs forever that the English Church shall be free, and shall have her rightsentire, 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.

 

  1. If any of our earls or barons, or others holding of us in chief by military service shallhave died, and at the time of his death his heir shall be full of age and owe "relief", heshall 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.

 

  1. 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.

 

  1. The guardian of the land of an heir who is thus under age, shall take from the land ofthe 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.

 

  1. The guardian, moreover, so long as he has the wardship of the land, shall keep up thehouses, parks, fishponds, stanks, mills, and other things pertaining to the land, out of theissues of the same land; and he shall restore to the heir, when he has come to full age, allhis land, stocked with ploughs and wainage, according as the season of husbandry shallrequire, and the issues of the land can reasonable bear.

 

  1. Heirs shall be married without disparagement, yet so that before the marriage takesplace the nearest in blood to that heir shall have notice.

 

  1. A widow, after the death of her husband, shall forthwith and without difficulty haveher marriage portion and inheritance; nor shall she give anything for her dower, or for hermarriage portion, or for the inheritance which her husband and she held on the day of thedeath of that husband; and she may remain in the house of her husband for forty days af-ter his death, within which time her dower shall be assigned to her.

 

  1. No widow shall be compelled to marry, so long as she prefers to live without a hus-band; provided always that she gives security not to marry without our consent, if sheholds of us, or without the consent of the lord of whom she holds, if she holds of another.

 

  1. Neither we nor our bailiffs will seize any land or rent for any debt, as long as the chat-tels of the debtor are sufficient to repay the debt; nor shall the sureties of the debtor bedistrained so long as the principal debtor is able to satisfy the debt; and if the principaldebtor 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.

 

  1. If one who has borrowed from the Jews any sum, great or small, die before that loanbe repaid, the debt shall not bear interest while the heir is under age, of whomsoever hemay hold; and if the debt fall into our hands, we will not take anything except the principal sum contained in the bond.

 

  1. And if anyone die indebted to the Jews, his wife shall have her dower and pay nothingof that debt; and if any children of the deceased are left under age, necessaries shall beprovided 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.

 

  1. No scutage not aid shall be imposed on our kingdom, unless by common counsel ofour kingdom, except for ransoming our person, for making our eldest son a knight, andfor 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.

 

  1. And the city of London shall have all it ancient liberties and free customs, as well byland as by water; furthermore, we decree and grant that all other cities, boroughs, townsand ports shall have all their liberties and free customs.

 

  1. 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 thearchbishops, bishops, abbots, earls, and greater barons, severally by our letters; and we will move over cause to be summoned generally, through our sheriffs and bailiffs, and oth-ers 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 thesummons. And when the summons has thus been made, the business shall proceed on theday appointed, according to the counsel of such as are present, although not all who weresummoned have come.

 

  1. We will not for the future grant to anyone license to take an aid from his own free ten-ants, except to ransom his person, to make his eldest son a knight, and once to marry hiseldest daughter; and on each of these occasions there shall be levied only a reasonableaid.16. No one shall be distrained for performance of greater service for a knight's fee, or forany other free tenement, than is due therefrom.

 

  1. Common pleas shall not follow our court, but shall be held in some fixed place.

 

  1. Inquests of novel disseisin, of mort d'ancestor, and of darrein presentment shall not beheld elsewhere than in their own county courts, and that in manner following; We, or, ifwe 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.

 

  1. And if any of the said assizes cannot be taken on the day of the county court, let thereremain 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.

 

  1. 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 thegravity of the offense, yet saving always his "contentment"; and a merchant in the sameway, 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 amercementsshall be imposed except by the oath of honest men of the neighborhood.

 

  1. Earls and barons shall not be amerced except through their peers, and only in accord-ance with the degree of the offense.
  2. A clerk shall not be amerced in respect of his lay holding except after the manner ofthe others aforesaid; further, he shall not be amerced in accordance with the extent of his ecclesiastical benefice.

 

  1. No village or individual shall be compelled to make bridges at river banks, exceptthose who from of old were legally bound to do so.

 

  1. No sheriff, constable, coroners, or others of our bailiffs, shall hold pleas of our

Crown.

 

  1. All counties, hundred, wapentakes, and trithings (except our demesne manors) shallremain at the old rents, and without any additional payment.

 

  1. If anyone holding of us a lay fief shall die, and our sheriff or bailiff shall exhibit ourletters patent of summons for a debt which the deceased owed us, it shall be lawful forour sheriff or bailiff to attach and enroll the chattels of the deceased, found upon the layfief, to the value of that debt, at the sight of law worthy men, provided always that noth-ing 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 therebe nothing due from him to us, all the chattels shall go to the deceased, saving to his wifeand children their reasonable shares.

 

  1. If any freeman shall die intestate, his chattels shall be distributed by the hands of hisnearest kins folk and friends, under supervision of the Church, saving to every one thedebts which the deceased owed to him.

 

  1. No constable or other bailiff of ours shall take corn or other provisions from anyonewithout immediately tendering money therefor, unless he can have postponement thereof by permission of the seller.

 

  1. No constable shall compel any knight to give money in lieu of castle-guard, when heis 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 hasbeen on service because of us.

 

  1. No sheriff or bailiff of ours, or other person, shall take the horses or carts of any free-man for transport duty, against the will of the said freeman.

 

  1. 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.

 

  1. We will not retain beyond one year and one day, the lands those who have been con-victed of felony, and the lands shall thereafter be handed over to the lords of the fiefs.

 

  1. All kydells for the future shall be removed altogether from Thames and Medway, andthroughout all England, except upon the seashore.

 

  1. 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.

 

  1. Let there be one measure of wine throughout our whole realm; and one measure ofale; 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 weightsalso let it be as of measures.

 

  1. Nothing in future shall be given or taken for awrit of inquisition of life or limbs, butfreely it shall be granted, and never denied.

 

  1. If anyone holds of us by fee-farm, either by socage or by burage, or of any other landby knight's service, we will not (by reason of that fee-farm, socage, or burgage), have thewardship 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 serv-ice. 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.

 

  1. No bailiff for the future shall, upon his own unsupported complaint, put anyone to his"law", without credible witnesses brought for this purposes.

 

  1. No freemen shall be taken or imprisoned or disseised or exiled or in any way de-stroyed, nor will we go upon him nor send upon him, except by the lawful judgment ofhis peers or by the law of the land.

 

  1. To no one will we sell, to no one will we refuse or delay, right or justice.

 

  1. 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 thebeginning 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 landfound in the land at war with us are treated; and if our men are safe there, the others shallbe safe in our land.

 

  1. It shall be lawful in future for anyone (excepting always those imprisoned or out-lawed in accordance with the law of the kingdom, and natives of any country at war withus, and merchants, who shall be treated as if above provided) to leave our kingdom and toreturn, safe and secure by land and water, except for a short period in time of war, ongrounds of public policy- reserving always the allegiance due to us.

 

  1. 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) shalldie, his heir shall give no other relief, and perform no other service to us than he wouldhave done to the baron if that barony had been in the baron's hand; and we shall hold it inthe same manner in which the baron held it.

 

  1. Men who dwell without the forest need not henceforth come before our justiciaries ofthe forest upon a general summons, unless they are in plea, or sureties of one or more,who are attached for the forest.

 

  1. We will appoint as justices, constables, sheriffs, or bailiffs only such as know the lawof the realm and mean to observe it well.

 

  1. All barons who have founded abbeys, concerning which they hold charters from thekings of England, or of which they have long continued possession, shall have the ward-ship of them, when vacant, as they ought to have.

 

  1. All forests that have been made such in our time shall forthwith be disafforsted; and asimilar course shall be followed with regard to river banks that have been placed "in defense" by us in our time.

 

  1. All evil customs connected with forests and warrens, foresters and warreners, sheriffsand their officers, river banks and their wardens, shall immediately by inquired into ineach county by twelve sworn knights of the same county chosen by the honest men of thesame county, and shall, within forty days of the said inquest, be utterly abolished, so asnever to be restored, provided always that we previously have intimation thereof, or ourjusticiar, if we should not be in England.

 

  1. We will immediately restore all hostages and charters delivered to us by Englishmen,as sureties of the peace of faithful service.

 

  1. We will entirely remove from their bailiwicks, the relations of Gerard of Athee (sothat in future they shall have no bailiwick in England); namely, Engelard of Cigogne, Pe-ter, Guy, and Andrew of Chanceaux, Guy of Cigogne, Geoffrey of Martigny with hisbrothers, Philip Mark with his brothers and his nephew Geoffrey, and the whole brood ofthe same.

 

  1. As soon as peace is restored, we will banish from the kingdom all foreign bornknights, crossbowmen, serjeants, and mercenary soldiers who have come with horses andarms to the kingdom's hurt.

 

  1. If anyone has been dispossessed or removed by us, without the legal judgment of hispeers, from his lands, castles, franchises, or from his right, we will immediately restorethem to him; and if a dispute arise over this, then let it be decided by the five and twentybarons 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 hispeers, been disseised or removed, by our father, King Henry, or by our brother, King Ri-chard, and which we retain in our hand (or which as possessed by others, to whom we arebound to warrant them) we shall have respite until the usual term of crusaders; exceptingthose things about which a plea has been raised, or an inquest made by our order, beforeour taking of the cross; but as soon as we return from the expedition, we will immediately grant full justice therein.

 

  1. We shall have, moreover, the same respite and in the same manner in rendering jus-tice concerning the disafforestation or retention of those forests which Henry our fatherand Richard our brother afforested, and concerning the wardship of lands which are ofthe fief of another (namely, such wardships as we have hitherto had by reason of a fiefwhich anyone held of us by knight's service), and concerning abbeys founded on otherfiefs than our own, in which the lord of the fee claims to have right; and when we havereturned, or if we desist from our expedition, we will immediately grant full justice to allwho complain of such things.

 

  1. No one shall be arrested or imprisoned upon the appeal of a woman, for the death ofany other than her husband.

 

  1. 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 shallbe done concerning them according to the decision of the five and twenty barons whommention is made below in the clause for securing the pease, or according to the judgmentof 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, providedalways that if any one or more of the aforesaid five and twenty barons are in a similarsuit, 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 twentyfor this purpose only, and after having been sworn.

 

  1. 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 marchesby 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 themarches according to the law of the marches. Welshmen shall do the same to us and ours.

 

  1. Further, for all those possessions from which any Welshman has, without the lawfuljudgment 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, andwhich we ought to warrant), we will have respite until the usual term of crusaders; ex-cepting those things about which a plea has been raised or an inquest made by our orderbefore we took the cross; but as soon as we return (or if perchance we desist from our ex-pedition), we will immediately grant full justice in accordance with the laws of the Welshand in relation to the foresaid regions.

 

  1. We will immediately give up the son of Llywelyn and all the hostages of Wales, andthe charters delivered to us as security for the peace.

 

  1. We will do towards Alexander, king of Scots, concerning the return of his sisters andhis hostages, and concerning his franchises, and his right, in the same manner as we shalldo 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.

 

  1. Moreover, all these aforesaid customs and liberties, the observances of which wehave granted in our kingdom as far as pertains to us towards our men, shall be observedby all of our kingdom, as well clergy as laymen, as far as pertains to them towards their 

 

  1. 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 theseconcessions, 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 wehave 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 theoffense be notified to four barons of the foresaid five and twenty, the said four baronsshall 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 nothave 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 anddistress us in all possible ways, namely, by seizing our castles, lands, possessions, and inany 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 beenobtained, they shall resume their old relations towards us. And let whoever in the countrydesires it, swear to obey the orders of the said five and twenty barons for the execution ofall 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 oftheir 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 twentyfive shall swear that they will faithfully observe all that is aforesaid, and cause it to be ob-served 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 neveruse it personally or by another.

 

  1. 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, wehave 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, andof Master Pandulf as touching this security and the concessions aforesaid.

 

  1. Wherefore we will and firmly order that the English Church be free, and that the menin 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 andour 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.

 

 

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Definitions

 

Amerce - To impose a fine. Also to publish by fine or penalty.

 

Assize - A court, usually but not always, consisting of twelve men, summoned together to try a disputed case. They performed the functions of jury, except the verdict was rendered from their own investigation and knowledge and not from upon evidence adduced.

 

Burage - One of three species of free socage holdings. A tenure where houses and lands formerly the site of houses in an ancient borough are held of some lord by a certain rent. 

 

Chattel - Personal property as opposed to real property. A personal object which can be transported.

 

Darrein Presentment - Writ of Assize when a man or his ancestors under whom he claimed presented a clerk to a benefice, who was instituted, and afterwards, upon the next avoidance, a stranger presented a clerk and thereby disturbed the real patron.

 

Distrain - The act of taking as a pledge anothers property to be used as an assurance of performance of an obligation. Also a remedy to ensure a court appearance or payment of fees etc.

 

Disseise - To dispossess or to deprive. 

 

Escheat - Right of the lord of a fee to re-enter upon the same when it became vacant by the extinction of the blood of the tenant.

 

Intestate - To die without a will. 

 

Mort d'Ancestor - Real action to recover a person's lands of which he had been deprived on the death of his ancestor by the abatement of intrusion of a stanger. 

 

Novel Disseisin - Writ of Assize for the recovery of lands and tenements. 

 

Praecipe - An original writ drawn up in the alternative commanding the defendant to do the thing required.

 

Scutage - Tax or contribution raised by someone holding lands by knight's service used to furnish the King's army.