|
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 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
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 art 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.
Source: Albert Beebe White and Wallace Notestein,
eds., Source Problems in English History (New
York: Harper and Brothers, 1915).
|
