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 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.
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This is but one of three different translations I found of the Magna Carta; it was
originally done in Latin, probably by the Archbishop, Stephen Langton. It was in force for
only a few months, when it was violated by the king. Just over a year later, with no
resolution to the war, the king died, being succeeded by his 9-year old son, Henry III.
The Charter (Carta) was reissued again, with some revisions, in 1216, 1217 and 1225. As
near as I can tell, the version presented here is the one that preceeded all of the
others; nearly all of it's provisions were soon superceded by other laws, and none of it
is effective today. The two other versions I found each professed to be the original, as
well. The basic intent of each is the same.
- Gerald Murphy (The Cleveland Free-Net - aa300)
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