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.
Source for this
Translation
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)
Acknowledgments
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