MAGNA CARTA.'

THE GREAT CHARTER OF LIBERTIES OF KING JOHN,

GRANTED AT RUNINGMEDE, JUNE 15, A. D. 1215, IN THE SEVEN TEENTH YEAR OF HIS REIGN.

[John, by the grace of God King of England, Lord of Ireland, Duke of Normandy, and Aquitaine, and Count of Anjou, to his Archbishops, Bishops, Abbots, Earls, Barons, Justiciaries, Foresters, Sheriff's, Governors, Officers, and to all Bailiffs, and his lieges, greeting. Know ye, that we, in the presence of God, and for the salvation of our soul, and the souls of our ancestors and heirs, and unto the honour of God and the advancement of Holy Church, and amendment of our Realm, 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, Jocelin of Bath and Glastonbury, Hugh of Lincoln, Walter of Worcester, William of Coventry, Benedict of Rochester, Bishops; of Master Pandulph, Sub-Deacon and Familiar of our Lord. the Pope, Brother Aymeric, Master of the Knights-Templars in

1 The Text of Magna Carta here printed is that given by William Stubbs, Regius Professor of Modern History in Oxford University, in "Documents Illustrative of English History."

The translation printed is that given by E. S. Creasy, Barrister at Law, Professor of History in University College, London, in "The Rise and Progress of the English Constitution."

In a few places in the translation, indicated by notes, we have substituted words taken from the translation given by Richard Thomson in his Essay on Magna Carta, and (where indicated) from that of Thomas P. Taswell-Langmead, given in his "English Constitutional History."

The clauses and sentences omitted in Henry III.'s re-issues have been placed within brackets, as given in the text printed by Mr. TaswellLangmead.

England; and of the Noble Persons, William Marescall, Earl of Pembroke, William, Earl of Salisbury, William, Earl of Warren, William, Earl of Arundel, Alan de Galloway, Constable of Scotland, Warin Fitz Gerald, Peter Fitz Herbert and Hubert de Burgh, Seneschal of Poitou, Hugh de Neville, Matthew Fitz Herbert, Thomas Basset, Alan Basset, Philip of Albiney, Robert de Roppell, John Mareschal, John Fitz Hugh, and others our liegemen], 2 have, in the first place, granted to God, and by this our present charter confirmed, for us and our heirs for ever:

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1. That the church of England shall be free, and have her whole rights, and her liberties inviolable; [and we will have them so observed, that it may appear thence, that the freedom of elections, which is reckoned chief and indispensable to the English church, and which we granted and confirmed by our charter, and obtained the confirmation of the same from our Lord the Pope Innocent III., before the discord between us and our barons, was granted of mere free will; which charter we shall observe, and we do will it to be faithfully observed by our heirs for ever]. 2. We also have granted to all the freemen of our kingdom, for us and for our heirs for ever, all the underwritten liberties, to be had and holden by them and their heirs, of us and our heirs for ever: If any of our earls, or barons, or others, who hold of us in chief by military service, shall die, and at the time of his death his heir shall be of full age, and owes a relief, he shall have his inheritance by the ancient relief; that is to say, the heir or heirs of an earl, for a whole earldom, by a hundred pounds; the heir or heirs of a baron, for a whole barony, by a hundred pounds; the heir or heirs of a knight, for a whole knight's fee, by a hundred shillings at most; and whoever oweth less shall give less, according to the ancient custom of fees. 3. But if the heir of any such shall be under age, and shall be in ward when he comes of age, he shall have his inheritance without relief and without fine. 4. The keeper of the land of such an heir being under age, shall take of the land of the heir none but reasonable issues, reasonable customs, and reasonable services, and that without destruction and waste to his men and his goods; and if we commit the custody of any such lands to the sheriff, or any other who is answerable to us for the issues of the land, and he shall make destruction and waste of

21 of text.

32 of text.

the lands which he hath in custody, we will take of him amends, and the land shall be committed to two lawful and discreet men of that fee, who shall answer for the issues to us, or to him to whom we shall assign them; and if we sell or give to any one the custody of any such lands, and he therein make destruction or waste, he shall lose the same custody, which shall be committed to two lawful and discreet men of that fee, who shall in like manner answer to us as aforesaid. 5. But the keeper, so long as he shall have the custody of the land, shall keep up the houses, parks, warrens, ponds, mills, and other things pertaining to the land, out of the issues of the same land; and shall deliver to the heir when he comes of full age, his whole land, stocked with ploughs and carriages, according as the time of wainage shall require, and the issues of the land can reasonably bear. 6. Heirs shall be married without disparagement, [and so that before matrimony shall be contracted those who are near in blood to the heir shall have notice]. 7. A widow, after the death of her husband, shall forthwith and without difficulty have her marriage and inheritance; nor shall she give anything for her dower, or her marriage, or her inheritance, which her husband and she held at the day of his death; and she may remain in the mansion house of her husband forty days after his death, within which term her dower shall be assigned. 8. No widow shall be distrained to marry herself, so long as she has a mind to live without a husband; but yet she shall give security that she will not marry without our assent, if she holds of us; or without the consent of the lord of whom she holds, if she hold of another. 9. Neither we nor our bailiffs shall seize any land or rent for any debt, so long as the chattels of the debtor are sufficient to pay the debt; nor shall the sureties of the debtor be distrained so long as the principal debtor is sufficient for the payment of the debt; and if the principal debtor shall fail in the payment of the debt, not having wherewithal to pay it, then the sureties shall answer the debt; and if they will they shall have the lands and rents of the debtor, until they shall be satisfied' for the debt which they paid for him, unless the principal debtor can show himself acquitted thereof against the said sureties. [10. If any one have borrowed anything of the Jews, more or less, and die before the debt be satisfied, there shall be no interest paid for that debt, so long as the heir is under age, of whomsoever he may hold; and if the debt fall into our hands

we will only take the chattel mentioned in the deed.] [11. And if any one shall die indebted to the Jews, his wife shall have her dower and pay nothing of that debt; and if the deceased left children under age, they shall have necessaries provided for them, according to the tenement of the deceased; and out of the residue the debt shall be paid, saving however, the service due to the lords; and in like manner shall it be done touching debts due to others than the Jews.] [12. No scutage or aid shall be imposed in our kingdom, unless by the general council of our kingdom; except for ransoming our person, making our eldest son a knight, and once for marrying our eldest daughter; and for these there shall be paid a reasonable aid. In like manner it shall be concerning the aids of the City of London.] 13. And the City of London shall have all its ancient liberties and free customs, [as well by land as by water]: furthermore we will and grant, that all other cities and boroughs, and towns and ports, shall have all their liberties and free customs. [14. And for holding the general council of the kingdom concerning the assessment of aids, except in the three cases aforesaid, and for the assessing of scutages, we will cause to be summoned the archbishops, bishops, abbots, earls, and greater barons of the realm, singly by our letters. And furthermore we shall cause to be summoned generally by our sheriffs and bailiffs, all others who hold of us in chief, for a certain day, that is to say, forty days before their meeting at least, and to a certain place; and in all letters of such summons we will declare the cause of such summons. And summons being thus made, the business of the day shall proceed on the day appointed, according to the advice of such as shall be present although all that were summoned come not.] [15. We will not for the future grant to any one that he may take aid of his own free tenants, unless to ransom his body, and to make his eldest son a knight, and once to marry his eldest daughter; and for this there shall be only paid a reasonable aid.] 16. No man shall be distrained to perform more service for a knight's fee, or other free tenement, than is due from thence. 17. Common pleas shall not follow our court, but shall be holden in some place certain. 18. Assizes of novel disseisin, and of mort d'ancestor, and of darrien presentment, shall not be taken but in their proper counties, and after this

4 For Creasy's "shall."

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manner: We, or, if we should be out of the realm, our chief justiciary, shall send two justiciaries through every county four times a year, who, with four knights, chosen out of every shire by the people, shall hold the said assizes, in the county, on the day, and at the place appointed. 19. And if any matters cannot be determined on the day appointed for holding the assizes in each county, so many of the knights and freeholders as have been at the assizes aforesaid, shall stay to decide them, as is necessary, according as there is more or less business. 20. A freeman shall not be amerced for a small fault, but after the manner of the fault; and for a great crime according to the heinousness of it, saving to him his contenement; and after the same manner a merchant, saving to him his merchandise. And a villein shall be amerced after the same manner, saving to his wainage, if he shall fall under our mercy; and none of the aforesaid amerciaments shall be assessed but by the oath of honest men in the neighborhood. 21. Earls and barons shall not be amerced, but by their peers, and after the degree of the offence. 22. No ecclesiastical person shall be amerced [for his lay tenement], but according to the proportion of the others. aforesaid, and not according to the value of his ecclesiastical benefice. 23. Neither a town nor any tenant shall be distrained to make bridges or banks, unless that anciently and of right they are bound to do it. 24. No sheriff, constable, coroner, or other our bailiffs, shall hold pleas of our Crown. [25. All counties, hundreds, wapentakes, and tythings, shall stand at the old rents, without any increase, except in our demesne manors.] 26. If any one holding of us a lay-fee die, and the sheriff, or our bailiffs, show our letters patent, of summons for debt which the dead man did owe to us, it shall be lawful for the sheriff or our bailiff to attach and inroll the chattels of the dead, found upon his lay-fee, to the value of the debt, by the view of lawful men so as nothing be removed until our whole clear debt be paid; and the rest shall be left to the executors to fulfil the testament of the dead, and if there be nothing due from him to us, all the chattels shall go to the use of the dead, 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 relations and friends, by view of the

For Creasy's "falls."

6 For Creasy's "the."

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