Did
You Known? 
printer
friendly version
The
Magna Carta
1215
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, justices, foresters,
sheriffs, stewards, servants, and to all his officials and loyal subjects,
Greeting.
KNOW THAT
BEFORE GOD, for the health of our soul and those of our ancestors and
heirs, to the honour of God, the exaltation
of the holy Church, and the better ordering of our kingdom, at the advice
of our reverend fathers Stephen, archbishop of Canterbury, primate of all
England, and cardinal of the holy Roman Church, Henry archbishop of
Dublin, William bishop of London,
Peter bishop of Winchester, Jocelin bishop
of Bath and Glastonbury,
Hugh bishop of Lincoln, Walter Bishop of
Worcester, William bishop of Coventry,
Benedict bishop of Rochester, Master Pandulf
subdeacon and member of the papal household, Brother Aymeric master
of the knighthood of the Temple in England, William Marshal 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, Hubert de Burgh seneschal of Poitou, Hugh de Neville, Matthew
Fitz Herbert, Thomas Basset, Alan Basset, Philip Daubeny, Robert de
Roppeley, John Marshal, John Fitz Hugh, and other loyal subjects:
(1) FIRST,
THAT WE HAVE GRANTED TO GOD, and by this present charter have confirmed
for us and our heirs in perpetuity, that
the English Church shall be free, and shall have its rights undiminished,
and its liberties unimpaired. That we wish this so to be observed, appears
from the fact that of our own free will, before the outbreak of the
present dispute between us and our barons, we granted and confirmed
by charter the freedom of the Church's elections - a right reckoned
to be of the greatest necessity and importance to it - and caused this
to be confirmed by Pope Innocent III. This freedom we shall observe
ourselves, and desire to be observed in good faith by our heirs in perpetuity.
TO ALL
FREE MEN OF OUR KINGDOM we have also granted, for us and our heirs for
ever, all the liberties written out below, to have and to keep for them
and their heirs, of us and our heirs:
(2) If
any earl, baron, or other person that holds lands directly of the Crown,
for military service, shall die, and at his death his heir shall be
of full age and owe a `relief', the heir shall have his inheritance
on payment of the ancient scale of `relief'. That is to say, the heir
or heirs of an earl shall pay £100 for the entire earl's barony,
the heir or heirs of a knight l00s. at most for the entire knight's
`fee', and any man that owes less shall pay less, in accordance with
the ancient usage of `fees'
(3) But
if the heir of such a person is under age and a ward,
when he comes of age he shall have his inheritance without `relief'
or fine.
(4) The
guardian of the land of an heir who is under age shall take from it
only reasonable revenues, customary dues,
and feudal services. He shall do this without
destruction or damage to men or property. If we have given the guardianship
of the land to a sheriff, or to any person answerable to us for the
revenues, and he commits destruction or damage, we will exact
compensation from him, and the land shall be entrusted to two
worthy and prudent men of the same `fee',
who shall be answerable to us for the revenues, or to the person to
whom we have assigned them. If we have given or sold to anyone the guardianship
of such land, and he causes destruction or damage, he shall lose the
guardianship of it, and it shall be handed over to two worthy and prudent
men of the same `fee', who shall be similarly answerable to us.
(5) For
so long as a guardian has guardianship of such land, he shall maintain
the houses, parks, fish preserves, ponds, mills, and everything else
pertaining to it, from the revenues of the land itself.
When the heir comes of age, he shall restore the whole land to him,
stocked with plough teams and such implements of husbandry
as the season demands and the revenues from the land can reasonably
bear.
(6) Heirs
may be given in marriage, but not to someone of lower social standing.
Before a marriage takes place, it shall be' made known to the heir's
next-of-kin.
(7) At
her husband's death, a widow may have her marriage portion and inheritance
at once and without trouble. She shall pay nothing for her dower, marriage portion, or any inheritance that she and
her husband held jointly on the day of his death. She may remain in
her husband's house for forty days after his death, and within this
period her dower shall be assigned to her.
(8) No
widow shall be compelled to marry, so long as she wishes to remain without
a husband. But she must give security that
she will not marry without royal consent, if she holds her lands of
the Crown, or without the consent of whatever other lord she may hold
them of.
(9) Neither
we nor our officials will seize any land or rent in payment of a debt,
so long as the debtor has movable goods sufficient
to discharge the debt. A debtor's sureties
shall not be distrained upon so long as the debtor himself can discharge
his debt. If, for lack of means, the debtor is unable to discharge his
debt, his sureties shall be answerable for it. If they so desire, they
may have the debtor's lands and rents until they have received satisfaction
for the debt that they paid for him, unless the debtor can show that
he has settled his obligations to them.
(10) If
anyone who has borrowed a sum of money from Jews dies before the debt
has been repaid, his heir shall pay no interest on the debt for so long
as he remains under age, irrespective of
whom he holds his lands. If such a debt falls into the hands of the
Crown, it will take nothing except the principal sum specified in the
bond.
(11) If
a man dies owing money to Jews, his wife may have her dower and pay
nothing towards the debt from it. If he leaves children that are under
age, their needs may also be provided for on a scale appropriate to
the size of his holding of lands. The debt is to be paid out of the
residue, reserving the service due to his feudal lords.
Debts owed to persons other than Jews are to be dealt with similarly.
(12) No
`scutage' or `aid' may be levied in our
kingdom without its general consent, unless it is for the ransom of
our person, to make our eldest son a knight, and (once) to marry our
eldest daughter. For these purposes ouly a reasonable `aid' may be levied.
`Aids' from the city of London are to be treated similarly.
(13) The
city of London shall enjoy all its ancient liberties and free customs,
both by land and by water. We also will and grant that all other cities,
boroughs, towns, and ports shall enjoy all their liberties and free
customs.
(14) To
obtain the general consent of the realm for the assessment of an 'aid'
- except in the three cases specified above - or a `scutage', we will
cause the archbishops, bishops, abbots, earls, and greater barons to
be summoned individually by letter. To those who hold lands directly
of us we will cause a general summons to be issued, through the sheriffs
and other officials, to come together on a fixed day (of which at least
forty days notice shall be given) and at a fixed place. In all letters
of summons, the cause of the summons will be stated. When a summons
has been issued, the business appointed for the day shall go forward
in accordance with the resolution
of those present, even if not all those who were summoned have appeared.
(15) In
future we will allow no one to levy an `aid' from his free men, except
to ransom his person, to make his eldest son a knight, and (once) to
marry his eldest daughter. For these purposes only a reasonable `aid'
may be levied.
(16) No
man shall be forced to perform more service for a knight's `fee', or
other free holding of land, than is due from it.
(17) Ordinary
lawsuits shall not follow the royal court around, but shall be held
in a fixed place.
(18) Inquests
of novel disseisin, mort d'ancestor, and
darrein presentment shall be taken only
in their proper county court. We ourselves, or in our absence abroad
our chief justice, will send two justices to each county four times
a year, and these justices, with four knights of the county elected
by the county itself, shall hold the assizes in the county court, on the day and in the place
where the court meets.
(19) If
any assizes cannot be taken on the day of the county court, as many
knights and freeholders shall afterwards remain behind, of those who
have attended the court, as will suffice for the administration of justice,
having regard to the volume of business to be done.
(20) For
a trivial offence, a free man shall be
fined only in proportion to the degree
of his offence, and for a serious offence correspondingly, but not so
heavily as to deprive him of his livelihood. In the same way, a merchant
shall be spared his merchandise, and a husbandman the implements of
his husbandry, if they fall upon the mercy of a royal court. None of
these fines shall be imposed except by the assessment on oath of reputable
men of the neighbourhood.
(21) Earls
and barons shall be fined only by their equals, and in proportion to
the gravity of their offence.
(22) A
fine imposed upon the lay property of a clerk in holy orders shall be
assessed upon the same principles, without reference to the value of
his ecclesiastical benefice.
(23) No
town or person shall be forced to build bridges over rivers except those
with an ancient obligation to do so.
(24) No
sheriff, constable, coroners, or other
royal officials are to hold lawsuits that should be held by the royal
justices.
(25) Every
county, hundred, wapentake, and tithing shall remain at its ancient
rent, without increase, except the royal demesne manors.
(26) If
at the death of a man who holds a lay `fee' of the Crown, a sheriff
or royal official produces royal letters patent of summons for a debt
due to the Crown, it shall be lawful for them to seize and list movable
goods found in the lay `fee' of the dead man to the value of the debt,
as assessed by worthy men. Nothing shall be removed until the whole
debt is paid, when the residue shall be given over to the executors
to carry out the dead man s will. If no debt is due to the Crown, all
the movable goods shall be regarded as the property of the dead man,
except the reasonable shares of his wife and children.
(27) If
a free man dies intestate, his movable goods are to be distributed by
his next-of-kin and friends, under the supervision of the Church. The
rights of his debtors are to be preserved.
(28) No
constable or other royal official shall take corn or other movable goods
from any man without immediate payment, unless the seller voluntarily
offers postponement of this.
(29) No
constable may compel a knight to pay money for castle-guard if the knight
is willing to undertake the guard in person, or with reasonable excuse
to supply some other fit man to do it. A knight taken or sent on military
service shall be excused from castle-guard for the period of this servlce.
(30) No
sheriff, royal official, or other person shall take horses or carts
for transport from any free man, without his consent.
(31) Neither
we nor any royal official will take wood for our castle, or for any
other purpose, without the consent of the owner.
(32) We
will not keep the lands of people convicted of felony in our hand for
longer than a year and a day, after which they shall be returned to
the lords of the `fees' concerned.
(33) All
fish-weirs shall be removed from the Thames,
the Medway, and throughout the whole of
England, except on the sea coast.
(34) The
writ called precipe shall not in future be issued to anyone in respect
of any holding of land, if a free man could thereby be deprived of the
right of trial in his own lord's court.
(35) There
shall be standard measures of wine, ale, and corn (the London quarter),
throughout the kingdom. There shall also be a standard width of dyed
cloth, russett, and haberject, namely two ells within the selvedges.
Weights are to be standardised similarly.
(36) In
future nothing shall be paid or accepted for the issue of a writ of
inquisition of life or limbs. It shall be given gratis,
and not refused.
(37) If
a man holds land of the Crown by `fee-farm', `socage', or `burgage',
and also holds land of someone else for knight's service, we will not
have guardianship of his heir, nor of the land that belongs to the other
person's `fee', by virtue of the `fee-farm', `socage', or `burgage',
unless the `fee-farm' owes knight's service. We will not have the guardianship
of a man's heir, or of land that he holds of someone else, by reason
of any small property that he may hold of the Crown for a service of
knives, arrows, or the like.
(38) In
future no official shall place a man on trial upon his own unsupported
statement, without producing credible witnesses to the truth of it.
(39) No
free man shall be seized or imprisoned, or stripped of his rights or
possessions, or outlawed or exiled, or deprived of his standing in any
other way, nor will we proceed with force against him, or send others
to do so, except by the lawful judgement of his equals or by the law
of the land.
(40) To
no one will we sell, to no one deny or delay right or justice.
(41) All
merchants may enter or leave England unharmed and without fear, and
may stay or travel within it, by land or water, for purposes of trade,
free from all illegal exactions, in accordance with ancient and lawful
customs. This, however, does not apply in time of war to merchants from
a country that is at war with us. Any such merchants found in our country
at the outbreak of war shall be detained without injury to their persons
or property, until we or our chief justice have discovered how our own
merchants are being treated in the country at war with us. If our own
merchants are safe they shall be safe too.
(42) In
future it shall be lawful for any man to leave and return to our kingdom
unharmed and without fear, by land or water, preserving his allegiance to us, except in time of war, for some short
period, for the common benefit of the realm. People that have been imprisoned
or outlawed in accordance with the law of the land, people from a country
that is at war with us, and merchants - who shall be dealt with as stated
above - are excepted from this provision.
(43) If
a man holds lands of any `escheat' such as the `honour' of Wallingford,
Nottingham, Boulogne,
Lancaster, or of other `escheats' in our
hand that are baronies, at his death his heir shall give us only the
'relief' and service that he would have made to the baron, had the barony
been in the baron's hand. We will hold the `escheat' in the same manner
as the baron held it.
(44) People
who live outside the forest need not in future appear before the royal
justices of the forest in answer to general summonses, unless they are
actually involved in proceedings or are sureties for someone who has
been seized for a forest offence.
(45) We
will appoint as justices, constables, sheriffs, or other officials,
only men that know the law of the realm and are minded to keep it well.
(46) All
barons who have founded abbeys, and have charters of English kings or
ancient tenure as evidence of this, may
have guardianship of them when there is no abbot, as is their due.
(47) All
forests that have been created in our reign shall at once be disafforested.
River-banks that have been enclosed in our reign shall be treated similarly.
(48) All
evil customs relating to forests and warrens, foresters, warreners,
sheriffs and their servants, or river-banks and their wardens, are at
once to be investigated in every county by twelve sworn knights of the
county, and within forty days of their enquiry the evil customs are
to be abolished completely and irrevocably.
But we, or our chief justice if we are not in England, are first to
be informed.
(49) We
will at once return all hostages and charters delivered up to us by
Englishmen as security for peace or for loyal service.
(50) We
will remove completely from their offices the kinsmen of Gerard de Athée,
and in future they shall hold no offices in England. The people in question
are Engelard de Cigogné', Peter, Guy, and Andrew de Chanceaux,
Guy de Cigogné, Geoffrey de Martigny and his brothers, Philip
Marc and his brothers, with Geoffrey his nephew, and all their followers.
(51) As
soon as peace is restored, we will remove from the kingdom all the foreign
knights, bowmen, their attendants, and the mercenaries
that have come to it, to its harm, with horses and arms.
(52) To
any man whom we have deprived or dispossessed of lands, castles, liberties,
or rights, without the lawful judgement of his equals, we will at once
restore these. In cases of dispute the matter shall be resolved by the
judgement of the twenty-five barons referred to below in the clause
for securing the peace (§ 61). In cases, however, where a man was
deprived or dispossessed of something without the lawful judgement of
his equals by our father King Henry or our brother King Richard, and
it remains in our hands or is held by others under our warranty, we
shall have respite for the period commonly allowed to Crusaders, unless
a lawsuit had been begun, or an enquiry had been made at our order,
before we took the Cross as a Crusader. On our return from the Crusade,
or if we abandon it, we will at once render justice in full.
(53) We
shall have similar respite in rendering
justice in connexion with forests that are to be disafforested, or to
remain forests, when these were first aforested by our father Henry
or our brother Richard; with the guardianship of lands in another person's
`fee', when we have hitherto had this by virtue of a `fee' held of us
for knight's service by a third party; and with abbeys founded in another
person's `fee', in which the lord of the `fee' claims to own a right.
On our return from the Crusade, or if we abandon it, we will at once
do full justice to complaints about these matters.
(54) No
one shall be arrested or imprisoned on the appeal of a woman for the
death of any person except her husband.
(55) All
fines that have been given to us unjustiy and against the law of the
land, and all fines that we have exacted unjustly, shall be entirely
remitted or the matter decided by a majority judgement
of the twenty-five barons referred to below in the clause for securing
the peace (§ 61) together with Stephen, archbishop of Canterbury,
if he can be present, and such others as he wishes to bring with him.
If the archbishop cannot be present, proceedings shall continue without
him, provided that if any of the twenty-five barons has been involved
in a similar suit himself, his judgement shall be set aside, and someone
else chosen and sworn in his place, as a substitute for the single occasion,
by the rest of the twenty-five.
(56) If
we have deprived or dispossessed any Welshmen of lands, liberties, or
anything else in England or in Wales, without
the lawful judgement of their equals, these are at once to be returned
to them. A dispute on this point shall be determined in the Marches
by the judgement of equals. English law shall apply to holdings of land
in England, Welsh law to those in Wales, and the law of the Marches
to those in the Marches. The Welsh shall treat us and ours in the same
way.
(57) In
cases where a Welshman was deprived or dispossessed of anything, without
the lawful judgement of his equals, by our father King Henry or our
brother King Richard, and it remains in our hands or is held by others
under our warranty, we shall have respite for the period commonly allowed
to Crusaders, unless a lawsuit had been begun, or an enquiry had been
made at our order, before we took the Cross as a Crusader. But on our
return from the Crusade, or if we abandon it, we will at once do full
justice according to the laws of Wales and the said regions.
(58) We
will at once return the son of Llywelyn, all Welsh hostages, and the
charters delivered to us as security for the peace.
(59) With
regard to the return of the sisters and hostages of Alexander, king
of Scotland, his liberties and his rights, we will treat him in the
same way as our other barons of England, unless it appears from the
charters that we hold from his father William, formerly king of Scotland,
that he should be treated otherwise. This matter shall be resolved by
the judgement of his equals in our court.
(60) All
these customs and liberties that we have granted shall be observed in
our kingdom in so far as concerns our own relations with our subjects.
Let all men of our kingdom, whether clergy or laymen, observe them similarly
in their relations with their own men.
(61) SINCE
WE HAVE GRANTED ALL THESE THINGS for God, for the better ordering of
our kingdom, and to allay the discord that
has arisen between us and our barons, and since we desire that they
shall be enjoyed in their entirety, with lasting strength, for ever,
we give and grant to the barons the following security:
The barons
shall elect twenty-five of their number to keep, and cause to be observed
with all their might, the peace and liberties granted and confirmed
to them by this charter.
If we,
our chief justice, our officials, or any of our servants offend in any
respect against any man, or transgress
any of the articles of the peace or of this security, and the offence
is made known to four of the said twenty-five barons, they shall come
to us - or in our absence from the kingdom to the chief justice - to
declare it and claim immediate redress. If we, or in our absence abroad
the chiefjustice, make no redress within
forty days, reckoning from the day on which the offence was declared
to us or to him, the four barons shall refer the matter to the rest
of the twenty-five barons, who may distrain
upon and assail us in every way possible,
with the support of the whole community of the land, by seizing our
castles, lands, possessions, or anything else saving only our own person
and those of the queen and our children, until they have secured such
redress as they have determined upon. Having secured the redress, they
may then resume their normal obedience
to us.
Any man
who so desires may take an oath to obey the commands of the twenty-five
barons for the achievement of these ends, and to join with them in assailing
us to the utmost of his power. We give public and free permission to
take this oath to any man who so desires, and at no time will we prohibit
any man from taking it. Indeed, we will compel any of our subjects who
are unwilling to take it to swear it at our command.
If-one
of the twenty-five barons dies or leaves the country, or is prevented
in any other way from discharging his duties, the rest of them shall
choose another baron in his place, at their discretion, who shall be
duly sworn in as they were.
In the
event of disagreement among the twenty-five barons on any matter referred
to them for decision, the verdict of the majority present shall have
the same validity as a unanimous verdict
of the whole twenty-five, whether these were all present or some of
those summoned were unwilling or unable to appear.
The twenty-five
barons shall swear to obey all the above articles faithfully, and shall
cause them to be obeyed by others to the best of their power.
We will
not seek to procure from anyone, either by our own efforts or those
of a third party, anything by which any part of these concessions
or liberties might be revoked or diminished. Should such a thing be
procured, it shall be null and void and we will at no time make use
of it, either ourselves or through a third party.
(62) We
have remitted and pardoned fully to all men any ill-will, hurt, or grudges
that have arisen between us and our subjects, whether clergy or laymen,
since the beginning of the dispute. We have in addition remitted fully,
and for our own part have also pardoned, to all clergy and laymen any
offences committed as a result of the said dispute between Easter in
the sixteenth year of our reign and the restoration of peace.
In addition
we have caused letters patent to be made
for the barons, bearing witness to this security and to the concessions
set out above, over the seals of Stephen archbishop of Canterbury, Henry
archbishop of Dublin, the other bishops named above, and Master Pandulf.
(63) IT
IS ACCORDINGLY OUR WISH AND COMMAND that the English Church shall be
free, and that men in our kingdom shall have and keep all these liberties,
rights, and concessions, well and peaceably in their fulness and entirety
for them and their heirs, of us and our heirs, in all things and all
places for ever.
Both we
and the barons have sworn that all this shall be observed in good faith
and without deceit. Witness the abovementioned people and many others.
Given
by our hand in the meadow that is called Runnymede,
between Windsor and Staines, on the fifteenth
day of June in the seventeenth year of our reign.
Vocabulary —
Define the following in 1-2 words.
(Keep it as brief as possible)
| exaltation |
primate |
perpetuity |
| undiminished |
ward |
revenues |
| feudal |
exact
compensation |
prudent |
| pertaining |
husbandry |
next-of-kin |
| dower |
compelled |
security |
| sufficient |
discharge |
sureties |
| obligations |
irrespective |
residue |
| levied |
accordance |
resolution |
| Inquests |
novel
disseisin |
darrein |
| presentment |
assizes |
trivial |
| proportion |
ecclesiastical
benefice |
coroners |
| intestate |
gratis |
allegiance |
| tenure |
irrevocably |
mercenaries |
| respite |
remitted |
allay |
| transgress |
redress |
distrain |
| assail |
unanimous
verdict |
concessions |
| patent |
|
|
Geography
—
The following geographical places
on a map, globe, and atlas.
| England |
Aquitaine |
Ireland |
| Anjou |
Normandy |
Canterbury |
| Dublin |
London |
Winchester |
| Bath |
Glastonbury |
Lincoln |
| Worcester |
Coventry |
Rochester |
| Pembroke |
Salisbury |
Scotland |
| Thames |
Medway |
Wallingford |
| Nottingham |
Boulogne |
Lancaster |
| Wales |
Runnymede |
Staines |
Discussion Questions
—
1.
What does Magna Carta mean?
2.
Why so you think the Magna Carta starts out with, "JOHN,
by the grace of God King"? What is the meaning of this phrase?
3.
Why does the Magna Carta identify so many of King John's titles and
the lands he rules?
4.
Why are the church leaders and the geographical areas where they
serve identified?
5.
Why are the barons identified by name?
6.
Why was it important to declare that the "English Church
shall be free, and shall have its rights undiminished, and its liberties
unimpaired"?
(Hint: Are the civil rights of a country's citizens secured
if the visible Church, an embassy of another kingdom, not held inviolate?)
7. Most
of the clauses of the Magna Carta have to do with securing property
and unlawful taxation. Why? Can you give any Scriptural
supports to assist in the baron's assertion?
8.
What kings of England are mentioned in this document? King(s)
of Scotland? King(s) of Wales?
9. Why
does the Magna Carta reiterate toward the end of the document "the
English Church shall be free"?
10. What
is the location and date of the meeting of the Magna Carta?
© Beverly Schmitt/PrestonSpeed
Publications 1997-2003, all rights reserved
RSS Headlines
