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The Magna Carta ................................................................................................................................................1

Preamble:..............................................................................................................................................................1

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,

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

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,

3. If, however, the heir of any one of the aforesaid has been under age and in wardship, let him have his

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

16. No one shall be distrained for performance of greater service for a knight's fee, or for any other free

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

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

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

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

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

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

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 castleguard, 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

30. No sheriff or bailiff of ours, or other person, shall take the horses or carts of any freeman for transport

31. Neither we nor our bailiffs shall take, for our castles or for any other work of ours, wood which is not

32. We will not retain beyond one year and one day, the lands those who have been convicted of felony, and

33. All kydells for the future shall be removed altogether from Thames and Medway, and throughout all

34. The writ which is called praecipe shall not for the future be issued to anyone, regarding any tenement

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,

36. Nothing in future shall be given or taken for a writ of inquisition of life or limbs, but freely it shall be

37. If anyone holds of us by feefarm, either by socage or by burage, or of any other land by knight's service,

we will not (by reason of that feefarm, 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 feefarm, socage, or burgage, unless such

feefarm 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

38. No bailiff for the future shall, upon his own unsupported complaint, put anyone to his "law", without

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

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

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

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

49. We will immediately restore all hostages and charters delivered to us by Englishmen, as sureties of the

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

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

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

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

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

58. We will immediately give up the son of Llywelyn and all the hostages of Wales, and the charters

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

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

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

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