Primary Documents in Live Ink

Magna Carta

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Magna Carta

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A translation of Magna Carta

as confirmed by Edward I

with his seal in 1297

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Preamble

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EDWARD

by the grace of God,

King of England,

Lord of Ireland,

and Duke of Guyan,

to all Archbishops,

Bishops,.etc.

We have seen

the Great Charter

of the Lord HENRY,

sometimes King of England,

our father,

of the Liberties of England,

in these words:

Henry

by the grace of God,

King of England,

Lord of Ireland,

Duke of Normandy and Guyan,

and Earl of Anjou,

to all Archbishops,

Bishops,

Abbots,

Priors,

Earls,

Barons,

Sheriffs,

Provosts,

Officers,

and to all Bailiffs

and other

our faithful Subjects,

which shall see

this present Charter,

Greeting.

Know ye that we,

unto the honour

of Almighty God,

and for the salvation

of the souls

of our progenitors

and successors,

Kings of England,

to the advancement

of holy Church,

and amendment of our Realm,

of our meer and free will,

have given

and granted

to all Archbishops,

Bishops,

Abbots,

Priors,

Earls,

Barons,

and to all freemen

of this our realm,

these liberties

following,

to be kept

in our kingdom

of England for ever.

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1. First,

We have granted to God,

and by this

our present Charter

have confirmed,

for us

and our Heirs for ever,

That

the Church of England

shall be free,

and shall have

her whole rights

and liberties inviolable.

We have granted also,

and given to all

the freemen of our realm,

for us

and our Heirs for ever,

these liberties

underwritten,

to have

and to hold

to them and their Heirs,

of us

and our Heirs for ever.

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2. If any

of our Earls or Barons,

or any other,

which holdeth of Us in chief

by Knights service,

shall die and

at the time

of his death

his heir be of full age,

and oweth us Relief,

he shall have his inheritance

by the old Relief;

that is to say,

the heir or heirs

of an Earl,

for a whole Earldom,

by one hundred pound;

the heir or heirs

of a Baron,

for an whole Barony,

by one hundred marks;

the heir or heirs

of a Knight,

for one whole Knights fee,

one hundred shillings

at the most;

and he

that hath less,

shall give less,

according to

the custom of the fees.

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3. But if the Heir

of any such

be within age,

his Lord

shall not have

the ward of him,

nor of his land,

before that he

hath taken him homage.

And after that

such an heir

hath been in ward

(when he

is come of full age)

that is to say,

to the age

of one and twenty years,

he shall have his inheritance

without Relief,

and without Fine;

so that

if such an heir,

being within age,

be made Knight,

yet nevertheless

his land

shall remain in the keeping

of his Lord

unto the term aforesaid.

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4. The keeper of the land

of such an heir,

being within age,

shall not take of the lands

of the heir,

but reasonable issues,

reasonable customs,

and reasonable servics,

and that without destruction

and waste

of his men and goods.

And if we

commit the custody

of any such land

to the Sheriff,

or to any other,

which is answerable unto us

for the issues

of the same land,

and he make destruction

or waste of those things

that he hath in custody,

we will take of him amends

and recompence therefore,

and the land

shall be committed

to two lawful

and discreet men

of that fee,

which shall answer

unto us

for the issues

of the same land,

or unto him

whom we will assign.

And if we

give or sell to any man

the custody of any such land,

and he therein

do make destruction

or waste,

he shall lose

the same custody;

and it

shall be assigned

to two lawful

and discreet men

of that fee,

which also in like manner

shall be answerable to us,

as afore is said.

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5. The keeper,

so long

as he hath the custody

of the land

of such an heir,

shall keep up the houses,

parks,

warrens,

ponds,

mills,

and other things pertaining

to the same land,

with the issues

of the said land;

and he

shall deliver to the Heir,

when he cometh

to his full age,

all his land stored

with ploughs,

and all other things,

at the least

as he received it.

All these things

shall be observed

in the custodies

of the Archbishopricks,

Bishopricks,

Abbeys,

Priories,

Churchs,

and Dignities vacant,

which

appertain to us;

except this,

that such custody

shall not be sold.

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6. Heirs

shall be married

without Disparagement.

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7. A Widow,

after the death

of her husband,

incontinent,

and without any Difficulty,

shall have

her marriage

and her inheritance,

and shall give nothing

for her dower,

her marriage,

or her inheritance,

which her husband

and she held

the day of the death

of her husband,

and she shall tarry

in the chief house

of her husband

by forty days

after the death

of her husband,

within which days

her dower

shall be assigned her

(if it

were not assigned her before)

or that the house

be a castle;

and if she depart

from the castle,

then a competent house

shall be forthwith

provided for her,

in the which

she may honestly dwell,

until her dower

be to her assigned,

as it is aforesaid;

and she shall have

in the meantime

her reasonable estovers

of the common;

and for her dower

shall be assigned unto her

the third part

of all the lands

of her husband,

which were his

during coverture,

except she

were endowed

of less

at the Church-door.

No widow

shall be

distrained

to marry herself:

nevertheless

she shall find surety,

that

she shall not marry

without our licence

and assent

(if she hold of us)

nor without the assent

of the Lord,

if she hold of another.

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8. We or our Bailiffs

shall not seize

any land

or rent for any debt,

as long

as the present Goods

and Chattels

of the debtor

do suffice

to pay the debt,

and the debtor himself

be ready

to satisfy therefore.

Neither

shall the pledges

of the debtor

be distrained,

as long

as the principal debtor

is sufficient for the payment

of the debt.

And if the principal debtor

fail

in the payment of the debt,

having nothing wherewith

to pay,

or will not pay

where he is able,

the pledges

shall answer for the debt.

And if they will,

they

shall have the lands

and rents of the debtor,

until they

be satished of that

which they before

paid for him,

except that the debtor

can show himself

to be acquitted

against the said sureties.

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9. The city of London

shall have

all the old liberties

and customs,

which

it hath been used to have.

Moreover we will

and grant,

that all other Cities,

Boroughs,

Towns,

and the Barons

of the Five Ports,

and all other Ports,

shall have

all their liberties

and free customs.

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10. No man shall be distrained

to do more service

for a Knights fee,

nor any freehold,

than therefore is due.

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11. Common Pleas

shall not follow our Court,

but shall be holden

in some place certain.

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12. Assises of novel disseisin,

and of Mortdancestor,

shall not be taken

but in the shires,

and after this manner:

If we be

out of this Realm,

our chief Justicer

shall send

our Justicers

through every County

once in the Year,

which,

with the Knights

of the shires,

shall take

the said Assises

in those counties;

and those things

that at the coming

of our foresaid Justicers,

being sent

to take those Assises

in the counties,

cannot be determined,

shall be ended by them

in some other place

in their circuit;

and those things,

which for difficulty

of some articles

cannot be determined by them,

shall be referred

to our Justicers

of the Bench,

and there shall be ended.

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13. Assises of Darrein Presentment

shall be alway taken

before our Justices

of the Bench,

and there shall be determined.

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14. A Freeman

shall not be amerced

for a small fault,

but after the manner

of the fault;

and for a great fault

after the greatness thereof,

saving to him

his contenement;

and a Merchant likewise,

saving to him his Merchandise;

and any other's villain

than ours

shall be likewise amerced,

saving his wainage,

if he falls into our mercy.

And none

of the said amerciaments

shall be assessed,

but by the oath of honest

and lawful men

of the vicinage.

Earls and Barons

shall not be amerced

but by their Peers,

and after the manner

of their offence.

No man of the Church

shall be amerced

after the quantity

of his spiritual Benefice,

but after his Lay-tenement,

and after the quantity

of his offence.

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15. No Town or Freeman

shall be distrained

to make Bridges nor Banks,

but such as

of old time and of right

have been accustomed

to make them

in the time of King Henry

our Grandfather.

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16. No Banks

shall be defended

from henceforth,

but such as

were in defence

in the time of King Henry

our Grandfather,

by the same places,

and the same bounds,

as they

were wont to be

in his time.

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17. No Sheriff,

Constable,

Escheator,

Coroner,

nor any other our Bailiffs,

shall hold Pleas

of our Crown.

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18. If any that holdeth of us

Lay-fee do die,

and our Sheriff

or Bailiff

do show our Letters Patents

of our summon for Debt,

which the dead man

did owe to us;

it shall be lawful

to our Sheriff or Bailiff

to attach or inroll

all the goods

and chattels of the dead,

being found in the said fee,

to the Value

of the same Debt,

by the sight and testimony

of lawful men,

so that nothing thereof

shall be taken away,

until we

be clearly paid off the debt;

and the residue

shall remain

to the Executors

to perform the testament

of the dead;

and if nothing

be owing unto us,

all the chattels

shall go

to the use of the dead

(saving

to his wife and children

their reasonable parts).

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19. No Constable,

nor his Bailiff,

shall take corn

or other chattels

of any man,

if the man

be not of the Town

where the Castle is,

but he

shall forthwith pay

for the same,

unless that

the will of the seller

was to respite the payment;

and if he be

of the same Town,

the price

shall be paid unto him

within forty days.

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20. No Constable

shall distrain any Knight

to give money

for keeping of his Castle,

if he himself

will do it

in his proper person,

or cause it to be done

by another sufficient man,

if he

may not do it himself

for a reasonable cause.

And if we

lead or send him

to an army,

he shall be free

from Castle-ward

for the time

that he

shall be with us

in fee in our host,

for the which

he hath done service

in our wars.

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21. No Sheriff nor Bailiff

of ours,

or any other,

shall take the Horses

or Carts

of any man

to make carriage,

except he pay the old price

limited,

that is to say,

for carriage with two horse,

x.d. a day;

for three horse,

xiv.d. a day.

No demesne Cart

of any Spiritual person

or Knight,

or any Lord,

shall be taken

by our Bailiffs;

nor we,

nor our Bailiffs,

nor any other,

shall take

any man's wood

for our Castles,

or other

our necessaries

to be done,

but by the licence of him

whose wood it shall be.

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22. We will not hold

the Lands of them

that be convict of Felony

but one year and one day,

and then those Lands

shall be delivered

to the Lords of the fee.

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23. All Wears

from henceforth

shall be utterly put down

by Thames and Medway,

and through all England,

but only by the Sea-coasts.

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24. The Writ

that is called

Praecipe in capite

shall be

from henceforth granted

to no person of any freehold,

whereby

any freeman

may lose his Court.

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25. One measure of Wine

shall be through our Realm,

and one measure of Ale,

and one measure of Corn,

that is to say,

the Quarter of London;

and one breadth

of dyed Cloth,

Russets,

and Haberjects,

that is to say,

two Yards within the lists.

And it shall be of Weights

as it is of Measures.

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26. Nothing from henceforth

shall be given

for a Writ of Inquisition,

nor taken of him

that prayeth

Inquisition of Life,

or of Member,

but it shall be granted freely,

and not denied.

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27. If any do hold of us

by Fee-ferm,

or by Socage,

or Burgage,

and he holdeth

Lands of another

by Knights Service,

we will not have

the Custody of his Heir,

nor of his Land,

which is holden

of the Fee of another,

by reason of

that Fee-ferm,

Socage,

or Burgage.

Neither will we have

the custody

of such Fee-ferm,

or Socage,

or Burgage,

except Knights Service

be due unto us

out of the same Fee-ferm.

We will not have

the custody of the Heir,

or of any Land,

by occasion

of any Petit Serjeanty,

that any man

holdeth of us by Service

to pay a Knife,

an Arrow,

or the like.

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28. No Bailiff from henceforth

shall put any man

to his open Law,

nor to an Oath,

upon his own bare saying,

without faithful Witnesses

brought in for the same.

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29. No Freeman

shall be taken,

or imprisoned,

or be disseised

of his Freehold,

or Liberties,

or free Customs,

or be outlawed,

or exiled,

or any otherwise destroyed;

nor will

we pass upon him,

nor condemn him,

but by lawful Judgment

of his Peers,

or by the Law

of the Land.

We will sell to no man,

we will not deny or defer

to any man

either Justice or Right.

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30. All Merchants

(if they were not

openly prohibited before)

shall have

their safe and sure Conduct

to depart out of England,

to come into England,

to tarry in,

and go through England,

as well by Land

as by Water,

to buy and sell

without any manner

of evil Tolts,

by the old and rightful Customs,

except in Time of War.

And if they

be of a land

making War against us,

and such be found

in our Realm at the beginning

of the Wars,

they shall be attached

without harm

of body or goods,

until it

be known unto us,

or our Chief Justice,

how our Merchants

be intreated there

in the land

making War against us;

and if our Merchants

be well intreated there,

theirs

shall be likewise with us.

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31. If any man hold

of any Eschete,

as of the honour

of Wallingford,

Nottingham,

Boloin,

or of any

other Eschetes

which be in our hands,

and are Baronies,

and die,

his Heir

shall give none other Relief,

nor do none other Service

to us,

than he should

to the Baron,

if it

were in the Baron's hand.

And we in the same wise

shall hold it

as the Baron held it;

neither shall we have,

by occasion

of any such Barony

or Eschete,

any Eschete

or keeping

of any of our men,

unless he

that held the Barony

or Eschete

hold of us in chief.

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32. No Freeman

from henceforth

shall give or sell

any more of his Land,

but so that

of the residue

of the Lands

the Lord of the Fee

may have the Service

due to him,

which belongeth to the Fee.

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33. All Patrons of Abbies,

which have

the King's Charters

of England of Advowson,

or have old Tenure

or Possession in the same,

shall have

the Custody of them

when they fall void,

as it hath been accustomed,

and as it is afore declared.

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34. No Man

shall be taken

or imprisoned

upon the Appeal of a Woman

for the Death of any other,

than of her husband.

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35. No County Court

from henceforth

shall be holden,

but from Month to Month;

and where greater time

hath been used,

there shall be greater:

Nor any Sheriff,

or his Bailiff,

shall keep his Turn

in the Hundred

but twice in the Year;

and nowhere

but in due place,

and accustomed;

that is to say,

once after Easter,

and again

after the Feast of St. Michael.

And the View of Frankpledge

shall be likewise

at the Feast of St. Michael

without occasion;

so that every man

may have his Liberties

which he had,

or used to have,

in the time of King HENRY

our Grandfather,

or which

he hath purchased since:

but the View of Frankpledge

shall be so done,

that our Peace

may be kept;

and that the Tything

be wholly kept

as it hath been accustomed;

and that

the Sheriff

seek no Occasions,

and that he be content

with so much

as the Sheriff

was wont to have

for his Viewmaking

in the time

of King HENRY

our Grandfather.

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36. It shall not be lawful

from henceforth

to any

to give his Lands

to any Religious House,

and to take

the same Land again

to hold of the same House.

Nor shall it be lawful

to any House of Religion

to take the Lands of any,

and to lease the same

to him

of whom

he received it.

If any from henceforth

give his Lands

to any Religious House,

and thereupon be convict,

the Gift

shall be utterly void,

and the Land

shall accrue

to the Lord of the Fee.

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37. Escuage from henceforth

shall be taken like

as it was wont to be

in the time of King HENRY

our Grandfather;

reserving to all Archbishops,

Bishops,

Abbots,

Priors,

Templers,

Hospitallers,

Earls,

Barons,

and all persons,

as well Spiritual as Temporal,

all their free liberties

and free Customs,

which they have had

in time passed.

And all these Customs

and Liberties aforesaid,

which we

have granted

to be holden

within this our Realm,

as much as

appertaineth

to us and our Heirs,

we shall observe;

and all Men

of this our Realm,

as well Spiritual as Temporal

(as much as in them is)

shall observe the same

against all persons

in like wise.

And for this our Gift

and Grant of these Liberties,

and of other

contained

in our Charter of Liberties

of our Forest,

the Archbishops,

Bishops,

Abbots,

Priors,

Earls,

Barons,

Knights,

Freeholders,

and other our Subjects,

have given unto us

the Fifteenth Part

of all their Moveables.

And we

have granted

unto them

for us and our Heirs,

that neither we,

nor our Heirs

shall procure or do anything

whereby

the Liberties

in this Charter contained

shall be infringed or broken;

and if anything

be procured

by any person contrary

to the premisses,

it shall be had

of no force nor effect.

These

being Witnesses;

Lord B. Archbishop

of Canterbury,

E. Bishop of London,

J. Bishop of Bathe,

P. of Winchester,

H. of Lincoln,

R. of Salisbury,

W. of Rochester,

W. of Worester,

J. of Ely,

H. of Hereford,

R. of Chichester,

W. of Exeter,

Bishops;

the Abbot of St. Edmunds,

the Abbot of St. Albans,

the Abbot of Bello,

the Abbot of St. Augustines

in Canterbury,

the Abbot of Evesham,

the Abbot of Westminster,

the Abbot of Bourgh St. Peter,

the Abbot of Reading,

the Abbot of Abindon,

the Abbot of Malmsbury,

the Abbot of Winchcomb,

the Abbot of Hyde,

the Abbot of Certefey,

the Abbot of Sherburn,

the Abbot of Cerne,

the Abbot of Abbotebir,

the Abbot of Middleton,

the Abbot of Seleby,

the Abbot of Cirencester;

H. de Burgh Justice,

H. Earl of Chester

and Lincoln,

W. Earl of Salisbury,

W. Earl of Warren,

G. de Clare

Earl of Gloucester

and Hereford,

W. de Ferrars Earl of Derby,

W. de Mandeville

Earl of Essex,

H. de Bygod Earl of Norfolk,

W. Earl of Albermarle,

H. Earl of Hereford,

J. Constable of Chester,

R. de Ros,

R. Fitzwalter,

R. de Vyponte,

W. de Bruer,

R. de Muntefichet,

P. Fitzherbert,

W. de Aubenie,

F. Grefly,

F. de Breus,

J. de Monemue,

J. Fitzallen,

H. de Mortimer,

W. de Beauchamp,

W. de St. John,

P. de Mauly,

Brian de Lisle,

Thomas de Multon,

R. de Argenteyn,

G. de Nevil,

W. de Mauduit,

J. de Balun,

and others.

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We,

ratifying

and approving these Gifts

and Grants aforesaid,

confirm

and make strong

all the same for us

and our Heirs perpetually,

and,

by the Tenour

of these Presents,

do renew the same;

willing and granting

for us and our Heirs,

that this Charter,

and all

and singular his Articles,

for ever shall be stedfastly,

firmly,

and inviolably observed;

although some Articles

in the same Charter

contained,

yet hitherto peradventure

have not been kept,

we will,

and by Authority Royal command,

from henceforth firmly

they be observed.

In witness whereof

we have caused these

our Letters Patents

to be made.

T. EDWARD

our Son at Westminster,

the Twenty-eighth Day

of March,

in the Twenty-eighth Year

of our Reign.

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