(1194. Latin text, Stubbs, S. C. 259. Translation, Riley, The Annals of Roger de Hoveden, ii. 334, with slight changes. 1 Stubbs, 543.)
IN the first place, four knights are to be chosen from out of the whole county, who, upon their oaths, are to chose two lawful knights of every hundred and wapentake, and these two are to chose upon their oath ten knights of every hundred or wapentake, or, if there shall not be knights sufficient, free and lawful men, in order that these twelve may together make inquisition on each of the following heads in every hundred or wapentake.
1. Of the pleas of the crown, both new and old, and all those which have not yet been concluded before the justiciaries of our lord the king.
2. Item of all recognizances and all pleas which have been summoned before the justiciaries, by writ of the king or of the chief justice, or which have been sent before them from the supreme court of the king.
3. Item of escheats, what these are now, and what these have been, since the king set out on his expedition to the land of Jerusalem; and what were at that time in the king’s hands, and whether they are now in his hands or not; and of all escheats of our lord king, if they have been taken out of his hands, how, and by whom, and into whose hands they have come, and of what kind, and if any person has had any profits from the same, and what, and what was the value thereof, and what is the present value; and if there is any escheat, which belongs to our lord the king, which is not at present in his hands.
4. Item of churches which are in the gift of our lord the king.
5. Item of wardships of children, which belong to our lord the king.
6. Item of marriages of maidens, or of widows, which belong to our lord the king.
7. Item of malefactors, and their harborers and abettors.
8. Item of forgers.
9. Item of murderers of the Jews, who they are, and of the pledges of Jews so slain, their chattels, lands, debts, and writings and who has the same; and how much each person owes them, and what pledges they had, and who holds the same, and how much they are worth, and who has the profits thereof and what they are; all the pledges and the debts of the Jews so slain are to be seised for the king; and those who were present at the murder of the Jews, who have not made a composition thereon with our lord the king, or with his justiciaries, are to be arrested and are not to be liberated except by our lord the king, or his justiciaries.
10. Item of all aids given for the ransom of our lord the king, how much each person promised, and how much he has paid, and how much is still due from him.
11. Item of the adherents of earl John, and such of them as have made a composition with our lord the king, and such as have not.
12. Item of the chattels of earl John or his adherents, which have not been converted to the use of our lord the king; and how much the sheriffs and their bailiffs have received; and who has given any thing contrary to the ancient customs of the kingdom.
13. Item of all the lands of earl John, of his demesnes, and wards, and escheats, and his gifts, and for what reason the same were given, and all the gifts of earl John are to be seised for our lord the king, except those which have been confirmed by the king.
14. Item of the debts and fines which are due to earl John, and for what causes; and all the same are to be demanded on behalf of our lord the king.
15. Item of usurers, and of the chattels of such of them as are dead.
16. Item of wines sold contrary to the assize, and of false measures for wine as also for other things.
17. Item of such crusaders as have died before setting out for the land of Jerusalem; and who possesses their chattels, and what they are, and how many.
18. Item of grand assizes, which are of lands a hundred shillings in value or less.
19. Item of defaults.
20. Also in every county there are to be three knights chosen, and one clerk, who are to be keepers of the pleas of the crown.
21. And no sheriff is to be justice in his shrievalty nor yet in any county which he has held since the first coronation of our lord the king.
22. Also all the cities, and boroughs, and demesne lands of our lord the king are to be tallaged.
23. Also, the said justices, together with the bailiffs of William of the Church of Saint Mary, Geoffrey Fitz-Peter, William de Chimelli, William Bruere, Hugh Bardolph, and of the sheriff of each place, are to cause the knights mentioned on the roll to be summoned in their respective counties, to appear at a time and place which they shall signify to them, and to make them swear in their presence that they will use all their lawful endeavors to restore the lands and escheats belonging to our lord the king, and to value the same to the advantage of our lord the king, and not through hatred, favor or regard for any person, to omit so to do. And the said knights before named shall, upon their oath, make choice of twelve lawful knights, or free and lawful men, if knights shall not be found for the purpose, in the different parts of each county on the circuit of the said justices itinerant, as shall seem expedient; who shall, in like manner, make oath that they will use all their lawful endeavors to restore, and to value and establish the rights of wardship and escheat in those parts, and will give their counsel and assistance to advantage the king therein, as before mentioned. The said jurors shall also, upon oath, choose from free men as many and such as they shall think necessary for the performance of the aforesaid business of our lord the king as to escheats and wardships, in such manner as may be best done for the advantage of our lord the king. It is also to be known, that the said wardships and escheats shall be made good out of the revenues arising therefrom up to the feast of Michaelmas, as also from the revenues at that time due; and, if they shall not suffice, then the deficiency shall be supplied by a toll of our lord the king: it being understood that those who ho1d the said wardships and escheats to farm shall, at the feast of Saint Michael, answer for the same, and thenceforward for the improvements as well. And as for those who shall hold the said wardships and escheats to farm, our lord the king shall give them warranty for the same from year to year until the termination thereof; so that, although our lord the king should give any of them to any person, the farmer shall still hold his farm till the end of the year, by paying to him to whom our lord the king shall have so given it, the rent which shall be due to the king for the same until the end of the year. The rights of justice of the escheat, however, which he shall have so given shall remain with our lord the king, unless our lord the king shall have given them by name. The farmer, when he shall have given up his farm, is to have all his stock which he shall have placed upon the farm, and all his property over and above the property of the king there, freely and without diminution. They shall also have letters patent of our lord the archbishop, containing the tenor of the charter of our lord the king made relative thereto.
Most diligent enquiry shall also be made what is the rental assessed upon each manor in the demesne, and the value of all other assessments in the said manors, and how many carrucates there are, and how much they are each worth, not estimating them at a fixed value of twenty shillings only, but, according as the land is good or bad, whether the value is likely to increase or decrease. Those persons who shall take these farms shall stock their farms, as already said, according to the above named value from the revenues of the escheats and wardships. Enquiry is also to be made with how many oxen and plough horses each carrucate ought to be stocked; and how many and what amount of stock each manor is able to support and the result thereof is then to be openly and distinctly reduced to writing. The price set upon a bull shall be four shillings, and upon a cow the same, upon a plough-horse the same, upon a sheep with fine wool ten pence, upon a sheep with coarse wool six pence, upon a sow twelve pence, and upon a boar twelve pence; and when the farmers give up their farms they shall be answerable in the aforesaid sums, or in animals payable for the same, at the option of the farmers; and when all the aforesaid stock shall be placed thereon and duly valued, they shall all be enrolled openly and distinctly, and the register thereof shall be deposited in the exchequer From this assize are to be excepted bishoprics and abbeys, and lands of barons who are nearly of age.
Also let enquiry be made, by the oath of the parties aforesaid, as to all wardships and escheats which are not in the hands of our lord the king, and they are to be taken possession of by our lord the king, and dealt with as other lands and escheats.
24. Heads concerning the Jews.
All debts and pledges of Jews are to be enrolled, as also their lands, houses, rents, and possessions. Any Jew who shall make concealment of any one of these things, shall forfeit to our lord the king his body, as also the thing concealed, and all his possessions and all his chattels; and no Jew shall ever be allowed to recover what he has so concealed. Also, let six or seven places be appointed at which they shall make their loans, and let two lawful Christians and two lawful Jews and two lawful scribes be appointed, and in their presence, and in that of the clerks of William of the Church of Saint Mary and of William de Chimelli, let such loans be made, and let a deed describing the loan be made, after the manner of an indenture. One part is to remain in the hands of the Jew, sealed with his seal to whom the money is paid, while the other part is to remain in the common chest; on which there are to be three locks; whereof the two Christians are to keep one key, the two Jews another, and the clerks of William of the Church of Saint Mary and of Master William de Chimelli, the third; as also three seals, those who have the keys setting thereon their seals. The clerks also of the two Williams aforesaid are to have a register containing copies of all the deeds, and as the deeds are altered so shall the register be altered. For each deed shall be paid three pence; a moiety thereof by the Jew and a moiety by him to whom the money is lent; of which the two scribes are to have two pence, and the keeper of the register the third: and, for the future, no loan shall be made, no payment made to Jews, no alteration of the deeds, except in presence of the persons aforenamed, or the major part of them, if all shall be unable to be present. The said two Christians also are to have a register of receipts for payments made henceforth to Jews, and the two Jews are to have one, and the keeper of the register one. Also, every Jew shall make oath on his roll [of the Law] that he will cause all his debts, pledges, rents, and all his property and possessions to be enrolled, and that, as above stated, he will not conceal anything; and that, if he shall be able to learn that any one has concealed anything, he will secretly disclose the same to the judges sent to them, and that forgers of deeds and clippers of money, when he shall know of such persons, he will give information against, and detect the same, and the like with regard to the deeds so forged.
25. Also, the inquisition which was to be made relative to the exactions and seizures made by all bailiffs of the king, as well by the justices as by the sheriffs, constables, and foresters and their servants, since the time of the first coronation of our lord king Richard, and why such seizures were made, and by whom; and relative to all the chattels, gifts, and promises made on the occasion of seizure of the lands of earl John and his supporters; and who received the same, and what, and how much, was deferred by command of Hubert, archbishop of Canterbury, the king’s chief justice.
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(May, 1199. Latin text, Stubbs, S. C. 270. Translation, Giles’s Roger of Wendover’s Flowers of History, ii. 180, slightly altered. 1 Stubbs, 553.)
JOHN duke of Normandy came over into England, and landed at Shoreham on the 25th of May; on the day after which was the eve of our Lord’s ascension, he went to London to be crowned there. On his arrival therefore, the archbishops, bishops, earls, barons, and all others, whose duty it was to be present at his coronation, assembled together. The archbishop, standing in the midst, addressed them thus, “Hear, all of you, and be it known that no one has an antecedent right to succeed another in the kingdom, unless he shall have been unanimously elected, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, on account of the superior merits of his character, after the example of Saul the first anointed king, whom the Lord set over his people, not as the son of a king, nor as born of royal ancestry. In the same manner, after Saul came David, son of Jesse. Saul was chosen because he was a brave man, and suited for the royal dignity . David, because he was holy and humble. Thus those who excel in vigor are elevated to kingly dignity. But, if any relative of a deceased king excel others in merit, all should the more readily and zealously consent to his election. We have said this to maintain the cause of earl John, who is here present, brother of our illustrious king Richard, lately deceased without heirs of his body, and as the said earl John is prudent, active, and indubitably noble, we have, under God’s Holy Spirit, unanimously elected him for his merits and his royal blood.” Now the archbishop was a man of bold character and a support to the kingdom by his steadiness and incomparable wisdom, no one, therefore, dared to dispute what he said, as knowing that he had good cause for what he did. Earl John and all who were present acquiesced, and they unanimously elected the earl, crying out, “God save the king.” Archbishop Hubert was afterwards asked why he acted in this manner, to which he replied that he had foreseen, and had been informed and assured by revelations that John would one day or other bring the kingdom into great confusion, and that he might not have free hand to do this he determined that he should owe his elevation to election and not to hereditary right. Moreover the archbishop placed the crown on his head, and anointed him king, in the church of the chief of the apostles, at Westminster, on the 27th of May; Philip, bishop of Durham, made an appeal to prevent this coronation taking place in the absence of Geoffrey archbishop of York, but did not obtain his wish. At this coronation king John bound himself by a triple oath, namely, to love Holy Church and its ordained priests, and to preserve it harmless from the attacks of evil designers, and to do away with bad laws, substituting good ones in their stead, and to see justice rightly administered throughout England. He was afterwards adjured by the same archbishop on behalf of God, and strictly forbidden to presume to accept this honor, unless he purposed in his mind, to fulfil in deed, what he had sworn to; in reply to this the king promised that, by God’s assistance, he would in all good faith keep the oath which he had made. On the following day, after he had received the homage and fealty of his subjects, he went to Saint Alban’s, the proto-martyr of England, to pray; and so, making but a very short stay in England, he with the advice of the nobles duly settled everything that required his attention.
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(February, 1207. Latin text, Stubbs, S. C. 283. Translation by Editors. 1 Stubbs, 620.)
THE king to all, etc. Be it known that by the common advice and assent of our council at Oxford it was provided, for the defence of our realm and the recovery of our right, and granted that every layman in all England, of whomsoever he may hold, who has rents and chattels in England, should give us in aid from every mark of his annual revenue, twelve pence, and from every mark’s worth of every sort of movable chattels which he had on the octave of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin, that is at the time of the council, twelve pence, and thus in proportion more or less. And all the stewards and bailiffs of earls and barons, shall take oath before our justices of the value of the rents and movable chattels of their lords and likewise concerning their own. And every man except the earls and barons shall take oath concerning his own rents and chattels, according as our justices despatched for this purpose shall see to be best suited to our advantage. And if any one shall have been convicted of removing his chattels fraudulently to avoid our profit, or of concealing them in any place, or of putting them in the power of any one else, or of appraising them at less than their value, all his chattels shall be seised for our use free of claims, and he himself shall be put in our prison until he shall be liberated by us. Moreover, let every hundred in your county be recorded by itself and each parish in every hundred by itself so that our justices may know how to answer for every vill by itself. Moreover, when our justices shall have made the assessment of this aid of ours in any hundred, city, or vill, they shall immediately cause copy to be made from their rolls of all the particulars of the aid assessed, and shall hand over to the sheriff for the collection of the aid noted in each roll from fortnight to fortnight, with all speed, and our justices shall keep their own rolls safely in their possession until they bring them to us. It is also decreed that all our clerks, and all our justices and their clerks, and all who shall busy themselves in any of this work, shall swear that they will do this work faithfully and with all their might, as it has been set forth, and that for nothing will they neglect this. Moreover, we command, upon penalties of life and 1imb, that every good penny of lawful weight, although it is not new, shall be accepted both for our use and for that of all others in our realm. Moreover, for assessing this aid in your county we send, in our stead, Robert of Berkeley, Richard of Mucegros, William of Falaise, Master R. of Gloucester, Walter of Aura, Adam Fitz-Nigel, etc. And we bid you to be just as attentive to them in this as to ourselves.
Witness myself at Northampton, the seventeenth day of February.
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(Latin originals, Delisle, Recueil de Jugements de l’Echiquier de Normandie. Translation by Editors. Date and reference in each case. Though the first three cases are from Normandy, the usage is exactly the same as in England, and they are earlier than the Magna Carta. The last two are from Maitland’s Bracton’s Note Book.)
1. EUSTACE CALLOT, under age, asked seisin of the land of his father, that is of the manor of R., of which his father was seised in the year and day on which he died, of which Richard Callot his uncle was disseising him. A recognition was made concerning this by legal men and they swore that Robert Callot, his father, was seised of it at some time, but they did not know whether he was seised of it on the day on which he died or not. And so it was judged that he who was holding should hold, and that the right should remain between them. Afterwards the said Eustace asked a recognition whether his father was seised of the said manor when he married his mother or not. But his uncle, who was holding that manor, asked the judgment of the king’s court whether there ought to be taken another recognition concerning this than that which the said Eustace had had of the seisin of his father. But the bailiff pointed this out to lord Walter the chamberlain at Rouen. But lord Walter was unwilling to make judgment upon it at Rouen, but he postponed it to the exchequer of the lord king at Falaise, and when judgment was to be made upon it there, it was said and testified by many that the mother of the said Eustace asked the whole of the said manor in dower in the court of the lord king, and that she had by agreement in the court of the lord king a third part of that manor in dower. And so it was judged that the said Eustace as protector of that dower should have two parts of that manor. (p. 13, 1209.)
2. Recognition [recordatio] between Matthew le V . and Andrew de O. by [13 names] who say that they were at a certain assize at Grandmesnil and saw and heard that a certain inquiry by oath [jury] was made there between the same Matthew and the same Andrew concerning a certain land of the fee of Grandmesnil, and of the seisin of W de A., uncle of the said Matthew. Ten men of those who made the inquiry by oath said that they never saw the said W. have seisin of the said land, but always they saw the father of the same Andrew and the same Andrew seised of that land. Two other men of those who made the inquiry by oath said that they knew nothing about it. And so the seisin of that land was judged in that assize to the same Andrew, and it was judged in that assize that the plea remained between them. It is judged that the same Andrew have seisin of that land, and the said Matthew in mercy for a false claim. (p. 27, 1212.)
3. Darrien Presentment. — It is judged that Alan de Av. have seisin of the presentation of the church of Av., since Henry de Al. who disseised the same Alan of this is unwilling to submit to a recognition according to the usages and customs of Normandy as to who presented the last parson deceased to that church, and the same Henry is in mercy. (p. 33, 1213.)
4. Novel Disseisin. — The assize came to inquire [recognitura] if Robert chaplain of 0wresby unjustly etc. disseised Helena of Crosholm of her free tenement in Norton after etc. And R. came not nor was found and so the assize was taken by default. The jurors say he disseised her because R. made to reap in the land of the same Helena and to carry off. And so it was judged that Helena recover her seisin and R. be in mercy. (Case 1204, III., p. 217.)
5. Mort d’ Ancestor. — The assize came to inquire if Simon son of Thomas, father of Richard son of Simon who is under age, was seised in his demesne and of fee of half a virgate of land with appurtenances in Brinton on the day on which he died, etc., and if etc. which land Gunnora of Brinton held, who came and called Richard of Brinton to warrant it, who came and warranted it to her and said . . . And since Richard is under age it was judged that he is not able to answer to this and so the assize proceeds. The jurors say that the said Simon died so seised as the writ says, and that Richard is next heir of that same land which Gunnora held, concerning which she called to warrant the said Richard, whether there was more or less than half a virgate there. (Case 42, II., p. 39.)
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(May, 1213. Latin text, Stubbs. S. C. 284. Translation, G. and H. 75. 1 Stubbs, 560.)
JOHN by the grace of God king of England, lord of Ireland, duke of Normandy and Aquitaine, earl of Anjou, to all the faithful in Christ who shall inspect this present charter, greeting. We will it to be known by all of you by this our charter, confirmed by our seal, that we, having offended God and our mother the holy Church in many things, and being on that account known to need the divine mercy, and unable to make any worthy offering for the performance of due satisfaction to God and the Church, unless we humble ourselves and our realms — we, willing to humble ourselves for him who humbled himself for us even to death, by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit’s grace under no compulsion of force or of fear, but of our good and free will, and by the common consent of our barons, offer and freely grant to God and His holy apostles Peter and Paul, and the holy Roman Church, our mother, and to our lord the Pope Innocent and his catholic successors, the whole realm of England and the whole realm of Ireland with all their rights and appurtenances, for the remission of our sins and those of all our race, as well quick as dead; and from now receiving back and holding these as a feudal dependant, from God and the Roman Church, in the presence of the prudent man Pandulf, subdeacon and familiar of the lord the pope, do and swear fealty for them to the aforesaid our lord the Pope Innocent and his catholic successors and the Roman Church, according to the form written below, and will do liege homage to the same lord the Pope in his presence if we shall he able to be present before him; binding our successors and heirs by our wife, for ever, that in like manner to the supreme pontiff for the time being, and to the Roman Church, they should pay fealty and acknowledge homage without contradiction. Moreover, in proof of this our perpetual obligation and grant, we will and establish that from the proper and special revenues of our realms aforesaid, for all service and custom that we should render for ourselves, saving in all respects the penny of blessed Peter, the Roman Church receive 1000 marks sterling each year, to wit at the feast of Saint Michael 500 marks, and at Easter 500 marks; 700 to wit for the realm of England, and 300 for the realm of Ireland; saving to us and our heirs, our rights, liberties, and royalties. All which, as aforesaid, we willing them to be perpetually ratified and confirmed, bind ourselves and successors not to contravene. And if we or any of our successors shall presume to attempt this, whoever he be, unless he come to amendment after due admonition, let him forfeit right to the kingdom, and let this charter of obligation and grant on our part remain in force for ever.
I, John, by the grace of God king of England and lord of Ireland, from this hour forward will be faithful to God and the blessed Peter and the Roman Church, and my lord the Pope Innocent and his successors following in catholic manner: I will not be party, in deed, word, consent, or counsel, to their losing life or limb or being unjustly imprisoned. Their damage, if I am aware of it, I will prevent, and will have removed if I can; or else, as soon as I can, I will signify it, or will tell such persons as I shall believe will tell them certainly. Any counsel they intrust to me, immediately or by their messengers or their 1etter I will keep secret, and will consciously disclose to no one to their damage. The patrimony of blessed Peter, and specially the realm of England and the realm of Ireland, I will aid to hold and defend against all men to my ability. So help me God and these holy gospels. Witness myself at the house of the Knights of the Temple near Dover, in the presence of the lord H. Archbishop of Dublin; . . . Warren, son of Gerald. The 15th day of May in the 14th year our reign.
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(May, 1213. Latin text, Stubbs, S. C. 276. Translation, Giles, Roger of Wendover’s Flowers of History, II. 274. 1 Stubbs, 565.)
THE next day the king sent letters to all the sheriffs of the kingdom, ordering them to send four liege men from each town in their demesnes, together with the warden, to Saint Alban’s on the fourth of August, that through them and his other agents he might make inquiries about the losses and confiscated property of each of the bishops, and how much was due to each.
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(November, 1213. Latin text, Stubbs, S. C. 287. Translation by Editors, 1 Stubbs, 567, 609.)
THE king to the sheriff of Oxfordshire, greeting. We direct you to cause all the knights of your bailiwick, who have been summoned to appear before me at Oxford on All Saints’ Day, to come in fifteen days with their arms; but all the barons to come in like manner unarmed: and that you cause four discreet men of your county to meet us there at the same time to consult with us about the affairs of our realm.
Witness myself at Witney the seventh day of November.
Similar writs were directed to all the sheriffs.
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(November, 1214. Latin text, Stubbs, S. C. 288. Translation, G. and H. 77. 1 Stubbs, 568.)
JOHN by the grace of God, king of England, lord of Ireland, duke of Normandy and Aquitaine, earl of Anjou, to the archbishops, bishops, earls, barons, knights, bailiffs, and to all who shall see or hear these letters, greeting. Since by the grace of God, of the mere and free will of both parties, there is full agreement concerning damages and losses in the time of the interdict, between us and our venerable fathers Stephen, archbishop of Canterbury, primate of all England, and Cardinal of the Holy Roman Church and Bishops William of London, Eustace of Ely, Giles of Hereford, Joscelin of Bath and Glastonbury, and Hugh of Lincoln — we wish not only to make satisfaction to them, as far as in God we can, but also to make sound and beneficial provision for all the Church of England forever; and so whatsoever custom has been hitherto observed in the English Church, in our own times and those of our predecessors, and whatsoever right we have claimed for ourselves hitherto in the elections of any prelates, we have at their own petition, for the health of our soul and the souls of our predecessors and successors kings of England, freely of our mere and spontaneous will, with the common consent of our barons, granted and constituted, and by this our present charter have confirmed: that henceforth in all and singular the churches and monasteries, cathedral and conventual, of all our kingdom of England, the elections of all prelates, whatsoever, greater or less, be free forever, saving to ourselves and our heirs the custody of vacant churches and monasteries which belong to us. We promise also that we will neither hinder nor suffer nor procure to be hindered by our ministers that in all and singular the churches and monasteries mentioned, after the prelacies are vacant, the electors should, whenever they will, freely set a pastor over them, yet so that leave to elect he first asked of us and our heirs, which we will not deny nor defer. And if by chance, which God forbid, we should deny or defer, let the electors, none the less, proceed to make canonical election; and likewise, after the election is concluded, let our assent he demanded, which in like manner we will not deny, unless we put forth some reasonable excuse and lawfully prove it, by reason of which we should not consent. Wherefore we will and firmly forbid that when churches or monasteries are vacant, any one in anything proceed or presume to proceed in opposition to this our charter. But if any do ever at any time proceed in opposition to it, let him incur the curse of Almighty God and our own. These being witnesses: Peter, bishop of Winchester, . . . William of Huntingfield. Given by the hand of Master Richard de Marisco, our Chancellor, at the new Temple in London, on the 21st day of November in the 16th year of our reign.
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(June, 1215. Latin text, Stubbs, S. C. 296. Translation, Cheyney, 6. 1 Stubbs, 569.)
JOHN, by the grace of God, king of England, lord of Ireland, duke of Normandy and Aquitaine, count of Anjou, to the archbishops, bishops, abbots, earls, barons, justiciars, foresters, sheriffs, reeves, servants, and all bailiffs and his faithful people greeting. Know that by the suggestion of God and for the good of our soul and those of all our predecessors and of our heirs, to the honor of God and the exaltation of holy church, and the improvement of our kingdom, by the 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, Joscelyn of Bath and Glastonbury, Hugh of Lincoln, Walter of Worcester, William of Coventry, and Benedict of Rochester, bishops; of Master Pandulf subdeacon and member of the household of the lord Pope, of Brother Aymeric, master of the Knights of the Temple in England; and of the noblemen William Marshall, earl of Pembroke, William, earl of Salisbury, William, earl Warren, William, earl of Arundel, Alan of Galloway, constable of Scotland, Warren Fitz-Gerald, Peter Fitz-Herbert, Hubert de Burgh, seneschal of Poitou, Hugh de Nevil, Matthew Fitz-Herbert, Thomas Bassett, Alan Bassett, Philip d’Albini, Robert de Ropesle, John Marshall, John Fitz-Hugh, and others of our faithful.
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 hold its rights entire and its liberties uninjured; and we will that it thus he observed; which is shown by this, that the freedom of elections, which is considered to be most important and especially necessary to the English church, we, of our pure and spontaneous will, granted, and by our charter confirmed, before the contest between us and our barons had arisen; and obtained a confirmation of it by the lord Pope Innocent III; which we will observe and which we will shall be observed in good faith by our heirs forever.
We have granted moreover to all free men of our kingdom for us and our heirs forever all the liberties written below, to be had and holden by themselves and their heirs from us and our heirs.
2. If any of our earls or barons, or others holding from us in chief by military service shall have died, and when he has died his heir shall be of full age and owe relief, he shall have his inheritance by the ancient relief; that is to say, the heir or heirs of an earl for the whole barony of an earl a hundred pounds; the heir or heirs of a baron for a whole barony a hundred pounds; the heir or heirs of a knight, for a whole knight’s fee, a hundred shillings at most; and who owes less let him give less according to the ancient custom of fiefs.
3. If moreover the heir of any one of such shall be under age, and shall be in wardship, when he comes of age he shall have his inheritance without relief and without a fine.
4. The custodian of the land of such a minor heir shall not take from the land of the heir any except reasonable products, reasonable customary payments, and reasonable services, and this without destruction or waste of men or of property; and if we shall have committed the custody of the land of any such a one to the sheriff or to any other who is to be responsible to us for its proceeds, and that man shall have caused destruction or waste from his custody we will recover damages from him, and the land shall be committed to two legal and discreet men of that fief who shall be responsible for its proceeds to us or to him to whom we have assigned them; and if we shall have given or sold to any one the custody of any such land, and he has caused destruction or waste there, he shall lose that custody, and it shall be handed over to two legal and discreet men of that fief who shall be in like manner responsible to us as is said above.
5. The custodian moreover, so long as he shall have the custody of the land, must keep up the houses, parks, warrens, fish ponds, mills, and other things pertaining to the land, from the proceeds of the land itself; and he must return to the heir, when he has come to full age, all his land, furnished with ploughs and implements of husbandry according as the time of wainage requires and as the proceeds of the land are able reasonably to sustain.
6. Heirs shall be married without disparity so nevertheless that before the marriage is contracted, it shall be announced to the relatives by blood of the heir himself.
7. A widow, after the death of her husband, shall have her marriage portion and her inheritance immediately and without obstruction, nor shall she give anything for her dowry or for her marriage portion, or for her inheritance which inheritance her husband and she held on the day of the death of her husband; and she may remain in the house of her husband for forty days after his death, within which time her dowry shall be assigned to her.
8. No widow shall be compelled to marry so long as she prefers to live without a husband, provided she gives security that she will not marry without our consent, if she holds from us, or without the consent of her lord from whom she holds, if she holds from another.
9. Neither we nor our bailiffs will seise any land or rent, for any debt, so long as the chattels of the debtor are sufficient for the payment of the debt; nor shall the pledges of a debtor be distrained so long as the principal debtor himself has enough for the payment of the debt; and if the principal debtor fails in the payment of the debt, not having the wherewithal to pay it, the pledges shall be responsible for the debt; and if they wish, they shall have the lands and the rents of the debtor until they shall have been satisfied for the debt which they have before paid for him, unless the principal debtor shall have shown himself to be quit in that respect towards those pledges.
10. If any one has taken anything from the Jews, by way of a loan, more or less, and dies before that debt is paid, the debt shall not draw interest so long as the heir is under age, from whomsoever he holds; and if that debt falls into our hands, we will take nothing except the chattel contained in the agreement.
11. And if any one dies leaving a debt owing to the Jews, his wife shall have her dowry, and shall pay nothing of that debt; and if there remain minor children of the dead man, necessaries shall be provided for them corresponding to the holding of the dead man; and from the remainder shall be paid the debt, saving the service of the lords. In the same way debts are to be treated which are owed to others than the Jews.
12. No scutage or aid shall be imposed in our kingdom except by the common council of our kingdom, except for the ransoming of our body, for the making of our oldest son a knight, and for once marrying our oldest daughter, and for these purposes it shall be only a reasonable aid; in the same way it shall be done 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. Moreover, we will and grant that all other cities and boroughs and villages and ports shall have all their liberties and free customs.
14. And for holding a common council of the kingdom concerning the assessment of an aid otherwise than in the three cases mentioned above, or concerning the assessment of a scutage we shall cause to be summoned the archbishops, bishops, abbots, earls, and greater barons by our letters individually; and besides we shall cause to be summoned genera11v, by our sheriffs and bailiffs all those who hold from us in chief, for a certain day, that is at the end of forty days at least, and for a certain place; and in all the letters of that summons, we will express the cause of the summons, and when the summons has thus been given the business shall proceed on the appointed day, on the advice of those who shall be present, even if not all of those who were summoned have come.
15. We will not grant to any one, moreover, that he shall take an aid from his free men, except for ransoming his body, for making his oldest son a knight, and for once marrying his oldest daughter, and for these purposes only a reasonable aid shall be taken.
16. No one shall be compelled to perform any greater service for a knight’s fee, or for any other free tenement than is owed from it.
17. The common pleas shall not follow our court, but shall be held in some certain place.
18. The recognition of novel disseisin, mort d’ancestor, and darrein presentment shall be held only in their own counties and in this manner: we, or if we are outside of the kingdom our principal justiciar, will send two justiciars through each county four times a year, who with four knights of each county, elected by the county, shall hold in the county, and on the day and in the place of the county court, the aforesaid assizes of the county.
19. And if the aforesaid assizes cannot be held within the day of the county court, a sufficient number of knights and free-holders shall remain from those who were present at the county court on that day to give the judgments, according as the business is more or less.
20. A free man shall not be fined for a small offence, except in proportion to the measure of the offence; and for a great offence he shall be fined in proportion to the magnitude of the offence, saving his freehold; and a merchant in the same way, saving his merchandise; and the villain shall be fined in the same way, saving his wainage, if he shall be at our mercy; and none of the above fines shall be imposed except by the oaths of honest men of the neighborhood.
21. Earls and barons shall only be fined by their peers, and only in proportion to their offence.
22. A clergyman shall be fined, like those before mentioned, only in proportion to his lay holding, and not according to the extent of his ecclesiastical benefice.
23. No vill or man shall be compelled to make bridges over the rivers except those which ought to do it of old and rightfully.
24. No sheriff, constable, coroners, or other bailiffs of ours shall hold pleas of our crown.
25. All counties, hundreds, wapentakes, and trithings shall be at the ancient rents and without any increase, excepting our demesne manors.
26. If any person holding a lay fief from us shall die, and our sheriff or bailiff shall show our letters-patent of our summons concerning a debt which the deceased owed to us, it shall be lawful for our sheriff or bailiff to attach and levy on the chattels of the deceased found on his lay fief, to the value of that debt, in the view of legal men, so nevertheless that nothing be removed thence until the clear debt to us shall be paid; and the remainder shall be left to the executors for the fulfilment of the will of the deceased; and if nothing is owed to us by him, all the chattels shall go to the deceased, saving to his wife and children their reasonable shares.
27. If any free man dies intestate, his chattels shall be distributed by the hands of his near relatives and friends, under the oversight of the church, saving to each one the debts which the deceased owed to him.
28. No constable or other bailiff of ours shall take any one’s grain or other chattels, without immediately paying for them in money, unless he is able to obtain a postponement at the goodwill of the seller.
29. No constable shall require any knight to give money in place of his ward of a castle if he is willing to furnish that ward in his own person or through another honest man, if he himself is not able to do it for a reasonable cause; and if we shall lead or send him into the army he shall be free from ward in proportion to the amount of time during which he has been in the army through us.
30. No sheriff or bailiff of ours or any one else shall take horses or wagons of any free man for carrying purposes except on the permission of that free man.
31. Neither we nor our bailiffs will take the wood of another man for castles, or for anything else which we are doing, except by the permission of him to whom the wood belongs.
32. We will not hold the lands of those convicted of a felony for more than a year and a day, after which the lands shall be returned to the lords of the fiefs.
33. All the fish-weirs in the Thames and the Medway, and throughout all England shall be done away with, except those on the coast.
34. The writ which is called præcipe shall not be given for the future to any one concerning any tenement by which a free man can lose his court.
35. There shall be one measure of wine throughout our whole kingdom, and one measure of ale, and one measure of grain, that is the London quarter, and one width of dyed cloth and of russets and of halbergets, that is two ells within the selvages; of weights, moreover it shall be as of measures.
36. Nothing shall henceforth be given or taken for a writ of inquisition concerning life or 1imbs, but it shall be given freely and not denied.
37. If any one holds from us by fee farm or by socage or by burgage, and from another he holds land by military service, we will not have the guardianship of the heir or of his land which is of the fief of another, on account of that fee farm, or socage, or burgage; nor will we have the custody of that fee farm, or socage, or burgage, unless that fee farm itself owes military service. We will not have the guardianship of the heir or of the land of any one, which he holds from another by military service on account of any petty serjeanty which he holds from us by the service of paying to us knives or arrows, or things of that kind.
38. No bailiff for the future shall put any one to his law on his simple affirmation, without credible witnesses brought for this purpose.
39. No free man shall be taken or imprisoned or dispossessed, or outlawed, or banished, or in any way destroyed, nor will we go upon him, nor send upon him, except by the legal judgment of his peers or by the law of the land.
40. To no one will we sell, to no one will we deny, or delay right or justice.
41. All merchants shall be safe and secure in going out from England and coming into England and in remaining and going through England, as well by land as by water, for buying and selling, free from all evil tolls, by the ancient and rightful customs, except in time of war, and if they are of a land at war with us; and if such are found in our land at the beginning of war, they shall be attached without injury to their bodies or goods, until it shall be known from us or from our principal justiciar in what way the merchants of our land are treated who shall be then found in the country which is at war with us; and if ours are safe there, the others shall be safe in our land.
42. It is allowed henceforth to any one to go out from our kingdom, and to return, safely and securely, by land and by water, saving their fidelity to us, except in time of war for some short time, for the common good of the kingdom; excepting persons imprisoned and outlawed according to the law of the realm, and people of a land at war with us, and merchants, of whom it shall be done as is before said.
43. If any one holds from any escheat, as from the honor of Wallingford or Nottingham, or Boulogne, or Lancaster, or from other escheats which are in our hands and are baronies, and he dies, his heir shall not give any other relief, nor do to us any other service than he would do to the baron, if that barony was in the hands of the baron; and we will hold it in the same way as the baron held it.
44. Men who dwell outside the forest shall not henceforth come before our justiciars of the forest, on common summons, unless they are in a plea of or pledges for any person or persons who are arrested on account of the forest.
45. We will not make justiciars, constables, sheriffs or bailiffs except of such as know the law of the realm and are well inclined to observe it.
46. All barons who have founded abbeys for which they have charters of kings of England, or ancient tenure, shall have their custody when they have become vacant, as they ought to have.
47. All forests which have been afforested in our time shall be disafforested immediately; and so it shall be concerning river banks which in our time have been fenced in.
48. All the bad customs concerning forests and warrens and concerning foresters and warreners, sheriffs and their servants, river banks and their guardians shall be inquired into immediately in each county by twelve sworn knights of the same county, who shall be elected by the honest men of the same county, and within forty days after the inquisition has been made, they shall be entirely destroyed by them, never to be restored, provided that we be first informed of it, or our justiciar, if we are not in England.
49. We will give back immediately all hostages and charters which have been liberated to us by Englishmen as security for peace or for faithful service.
50. We will remove absolutely from their bailiwicks the relatives of Gerard de Athyes, so that for the future they shall have no bailiwick in England; Engelard de Cygony, Andrew, Peter and Gyon de Chancelles, Gyon de Cygony, Geoffrey de Martin and his brothers, Philip Mark and his brothers, and Geoffrey his nephew and their whole retinue.
51. And immediately after the reestablishment of peace we will remove from the kingdom all foreign-born soldiers, cross-bow men, serjeants, and mercenaries who have come with horses and arms for the injury of the realm.
52. If any one shall have been dispossessed or removed by us without legal judgment of his peers, from his lands, castles, franchises, or his right we will restore them to him immediately; and if contention arises about this, then it shall be done according to the judgment of the twenty-five barons, of whom mention is made below concerning the security of the peace. Concerning all those things, however, from which any one has been removed or of which he has been deprived without legal judgment of his peers by King Henry our father, or by King Richard our brother, which we have in our hand, or which others hold, and which it is our duty to guarantee, we shall have respite till the usual term of crusaders; excepting those things about which the suit has been begun or the inquisition made by our writ before our assumption of the cross; when, however, we shall return from our journey or if by chance we desist from the journey, we will immediately show full justice in regard to them.
53. We shall, moreover, have the same respite and in the same manner about showing justice in regard to the forests which are to be disafforested or to remain forests, which Henry our father or Richard our brother made into forests; and concerning the custody of lands which are in the fief of another, custody of which we have until now had on account of a fief which any one has held from us by military service; and concerning the abbeys which have been founded in fiefs of others than ourselves, in which the lord of the fee has asserted for himself a right; and when we return or if we should desist from our journey we will immediately show full justice to those complaining in regard to them.
54. No one shall be seised nor imprisoned on the appeal of a woman concerning the death of any one except her husband.
55. All fines which have been imposed unjustly and against the law of the land, and all penalties imposed unjustly and against the law of the land are altogether excused, or will be on the judgment of the twenty-five barons of whom mention is made below in connection with the security of the peace, or on the judgment of the majority of them, along with the aforesaid Stephen, archbishop of Canterbury, if he is able to be present, and others whom he may wish to call for this purpose along with him. And if he should not be able to be present, nevertheless the business shall go on without him, provided that if any one or more of the aforesaid twenty-five barons are in a similar suit they should be removed as far as this particular judgment goes, and others who shall be chosen and put upon oath, by the remainder of the twenty-five shall be substituted for them for this purpose.
56. If we have dispossessed or removed any Welshmen from their lands, or franchises, or other things, without legal judgment of their peers, in England, or in Wales, they shall be immediately returned to them; and if a dispute shall have arisen over this, then it shall he settled in the borderland by judgment of their peers, concerning holdings of England according to the law of England, concerning holdings of Wales according to the law of Wales, and concerning holdings of the borderland according to the law of the borderland. The Welsh shall do the same to us and ours.
57. Concerning all those things, however, from which any one of the Welsh shall have been removed or dispossessed without legal judgment of his peers, by King Henry our father, or King Richard our brother, which we hold in our hands, or which others hold, and we are bound to warrant to them, we shall have respite till the usual period of crusaders, those being excepted about which suit was begun or inquisition made by our command before our assumption of the cross. When, however, we shall return or if by chance we shall desist from our journey, we will show full justice to them immediately, according to the laws of the Welsh and the aforesaid parts.
58. We will give back the son of Lewellyn immediately, and all the hostages from Wales and the charters which had been liberated to us as a security for peace.
59. We will act toward Alexander, king of the Scots, concerning the return of his sisters and his hostages, and concerning his franchises and his right, according to the manner in which we shall act toward our other barons of England, unless it ought to be otherwise by the charters which we hold from William his father, formerly king of the Scots, and this shall be by the judgment of his peers in our court.
60. Moreover, all those customs and franchises mentioned above which we have conceded in our kingdom, and which are to be fulfilled, as far as pertains to us, in respect to our men; all men of our kingdom as well clergy as laymen, shall observe as far as pertains to them, in respect to their men.
61. Since, moreover, for the sake of God, and for the improvement of our kingdom, and for the better quieting of the hostility sprung up lately between us and our barons, we have made all these concessions; wishing them to enjoy these in a complete and firm stability forever, we make and concede to them the security described below; that is to say, that they shall elect twenty-five barons of the kingdom, whom they will, who ought with all their power to observe, hold, and cause to be observed, the peace and liberties which we have conceded to them, and by this our present charter confirmed to them; in this manner, that if we or our justiciar, or our bailiffs, or any one of our servants shall have done wrong in any way toward any one, or shall have transgressed any of the articles of peace or security; and the wrong shall have been shown to four barons of the aforesaid twenty-five barons, let those four barons come to us or to our justiciar, if we are out of the kingdom, laying before us the transgression, and let them ask that we cause that transgression to be corrected without delay. And if we shall not have corrected the transgression or, if we shall be out of the kingdom, if our justiciar shall not have corrected it within a period of forty days, counting from the time in which it has been shown to us or to our justiciar, if we are out of the kingdom; the aforesaid four barons shall refer the matter to the remainder of the twenty-five barons, and let these twenty-five barons with the whole community of the country distress and injure us in every way they can; that is to say by the seizure of our castles, lands, possessions, and in such other ways as they can until it shall have been corrected according to their judgment, saving our person and that of our queen, and those of our children; and when the correction has been made, let them devote themselves to us as they did before. And let whoever in the country wishes take an oath that in all the above-mentioned measures he will obey the orders of the aforesaid twenty-five barons, and that he will injure us as far as he is able with them, and we give permission to swear publicly and freely to each one who wishes to swear, and no one will we ever forbid to swear. All those, moreover, in the country who of themselves and their own will are unwilling to take an oath to the twenty-five barons as to distressing and injuring us along with them, we will compel to take the oath by our mandate, as before said. And if any one of the twenty-five barons shall have died or departed from the land or shall in any other way be prevented from taking the above-mentioned action, let the remainder of the aforesaid twenty-five barons choose another in his place, according to their judgment, who shall take an oath in the same way as the others. In all those things, moreover, which are co1mmitted to those five and twenty barons to carry out, if perhaps the twenty-five are present, and some disagreement arises among them about something, or if any of them when they have been summoned are not willing Or are not able to be present, let that be considered valid and firm which the greater part of those who are present arrange or command, just as if the whole twenty-five had agreed in this; and let the aforesaid twenty-five swear that they will observe faithfully all the things which are said above, and with all their ability cause them to be observed. And we will obtain nothing from any one, either by ourselves or by another by which any of these concessions and liberties shall be revoked or diminished; and if any such thing shall have been obtained, let it be invalid and void, and we will never use it by ourselves or by another.
62. And all ill-will, grudges, and anger sprung up between us and our men, clergy and laymen, from the time of the dispute, we have fully renounced and pardoned to all. Moreover, all transgressions committed on account of this dispute, from Easter in the sixteenth year of our reign till the restoration of peace, we have fully remitted to all, clergy and laymen, and as far as pertains to us, fully pardoned. And moreover we have caused to be made for them testimonial letters-patent of lord Stephen, archbishop of Canterbury, lord Henry, archbishop of Dublin, and of the aforesaid bishops and of Master Pandulf, in respect to that security and the concessions named above.
63. Wherefore we will and firmly command that the Church of England shall be free, and that the men in our kingdom shall have and hold all the aforesaid liberties, rights and concessions, well and peacefully, freely and quietly, fully and completely, for themselves and their heirs, from us and our heirs, in all things and places, forever, as before said. It has been sworn, moreover, as well on our part as on the part of the barons, that all these things spoken of above shall be observed in good faith and without any evil intent. Witness the above named and many others.
Given by our hand in the meadow which is called Runnymede, between Windsor and Staines, on the fifteenth day of June, in the seventeenth year of our reign.
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