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The Great Charter of English
liberty granted (under considerable duress)
by King John at
Runnymede on June 15, 1215
John, by the grace of God King of England, Lord of Ireland,
Duke of Normandy and Aquitaine, and Count of Anjou, to his
archbishops, bishops, abbots, earls, barons, justices,
foresters, sheriffs, stewards, servants, and to all his
officials and loyal subjects, greeting.
Know that before God, for the health of our soul and those of
our ancestors and heirs, to the honour of God, the exaltation of
the holy Church, and the better ordering of our kingdom, at the
advice of our reverend fathers Stephen, archbishop of
Canterbury, primate of all England, and cardinal of the holy
Roman Church, Henry archbishop of Dublin, William bishop of
London, Peter bishop of Winchester, Jocelin bishop of Bath and
Glastonbury, Hugh bishop of Lincoln, Walter Bishop of Worcester,
William bishop of Coventry, Benedict bishop of Rochester, Master
Pandulf subdeacon and member of the papal household, Brother
Aymeric master of the Knights of the Temple in England, William
Marshal, earl of Pembroke, William earl of Salisbury, William
earl of Warren, William earl of Arundel, Alan de Galloway
constable of Scotland, Warin Fitz Gerald, Peter Fitz Herbert,
Hubert de Burgh seneschal of Poitou, Hugh de Neville, Matthew
Fitz Herbert, Thomas Basset, Alan Basset, Philip Daubeny, Robert
de Roppeley, John Marshal, John Fitz Hugh, and other loyal
subjects:
1. First, that we have granted to God, and by this
present charter have confirmed for us and our heirs in
perpetuity, that the English Church shall be free, and shall
have its rights undiminished, and its liberties unimpaired. That
we wish this so to be observed, appears from the fact that of
our own free will, before the outbreak of the present dispute
between us and our barons, we granted and confirmed by charter
the freedom of the Church's elections - a right reckoned to be
of the greatest necessity and importance to it - and caused this
to be confirmed by Pope Innocent III. This freedom we shall
observe ourselves, and desire to be observed in good faith by
our heirs in perpetuity. We have also granted to all free men of
our realm, for us and our heirs for ever, all the liberties
written out below, to have and to keep for them and their heirs,
of us and our heirs:
2. If any earl, baron, or other person that holds lands
directly of the Crown, for military service, shall die, and at
his death his heir shall be of full age and owe a `relief', the
heir shall have his inheritance on payment of the ancient scale
of `relief'. That is to say, the heir or heirs of an earl shall
pay for the entire earl's barony, the heir or heirs of a knight
l00s. at most for the entire knight's `fee', and any man that
owes less shall pay less, in accordance with the ancient usage
of `fees'
3. But if the heir of such a person is under age and a ward,
when he comes of age he shall have his inheritance without
`relief' or fine.
4. The guardian of the land of an heir who is under age shall
take from it only reasonable revenues, customary dues, and
feudal services. He shall do this without destruction or damage
to men or property. If we have given the guardianship of the
land to a sheriff, or to any person answerable to us for the
revenues, and he commits destruction or damage, we will exact
compensation from him, and the land shall be entrusted to two
worthy and prudent men of the same `fee', who shall be
answerable to us for the revenues, or to the person to whom we
have assigned them. If we have given or sold to anyone the
guardianship of such land, and he causes destruction or damage,
he shall lose the guardianship of it, and it shall be handed
over to two worthy and prudent men of the same `fee', who shall
be similarly answerable to us.
5. For so long as a guardian has guardianship of such land,
he shall maintain the houses, parks, fish preserves, ponds,
mills, and everything else pertaining to it, from the revenues
of the land itself. When the heir comes of age, he shall restore
the whole land to him, stocked with plough teams and such
implements of husbandry as the season demands and the revenues
from the land can reasonably bear.
6. Heirs may be given in marriage, but not to someone of
lower social standing. Before a marriage takes place, it shall
be' made known to the heir's next-of-kin.
7. At her husband's death, a widow may have her marriage
portion and inheritance at once and without trouble. She shall
pay nothing for her dower, marriage portion, or any inheritance
that she and her husband held jointly on the day of his death.
She may remain in her husband's house for forty days after his
death, and within this period her dower shall be assigned to
her.
8. No widow shall be compelled to marry, so long as she
wishes to remain without a husband. But she must give security
that she will not marry without royal consent, if she holds her
lands of the Crown, or without the consent of whatever other
lord she may hold them of.
9. Neither we nor our officials will seize any land or rent
in payment of a debt, so long as the debtor has movable goods
sufficient to discharge the debt. A debtor's sureties shall not
be distrained upon so long as the debtor himself can discharge
his debt. If, for lack of means, the debtor is unable to
discharge his debt, his sureties shall be answerable for it. If
they so desire, they may have the debtor's lands and rents until
they have received satisfaction for the debt that they paid for
him, unless the debtor can show that he has settled his
obligations to them.
10. If anyone who has borrowed a sum of money from Jews dies
before the debt has been repaid, his heir shall pay no interest
on the debt for so long as he remains under age, irrespective of
whom he holds his lands. If such a debt falls into the hands of
the Crown, it will take nothing except the principal sum
specified in the bond.
11. If a man dies owing money to Jews, his wife may
have her dower and pay nothing towards the debt from it. If he
leaves children that are under age, their needs may also be
provided for on a scale appropriate to the size of his holding
of lands. The debt is to be paid out of the residue, reserving
the service due to his feudal lords. Debts owed to persons other
than Jews are to be dealt with similarly.
12. No `scutage' or `aid' may be levied in our kingdom
without its general consent, unless it is for the ransom of our
person, to make our eldest son a knight, and (once) to marry our
eldest daughter. For these purposes ouly a reasonable `aid' may
be levied. `Aids' from the city of London are to be treated
similarly.
13. The city of London shall enjoy all its ancient liberties
and free customs, both by land and by water. We also will and
grant that all other cities, boroughs, towns, and ports shall
enjoy all their liberties and free customs.
14. To obtain the general consent of the realm for the
assessment of an `aid' - except in the three cases specified
above - or a `scutage', we will cause the archbishops, bishops,
abbots, earls, and greater barons to be summoned individually by
letter. To those who hold lands directly of us we will cause a
general summons to be issued, through the sheriffs and other
officials, to come together on a fixed day (of which at least
forty days notice shall be given) and at a fixed place. In all
letters of summons, the cause of the summons will be stated.
When a summons has been issued, the business appointed for the
day shall go forward in accordance with the resolution of those
present, even if not all those who were summoned have appeared.
15. In future we will allow no one to levy an `aid' from his
free men, except to ransom his person, to make his eldest son a
knight, and (once) to marry his eldest daughter. For these
purposes only a reasonable `aid' may be levied.
16. No man shall be forced to perform more service for a
knight's `fee', or other free holding of land, than is due from
it.
17. Ordinary lawsuits shall not follow the royal court
around, but shall be held in a fixed place.
18. Inquests of novel disseisin, mort d'ancestor,
and darrein presentment shall be taken only in their
proper county court. We ourselves, or in our absence abroad our
chief justice, will send two justices to each county four times
a year, and these justices, with four knights of the county
elected by the county itself, shall hold the assizes in the
county court, on the day and in the place where the court meets.
19. If any assizes cannot be taken on the day of the county
court, as many knights and freeholders shall afterwards remain
behind, of those who have attended the court, as will suffice
for the administration of justice, having regard to the volume
of business to be done.
20. For a trivial offence, a free man shall be fined only in
proportion to the degree of his offence, and for a serious
offence correspondingly, but not so heavily as to deprive him of
his livelihood. In the same way, a merchant shall be spared his
merchandise, and a husbandman the implements of his husbandry,
if they fall upon the mercy of a royal court. None of these
fines shall be imposed except by the assessment on oath of
reputable men of the neighbourhood.
21. Earls and barons shall not be amerced save through
their peers, and only according to the measure of the offence.
22. No clerk shall be amerced for his lay tenement ecept
according to the manner of the other persons aforesaid; and not
according to the amount of his ecclesiastical benefice.
23. Neither a town nor a man shall be forced to make bridges
over the rivers, with the exception of those who, from of old
and of right ought to do it.
24. No sheriff, constable, coroners, or other bailiffs of
ours shall hold the pleas of our crown.
25. All counties, hundreds, wapentakes, and trithings--our
demesne manors being exccepted--shall continue according to the
old farms, without any increase at all.
26. If any one holding from us a lay fee shall die, and our
sheriff or bailiff can show our letters patent containing our
summons for the debt which the dead man owed to us,--our sheriff
or bailiff may be allowed to attach and enroll the chattels of
the dead man to the value of that debt, through view of lawful
men; in such way, however, that nothing shall be removed thence
until the debt is paid which was plainly owed to us. And the
residue shall be left to the executors that they may carry out
the will of the dead man. And if nothing is owed to us by him,
all the chattels shall go to the use prescribed by the deceased,
saving their reasonable portions to his wife and children.
27. If any freeman shall have died intestate his chattels
shall be distributed through the hands of his near relatives and
friends, by view of the church; saving to any one the debts
which the dead man owed him.
28. No constable or other bailiff of ours shall take the corn
or other chattels of any one except he straightway give money
for them, or can be allowed a respite in that regard by the will
of the seller.
29. No constable shall force any knight to pay money for
castleward if he be willing to perform that ward in person,
or--he for a reasonable cause not being able to perform it
himself--through another proper man. And if we shall have led or
sent him on a military expedition, he shall be quit of ward
according to the amount of time during which, through us, he
shall have been in military service.
30. No sheriff nor bailiff of ours, nor any one else, shall
take the horses or carts of any freeman for transport, unless by
the will of that freeman.
31. Neither we nor our bailiffs shall take another's
wood for castles or for other private uses, unless by the will
of him to whom the wood belongs.
32. We shall not hold the lands of those convicted of felony
longer than a year and a day; and then the lands shall be
restored to the lords of the fiefs.
33. Henceforth all the weirs in the Thames and Medway, and
throughout all England, save on the sea-coast, shall be done
away with entirely.
34. Henceforth the writ which is called Praecipe shall not be
to served on any one for any holding so as to cause a free man
to lose his court.
35. There shall be one measure of wine throughout our whole
realm, and one measure of ale and one measure of corn--namely,
the London quart;--and one width of dyed and russet and hauberk
cloths--namely, two ells below the selvage. And with weights,
moreover, it shall be as with measures.
36. Henceforth nothing shall be given or taken for a writ of
inquest in a matter concerning life or limb; but it shall be
conceded gratis, and shall not be denied.
37. If any one hold of us in fee-farm, or in socage, or in
burkage, and hold land of another by military service, we shall
not, by reason of that fee-farm, or socage, or burkage, have the
wardship of his heir or of his land which is held in fee from
another. Nor shall we have the wardship of that fee-farm, or
socage, or burkage unless that fee-farm owe military service. We
shall not, by reason of some petit-serjeanty which some one
holds of us through the service of giving us knives or arrows or
the like, have the wardship of his heir or of the land which he
holds of another by military service.
38. No bailiff, on his own simple assertion, shall henceforth
any one to his law, without producing faithful witnesses in
evidence.
39. No freeman shall be taken, or imprisoned, or disseized,
or outlawed, or exiled, or in any way harmed--nor will we go
upon or send upon him--save by the lawful judgment of his peers
or by the law of the land.
40. To none will we sell, to none deny or delay, right or
justice.
41. All merchants may safely and securely go out of
England, and come into England, and delay and pass through
England, as well by land as by water, for the purpose of buying
and selling, free from all evil taxes, subject to the ancient
and right customs--save in time of war, and if they are of the
land at war against us. And if such be found in our land at the
beginning of the war, they shall be held, without harm to their
bodies and goods, until it shall be known to us or our chief
justice how the merchants of our land are to be treated who
shall, at that time, be found in the land at war against us. And
if ours shall be safe there, the others shall be safe in our
land.
42. Henceforth any person, saving fealty to us, may go out of
our realm and return to it, safely and securely, by land and by
water, except perhaps for a brief period in time of war, for the
common good of the realm. But prisoners and outlaws are excepted
according to the law of the realm; also people of a land at war
against us, and the merchants, with regard to whom shall be done
as we have said.
43. If any one hold from any escheat--as from the honour of
Walingford, Nottingham, Boloin, Lancaster, or the other escheats
which are in our hands and are baronies--and shall die, his heir
shall not give another relief, nor shall he perform for us other
service than he would perform for a baron if that barony were in
the hand of a baron; and we shall hold it in the same way in
which the baron has held it.
44. Persons dwelling without the forest shall not henceforth
come before the forest justices, through common summonses,
unless they are impleaded or are the sponsors of some person or
persons attached for matters concerning the forest.
45. We will not make men justices, constables, sheriffs, or
bailiffs unless they are such as know the law of the realm, and
are minded to observe it rightly.
46. All barons who have founded abbeys for which they have
charters of the king of England, or ancient right of tenure,
shall have, as they ought to have, their custody when vacant.
47- A11 forests constituted as such in our time shall
straightway be annulled; and the same shall be done for river
banks made into places of defence by us in our time.
48. A11 evil customs concerning forests and warrens, and
concerning foresters and warreners, sheriffs and their servants,
river banks and their guardians, shall straightway be inquired
into each county, through twelve sworn knights from that county,
and shall be eradicated by them, entirely, so that they shall
never be renewed, within forty days after the inquest has been
made; in such manner that we shall first know about them, or our
justice if we be not in England.
49. We shall straightway return all hostages and charters
which were delivered to us by Englishmen as a surety for peace
or faithful service.
50. We shall entirey remove from their bailwicks the
relatives of Gerard de Athyes, so that they shall henceforth
have no bailwick in England: Engelard de Cygnes, Andrew Peter
and Gyon de Chanceles, Gyon de Cygnes, Geoffrey de Martin and
his brothers, Philip Mark and his brothers, and Geoffrey his
nephew, and the whole following of them.
51. And straightway after peace is restored we shall
remove from the realm all the foreign soldiers, crossbowmen,
servants, hirelings, who may have come with horses and arms to
the harm of the realm.
52. If any one shall have been disseized by us, or removed,
without a legal sentence of his peers, from his lands, castles,
liberties or lawful right, we shall straightway restore them to
him. And if a dispute shall arise concerning this matter it
shall be settled according to the judgment of the twenty-five
barons who are mentioned below as sureties for the peace. But
with regard to all those things of which any one was, by king
Henry our father or king Richard our brother, disseized or
dispossessed without legal judgment of his peers, which we have
in our hand or which others hold, and for which we ought to give
a guarantee: We shall have respite until the common term for
crusaders. Except with regard to those concerning which a plea
was moved, or an inquest made by our order, before we took the
cross. But when we return from our pilgrimage, or if, by chance,
we desist from our pilgrimage, we shall straightway then show
full justice regarding them.
53. We shall have the same respite, moreover, and in the same
manner, in the matter of showing justice with regard to forests
to be annulled and forests to remain, which Henry our father or
Richard our brother constituted; and in the matter of wardships
of lands which belong to the fee of another--wardships of which
kind we have hitherto enjoyed by reason of the fee which some
one held from us in military service;--and in the matter of
abbeys founded in the fee of another than ourselves--in which
the lord of the fee may say that he has jurisdiction. And when
we return, or if we desist from our pilgrimage, we shall
straightway exhibit full justice to those complaining with
regard to these matters.
54. No one shall be taken or imprisoned on account of the
appeal of a woman concerning the death of another than her
husband.
55. All fines imposed by us unjustly and contrary to the law
of the land, and all amerciaments made unjustly and contrary to
the law of the land, shall be altogether remitted, or it shall
be done with regard to them according to the judgment of the
twenty five barons mentioned below as sureties for the peace, or
according to the judgment of the majority of them together with
the aforesaid Stephen archbishop of Canterbury, if he can be
present, and with others whom he may wish to associate with
himself for this purpose. And if he can not be present, the
affair shall nevertheless proceed without him; in such way that,
if one or more of the said twenty five barons shall be concerned
in a similar complaint, they shall be removed as to this
particular decision, and, in their place, for this purpose
alone, others shall be subtituted who shall be chosen and sworn
by the remainder of those twenty five.
56. If we have disseized or dispossessed Welshmen of their
lands or liberties or other things without legal judgment of
their peers, in England or in Wales,--they shall straightway be
restored to them. And if a dispute shall arise concerning this,
then action shall be taken upon it in the March through judgment
of their peers- -concerning English holdings according to the
law of England, concerning Welsh holdings according to the law
of Wales, concerning holdings in the March according to the law
of the March. The Welsh shall do likewise with regard to us and
our subjects.
57. But with regard to all those things of which any one of
the Welsh by king Henry our father or king Richard our brother,
disseized or dispossessed without legal judgment of his peers,
which we have in our hand or which others hold, and for which we
ought to give a guarantee: we shall have respite until the
common term for crusaders. Except with regard to those
concerning which a plea was moved, or an inquest made by our
order, before we took the cross. But when we return from our
pilgrimage, or if, by chance, we desist from our pilgrimage, we
shall straightway then show full justice regarding them,
according to the laws of Wales and the aforesaid districts.
58. We shall straightway return the son of Llewelin and all
the Welsh hostages, and the charters delivered to us as surety
for the peace.
59. We shall act towards Alexander king of the Scots
regarding the restoration of his sisters, and his hostages, and
his liberties and his lawful right, as we shall act towards our
other barons of England; unless it ought to be otherwise
according to the charters which we hold from William, his
father, the former king of the Scots. And this shall be done
through judgment of his peers in our court.
60. Moreover all the subjects of our realm, clergy as well as
laity, shall, as far as pertains to them, observe, with regard
to their vassals, all these aforesaid customs and liberties
which we have decreed shall, as far as pertains to us, be
observed in our realm with regard to our own.
61. Inasmuch as, for the sake of God, and for the
bettering of our realm, and for the more ready healing of the
discord which has arisen between us and our barons, we have made
all these aforesaid concessions,--wishing them to enjoy for ever
entire and firm stability, we make and grant to them the
folIowing security: that the baron, namely, may elect at their
pleaure twenty five barons from the realm, who ought, with all
their strength, to observe, maintain and cause to be observed,
the peace and privileges which we have granted to them and
confirmed by this our present charter. In such wise, namely,
that if we, or our justice, or our bailiffs, or any one of our
servants shall have transgressed against any one in any respect,
or shall have broken one of the articles of peace or security,
and our transgression shall have been shown to four barons of
the aforesaid twenty five: those four barons shall come to us,
or, if we are abroad, to our justice, showing to us our error;
and they shall ask us to cause that error to be amended without
delay. And if we do not amend that error, or, we being abroad,
if our justice do not amend it within a term of forty days from
the time when it was shown to us or, we being abroad, to our
justice: the aforesaid four barons shall refer the matter to the
remainder of the twenty five barons, and those twenty five
barons, with the whole land in common, shall distrain and
oppress us in every way in their power,--namely, by taking our
castles, lands and possessions, and in every other way that they
can, until amends shall have been made according to their
judnnent. Saving the persons of ourselves, our queen and our
children. And when amends shall have been made they shall be in
accord with us as they had been previously. And whoever of the
land wishes to do so, shall swear that in carrying out all the
aforesaid measures he will obey the mandates of the aforesaid
twenty five barons, and that, with them, he will oppress us to
the extent of his power. And, to any one who wishes to do so, we
publicly and freely give permission to swear; and we will never
prevent any one from swearing. Moreover, all those in the land
who shall be unwilling, themselves and of their own accord, to
swear to the twenty five barons as to distraining and oppressing
us with them: such ones we shall make to wear by our mandate, as
has been said. And if any one of the twenty five barons shall
die, or leave the country, or in any other way be prevented from
carrying out the aforesaid measures,--the remainder of the
aforesaid twenty five barons shall choose another in his place,
according to their judgment, who shall be sworn in the same way
as the others. Moreover, in all things entrusted to those twenty
five barons to be carried out, if those twenty five shall be
present and chance to disagree among themselves with regard to
some matter, or if some of them, having been summoned, shall be
unwilling or unable to be present: that which the majority of
those present shall decide or decree shall be considered binding
and valid, just as if all the twenty five had consented to it.
And the aforesaid twenty five shall swear that they will
faithfully observe all the foregoing, and will caue them be
observed to the extent of their power. And we shall obtain
nothing from any one, either through ourselves or through
another, by which any of those concessions and liberties may be
revoked or diminished. And if any such thing shall have been
obtained, it shall be vain and invalid, and we shall never make
use of it either through ourselves or through another.
62. And we have fully remitted to all, and pardoned, all the
ill- will, anger and rancour which have arisen between us and
our subjects, clergy and laity, from the time of the struggle.
Moreover have fully remitted to all, clergy and laity, and--as
far as pertains to us--have pardoned fully all the
transgressions committed, on the occasion of that same struggle,
from Easter of the sixteenth year of our reign until the
re-establishment of peace. In witness of which, more-over, we
have caused to be drawn up for them letters patent of lord
Stephen, archbishop of Canterbury, lord Henry, archbishop of
Dubland the aforesaid bishops and master Pandulf, regarding that
surety and the aforesaid concessions.
63. Wherefore we will and firmly decree that the English
church shall be free, and that the subjects of our realm shall
have and hold all the aforesaid liberties, rights and
concessions, duly and in peace, freely and quietly, fully and
entirely, for themselves and their heirs from us and our heirs,
in all matters and in all places, forever, as has been said.
Moreover it has been sworn, on our part as well as on the part
of the barons, that all these above mentioned provisions shall
observed with good faith and without evil intent. The witnesses
being the above mentioned and many others. Given through our
hand, in the plain called Runnymede between Windsor and Stanes,
on the fifteenth day of June, in the seventeenth year of our
reign. .
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