Magna Carta 5

Magna Carta 5

53. We shall have, moreover, the same respite and in the same manner

in rendering justice concerning the disafforestation or retention of

those forests which Henry our father and Richard our brother

afforested, and concerning wardship of lands which are of the fief of

another (namely, such wardships as we have hitherto had by reason of a

fief which any one held of us by knight's service), and concerning

abbeys founded on other fiefs than our own, in which the lord of the

fief claims to have right; and when we have returned, or if we desist

from our expedition, we will immediately grant full justice to all

who complain of such things.

 

54. No one shall be arrested or imprisoned upon the appeal of a woman,

for the death of any other than her husband.

 

55. All fines made with us unjustly and against the law of the land,

and all amercements imposed unjustly and against the law of the land,

shall be entirely remitted, or else it shall be done concerning them

according to the decision of the five-and-twenty barons of whom mention

is made below in the clause for securing the peace, or according to the

judgment of the majority of the same, along with the aforesaid Stephen,

archbishop of Canterbury, if he can be present, and such others as he

may wish to bring with him for this purpose, and if he cannot be

present the business shall nevertheless proceed without him, provided

always that if any one or more of the aforesaid five-and-twenty

barons are in a similar suit, they shall be removed as far as concerns

this particular judgment, others being substituted in their places

after having been selected by the rest of the same five-and-twenty for

this purpose only, and after having been sworn.

 

56. If we have disseised or removed Welshmen from lands or liberties,

or other things, without the legal judgment of their peers in England

or in Wales, they shall be immediately restored to them; and if a

dispute arise over this, then let it be decided in the marches by the

judgment of their peers; for tenements in England according to the law

of England, for tenements in Wales according to the law of Wales, and

for tenements in the marches according to the law of the marches.

Welshmen shall do the same to us and ours.

 

57. Further, for all those possessions from which any Welshman has,

without the lawful judgment of his peers, been disseised or removed by

King Henry our father or King Richard our brother, and which we retain

in our hand (or which are possessed by others, to whom we are bound to

warrant them) we shall have respite until the usual term of crusaders;

excepting those things about which a plea has been raised or an inquest

made by our order before we took the cross; but as soon as we return

(or if perchance we desist from our expedition), we will immediately

grant full justice in accordance with the laws of the Welsh and in

relation to the foresaid regions.

 

58. We will immediately give up the son of Llywelyn and all the

hostages of Wales, and the charters delivered to us as security for the

peace.

 

59. We will do toward Alexander, King of Scots, concerning the return

of his sisters and his hostages, and concerning his franchises, and his

right, in the same manner as we shall do toward our other barons of

England, unless it ought to be otherwise according to the charters

which we hold from William his father, formerly King of Scots; and this

shall be according to the judgment of his peers in our court.

 

60. Moreover, all these aforesaid customs and liberties, the

observance of which we have granted in our kingdom as far as pertains

to us toward our men, shall be observed by all of our kingdom, as well

clergy as laymen, as far as pertains to them toward their men.

 

61. Since, moreover, for God and the amendment of our kingdom and for

the better allaying of the quarrel that has arisen between us and our

barons, we have granted all these concessions, desirous that they

should enjoy them in complete and firm endurance for ever, we give and

grant to them the underwritten security, namely, that the barons choose

five-and-twenty barons of the kingdom, whomsoever they will, who shall

be bound with all their might, to observe and hold, and cause to be

observed, the peace and liberties we have granted and confirmed to them

by this our present Charter, so that if we, or our justiciar, or our

bailiffs or any one of our officers, shall in anything be at fault

toward any one, or shall have broken any one of the articles of

the peace or of this security, and the offense be notified to four

barons of the foresaid five-and-twenty, the said four barons shall

repair to us (or our justiciar, if we are out of the realm) and, laying

the transgression before us, petition to have that transgression

redressed without delay. And if we shall not have corrected the

transgression (or, in the event of our being out of the realm, if our

justiciar shall not have corrected it) within forty days, reckoning

from the time it has been intimated to us (or to our justiciar, if

we should be out of the realm), the four barons aforesaid shall refer

that matter to the rest of the five-and-twenty barons, and those

five-and-twenty barons shall, together with the community of the whole

land, distrain and distress us in all possible ways, namely, by seizing

our castles, lands, possessions, and in any other way they can, until

redress has been obtained as they deem fit, saving harmless our own

person, and the persons of our queen and children; and when redress has

been obtained, they shall resume their old relations toward us. And let

whoever in the country desires it, swear to obey the orders of the said

five-and-twenty barons for the execution of all the aforesaid matters,

and along with them, to molest us to the utmost of his power; and we

publicly and freely grant leave to every one who wishes to swear, and

we shall never forbid any one to swear. All those, moreover, in the

land who of themselves and of their own accord are unwilling to swear

to the twenty-five to help them in constraining and molesting us, we

shall by our command compel the same to swear to the effect aforesaid.

And if any one of the five-and-twenty barons shall have died or

departed from the land, or be incapacitated in any other manner which

would prevent the foresaid provisions being carried out, those of

the said twenty-five barons who are left shall choose another in his

place according to their own judgment, and he shall be sworn in the

same way as the others. Further, in all matters, the execution of which

is intrusted to these twenty-five barons, if perchance these

twenty-five are present, that which the majority of those present

ordain or command shall be held as fixed and established, exactly as if

the whole twenty-five had concurred in this; and the said twenty-five

shall swear that they will faithfully observe all that is aforesaid,

and cause it to be observed with all their might. And we shall procure

nothing from any one, directly or indirectly, whereby any part of

these concessions and liberties might be revoked or diminished; and if

any such thing has been procured, let it be void and null, and we shall

never use it personally or by another.

 

62. And all the ill-will, hatreds, and bitterness that have arisen

between us and our men, clergy and lay, from the date of the quarrel,

we have completely remitted and pardoned every one. Moreover, all

trespasses occasioned by the said quarrel, from Easter in the sixteenth

year of our reign till the restoration of peace, we have fully remitted

to all, both clergy and laymen, and completely forgiven, as far as

pertains to us. And, on this head, we have caused to be made for them

letters testimonial patent of the lord Stephen, archbishop of

Canterbury, of the lord Henry, archbishop of Dublin, of the bishops

aforesaid, and of Master Pandulf as touching this security and

the concessions aforesaid.

 

63. Wherefore it is our will, and we firmly enjoin, that the English

Church be free, and that the men in our kingdom have and hold all the

aforesaid liberties, rights, and concessions, well and peaceably,

freely and quietly, fully and wholly, for themselves and their heirs,

of us and our heirs, in all respects and in all places for ever, as is

aforesaid. An oath, moreover, has been taken, as well on our part as on

the part of the barons, that all these conditions aforesaid shall be

kept in good faith and without evil intent. Given under our hand--the

above-named and many others being witnesses--in the meadow which is

called Runnymede, between Windsor and Staines, on the fifteenth day of

June, in the seventeenth year of our reign.

 

***

 

 

The text of THE MAGNA CARTA

 

 

The Magna Carta (The Great Charter):

 

Preamble:

 

 

John, by the grace of God, king of England, lord of Ireland, duke of

Normandy and Aquitaine, and count of Anjou, to the archbishop,

bishops, abbots, earls, barons, justiciaries, foresters, sheriffs,

stewards, servants, and to all his bailiffs and liege subjects,

greetings. Know that, having regard to God and for the salvation of

our soul, and those of all our ancestors and heirs, and unto the honor

of God and the advancement of his holy Church and for the rectifying

of our realm, we have granted as underwritten by advice of our

venerable fathers, Stephen, archbishop of Canterbury, primate of all

England and cardinal of the holy Roman Church, Henry, archbishop of

Dublin, William of London, Peter of Winchester, Jocelyn of Bath and

Glastonbury, Hugh of Lincoln, Walter of Worcester, William of

Coventry, Benedict of Rochester, bishops; of Master Pandulf, subdeacon

and member of the household of our lord the Pope, of brother Aymeric

(master of the Knights of the Temple in England), and of the

illustrious men William Marshal, earl of Pembroke, William, earl of

Salisbury, William, earl of Warenne, William, earl of Arundel, Alan of

Galloway (constable of Scotland), Waren Fitz Gerold, Peter Fitz

Herbert, Hubert De Burgh (seneschal of Poitou), Hugh de Neville,

Matthew Fitz Herbert, Thomas Basset, Alan Basset, Philip d'Aubigny,

Robert of Roppesley, John Marshal, John Fitz Hugh, and others, our

liegemen.

 

 

1. In the first place we have granted to God, and by this our present

charter confirmed for us and our heirs forever that the English Church

shall be free, and shall have her rights entire, and her liberties

inviolate; and we will that it be thus observed; which is apparent

from this that the freedom of elections, which is reckoned most

important and very essential to the English Church, we, of our pure

and unconstrained will, did grant, and did by our charter confirm and

did obtain the ratification of the same from our lord, Pope Innocent

III, before the quarrel arose between us and our barons: and this we

will observe, and our will is that it be observed in good faith by our

heirs forever. We have also granted to all freemen of our kingdom,

for us and our heirs forever, all the underwritten liberties, to be had and held by them and their heirs, of us and our heirs forever.