The Magna Carta
It was the first time a king allowed that even he could be compelled to observe a law or the barons were allowed to "distrain and distress him in every possible way", just short of a legal right to rebellion. Once sworn to the document, letters were sent to all sheriffs ordering them to read the Charter aloud in public. It was a first "bill of rights" which tried to put some kind of controls over the total powers of British Kings. It has been called the "blueprint of English common law" and was even recently pleaded in a English case.
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.
2. If any of our earls or barons, or others holding of us in
chief by military service shall have died, and at the time of his
death his heir shall be full of age and owe "relief",
he shall have his inheritance by the old relief, to wit, the heir
or heirs of an earl, for the whole baroncy of an earl by L100;
the heir or heirs of a baron, L100 for a whole barony; the heir
or heirs of a knight, 100s, at most, and whoever owes less let
him give less, according to the ancient custom of fees.
3. If, however, the heir of any one of the aforesaid has been
under age and in wardship, let him have his inheritance without
relief and without fine when he comes of age.
4. The guardian of the land of an heir who is thus under age,
shall take from the land of the heir nothing but reasonable
produce, reasonable customs, and reasonable services, and that
without destruction or waste of men or goods; and if we have
committed the wardship of the lands of any such minor to the
sheriff, or to any other who is responsible to us for its issues,
and he has made destruction or waster of what he holds in
wardship, we will take of him amends, and the land shall be
committed to two lawful and discreet men of that fee, who shall
be responsible for the issues to us or to him to whom we shall
assign them; and if we have given or sold the wardship of any
such land to anyone and he has therein made destruction or waste,
he shall lose that wardship, and it shall be transferred to two
lawful and discreet men of that fief, who shall be responsible to
us in like manner as aforesaid.
5. The guardian, moreover, so long as he has the wardship of the
land, shall keep up the houses, parks, fishponds, stanks, mills,
and other things pertaining to the land, out of the issues of the
same land; and he shall restore to the heir, when he has come to
full age, all his land, stocked with ploughs and wainage,
according as the season of husbandry shall require, and the
issues of the land can reasonable bear.
6. Heirs shall be married without disparagement, yet so that
before the marriage takes place the nearest in blood to that heir
shall have notice.
7. A widow, after the death of her husband, shall forthwith and
without difficulty have her marriage portion and inheritance; nor
shall she give anything for her dower, or for her marriage
portion, or for the inheritance which her husband and she held on
the day of the death of that husband; and she may remain in the
house of her husband for forty days after his death, within which
time her dower shall be assigned to her.
8. No widow shall be compelled to marry, so long as she prefers
to live without a husband; provided always that she gives
security not to marry without our consent, if she holds of us, or
without the consent of the lord of whom she holds, if she holds
of another.
9. Neither we nor our bailiffs will seize any land or rent for
any debt, as long as the chattels of the debtor are sufficient to
repay the debt; nor shall the sureties of the debtor be
distrained so long as the principal debtor is able to satisfy the
debt; and if the principal debtor shall fail to pay the debt,
having nothing wherewith to pay it, then the sureties shall
answer for the debt; and let them have the lands and rents of the
debtor, if they desire them, until they are indemnified for the
debt which they have paid for him, unless the principal debtor
can show proof that he is discharged thereof as against the said
sureties.
10. If one who has borrowed from the Jews any sum, great or
small, die before that loan be repaid, the debt shall not bear
interest while the heir is under age, of whomsoever he may hold;
and if the debt fall into our hands, we will not take anything
except the principal sum contained in the bond.
11. And if anyone die indebted to the Jews, his wife shall have
her dower and pay nothing of that debt; and if any children of
the deceased are left under age, necessaries shall be provided
for them in keeping with the holding of the deceased; and out of
the residue the debt shall be paid, reserving, however, service
due to feudal lords; in like manner let it be done touching debts
due to others than Jews.
12. No scutage not aid shall be imposed on our kingdom, unless by
common counsel of our kingdom, except for ransoming our person,
for making our eldest son a knight, and for once marrying our
eldest daughter; and for these there shall not be levied more
than a reasonable aid. In like manner it shall be done concerning
aids from the city of London.
13. And the city of London shall have all it ancient liberties
and free customs, as well by land as by water; furthermore, we
decree and grant that all other cities, boroughs, towns, and
ports shall have all their liberties and free customs.
14. And for obtaining the common counsel of the kingdom anent the
assessing of an aid (except in the three cases aforesaid) or of a
scutage, we will cause to be summoned the archbishops, bishops,
abbots, earls, and greater barons, severally by our letters; and
we will moveover cause to be summoned generally, through our
sheriffs and bailiffs, and others who hold of us in chief, for a
fixed date, namely, after the expiry of at least forty days, and
at a fixed place; and in all letters of such summons we will
specify the reason of the summons. And when the summons has thus
been made, the business shall proceed on the day appointed,
according to the counsel of such as are present, although not all
who were summoned have come.
15. We will not for the future grant to anyone license to take an
aid from his own free tenants, except to ransom his person, to
make his eldest son a knight, and once to marry his eldest
daughter; and on each of these occasions there shall be levied
only a reasonable aid.
16. No one shall be distrained for performance of greater service
for a knight's fee, or for any other free tenement, than is due
therefrom.
17. Common pleas shall not follow our court, but shall be held in
some fixed place.
18. Inquests of novel disseisin, of mort d'ancestor, and of
darrein presentment shall not be held elsewhere than in their own
county courts, and that in manner following; We, or, if we should
be out of the realm, our chief justiciar, will send two
justiciaries through every county four times a year, who shall
alone with four knights of the county chosen by the county, hold
the said assizes in the county court, on the day and in the place
of meeting of that court.
19. And if any of the said assizes cannot be taken on the day of
the county court, let there remain of the knights and
freeholders, who were present at the county court on that day, as
many as may be required for the efficient making of judgments,
according as the business be more or less.
20. A freeman shall not be amerced for a slight offense, except
in accordance with the degree of the offense; and for a grave
offense he shall be amerced in accordance with the gravity of the
offense, yet saving always his "contentment"; and a
merchant in the same way, saving his "merchandise"; and
a villein shall be amerced in the same way, saving his "wainage"
if they have fallen into our mercy: and none of the aforesaid
amercements shall be imposed except by the oath of honest men of
the neighborhood.
21. Earls and barons shall not be amerced except through their
peers, and only in accordance with the degree of the offense.
22. A clerk shall not be amerced in respect of his lay holding
except after the manner of the others aforesaid; further, he
shall not be amerced in accordance with the extent of his
ecclesiastical benefice.
23. No village or individual shall be compelled to make bridges
at river banks, except those who from of old were legally bound
to do so.
24. No sheriff, constable, coroners, or others of our bailiffs,
shall hold pleas of our Crown.