44. MAGNA CARTA (1215)[1]

John, by the grace of God king of England, lord of Ireland, duke of Normandy 
and of Aquitaine, and count of Anjou, to his archbishops, bishops, abbots, 
earls, barons, justiciars, foresters, sheriffs, reeves, ministers, and all 
his bailiffs and faithful men, greeting. Know that, through the inspiration 
of God, for the health of our soul and [the souls] of all our ancestors and 
heirs, for the honour of God and the exaltation of Holy Church, and for the 
betterment of our realm, by the counsel of our venerable fathers[2] ..., of 
our nobles[3] ..., and of our other faithful men —

1. We have in the first place granted to God and by this our present charter 
have confirmed, for us and our heirs forever, that the English Church shall 
be free and shall have its rights entire and its liberties inviolate. And 
how we wish [that freedom] to be observed appears from this, that of our own 
pure and free will, before the conflict that arose between us and our 
barons, we granted and by our charter confirmed the liberty of election that 
is considered of prime importance and necessity for the English Church,[4] 
and we obtained confirmation of it from the lord pope Innocent III — which 
[charter] we will observe ourself and we wish to 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 liberties hereinunder written, to be 
had and held by them and their heirs of us and our heirs.

2. If any one of our earls or barons or other men holding of us in chief 
dies, and if when he dies his heir is of full age and owes relief, [that 
heir] shall have his inheritance for the ancient relief: namely, the heir or 
heirs of an earl £100 for the whole barony of an earl; the heir or heirs of 
a baron £100 for a whole barony; the heir or heirs of a knight 100s, at most 
for a whole knight's fee.[5] And let whoever owes less give less, according 
to the ancient custom of fiefs.

3. If, however, the heir of any such person is under age[6] and is in 
wardship, he shall, when he comes of age, have his inheritance without 
relief and without fine.[7]

4. The guardian of the land of such an heir who is under age shall not take 
from the land of the heir more than reasonable issues and reasonable customs 
and reasonable services, and this without destruction and waste of men or 
things. And if we entrust the wardship of any such land to a sheriff or to 
any one else who is to answer to us for its issues, and if he causes 
destruction or waste of [what is under] wardship, we will exact compensation 
from him; and the land shall be entrusted to two discreet and lawful men of 
that fief, who shall answer for the issues to us or the man to whom we may 
assign them. And if we give or sell the wardship of any such land to any 
one, and if he causes destruction or waste of it, he shall forfeit that 
wardship and it shall be given to two discreet and lawful men of that fief, 
who likewise shall answer to us as aforesaid.

5. Moreover, the guardian, so long as he has wardship of the land, shall 
from the issues of that same land keep up the houses, parks, preserves, 
fish-ponds, mills, and other things belonging to that land. And to the heir, 
when he comes of full age, [the guardian] shall give all his land, stocked 
with ploughs[8] and produce,[9] according to what crops may be seasonable 
and to what the issues of the land can reasonably permit.

6. Heirs shall be married without disparagement; yet so that, before the 
marriage is contracted, it shall be announced to the blood-relatives of the 
said heir.

7. A widow shall have her marriage portion and inheritance immediately after 
the death of her husband and without difficulty; nor shall she give anything 
for her dowry or for her marriage portion or for her inheritance — which 
inheritance she and her husband were holding on the day of that husband's 
death. And after his death she shall remain in the house[10] of her husband 
for forty days, within which her dowry shall be assigned to her.[11]

8. No widow shall be forced to marry so long as she wishes to live without a 
husband; yet so that she shall give security against marrying without our 
consent if she holds of us, or without the consent of her lord if she holds 
of another.

9. Neither we nor our bailiffs will seize any land or revenue for any debt, 
so long as the chattels of the debtor are sufficient to repay the debt;[12] 
nor shall the sureties of that debtor be distrained so long as the chief 
debtor is himself able to pay the debt. And if the chief debtor, having 
nothing with which to pay,[13] defaults in payment of the debt, the sureties 
shall be responsible for the debt; and, if they wish, they shall have the 
lands and revenues of the debtor until satisfaction is made to them for the 
debt which they previously paid on his behalf, unless the chief debtor 
proves that he is quit of such responsibility toward the said sureties.

10. If any one has taken anything, whether much or little, by way of loan 
from Jews, and if he dies before that debt is paid, the debt shall not carry 
usury so long as the heir is under age, from whomsoever he may hold. And if 
that debt falls into our hands, we will take only the principal contained in 
the note.

11. And if any one dies owing a debt to Jews, his wife shall have her dowry 
and shall pay nothing on that debt. And if the said deceased is survived by 
children who are under age, necessities shall be provided for them in 
proportion to the tenement that belonged to the deceased; and the debt shall 
be paid from the remainder, saving the service of the lords. In the same way 
let action be taken with regard to debts owed to others besides Jews.

12. Scutage or aid shall be levied in our kingdom only by the common counsel 
of our kingdom, except for ransoming our body, for knighting our eldest son, 
and for once marrying our eldest daughter; and for these [purposes] only a 
reasonable aid shall be taken. The same provision shall hold with regard to 
the aids of the city of London.[14]

13. And the city of London shall have all its ancient liberties and free 
customs, both by land and by water. Besides we will and grant that all the 
other cities, boroughs, towns,[15] and ports shall have all their liberties 
and free customs.

14. And in order to have the common counsel of the kingdom for assessing aid 
other than in the three cases aforesaid, or for assessing scutage, we will 
cause the archbishops, bishops, abbots, earls, and greater barons to be 
summoned by our letters individually; and besides we will cause to be 
summoned in general, through our sheriffs and bailiffs, all those who hold 
of us in chief — for a certain day, namely, at the end of forty days at 
least, and to a certain place. And in all such letters of summons we will 
state the cause of the summons; and when the summons has thus been made, the 
business assigned for the day shall proceed according to the counsel of 
those who are present, although all those summoned may not come.

15. In the future we will not grant to any one that he may take aid from his 
freemen, except for ransoming his body, for knighting his eldest son, and 
for once marrying his eldest daughter; and for these [purposes] only a 
reasonable aid shall be taken.

16. No one shall be distrained to render greater service from a knight's 
fee, or from any other free tenement, than is thence owed.

17. Common pleas shall not follow our court, but shall be held in some 
definite place.

18. Assizes of novel disseisin, of mort d'ancestor, and of darrein 
presentment[16] shall be held only in their counties [of origin] and in this 
way: we, or our chief justice if we are out of the kingdom, will send two 
justices through each county[17] four times a year; and they, together with 
four knights of each county elected by the county [court], shall hold the 
aforesaid assizes in the county, on the day and at the place [set for the 
meeting] of the county [court].

19. And if within the day [set for the meeting] of the county [court] the 
aforesaid assizes cannot be held, as many knights and free tenants shall 
remain of those present at the county [court] on that day as may be needed 
for holding the trials, according as the business is greater or less.

20. A freeman shall be amerced for a small offence only according to the 
degree of the offence; and for a grave offence he shall be amerced according 
to the gravity of the offence, saving his contenement.[18] And a merchant 
shall be amerced in the same way, saving his merchandise; and a villein[19] 
in the same way, saving his wainage[20 ] — should they fall into our mercy. 
And none of the aforesaid amercements shall be imposed except by the oaths 
of good men from the neighbourhood.[21]

21. Earls and barons shall be amerced only by their peers,[22] and only 
according to the degree of the misdeed.

22. No clergyman shall be amerced with respect to his lay tenement except in 
the manner of those aforesaid, not according to the value of his 
ecclesiastical benefice.[23]

23. Neither vill nor man shall be distrained to make bridges on river-banks, 
except such as by right and ancient custom ought to do so.

24. No sheriff, constable, coroner, or other bailiff of ours shall hold the 
pleas of our crown.[24]

25. All counties, hundreds, wapentakes, and trithings[25] shall remain at 
the ancient farms without any increment, with the exception of our demesne 
manors.

26. If any one holding a lay fee of us dies, and if our sheriff or bailiff 
shows our letters patent of summons concerning a debt that the deceased owed 
to us, our sheriff or bailiff shall be permitted, by view of lawful men, to 
attach and record such chattels of the deceased as are found on the lay fief 
to the value of that debt; so that, moreover, nothing shall thence be 
removed until a debt that is manifestly owed shall be paid to us. And the 
residue shall be left to the executors for carrying out the will of the 
deceased. And if nothing is owed us from it, all the chattels shall be 
yielded to [disposition by] the deceased, saving to his wife and children 
their reasonable portions.

27. If any freeman dies intestate, his chattels, under ecclesiastical 
inspection, shall be distributed by the hands of his near relatives and 
friends, saving to each [creditor] the debts that the deceased owed him.

28. No constable or other bailiff of ours shall take grain or other chattels 
of any one without immediate payment therefor in money, unless by the will 
of the seller he may secure postponement of that [payment].[26]

29. No constable shall distrain any knight to pay money for castle-guard 
when he is willing to perform that service himself, or through another good 
man if for reasonable cause he is unable to perform it himself. And if we 
lead or send him on a military expedition, he shall be quit of [castle-] 
guard for so long a time as he shall be with the army[27] at our command.

30. No sheriff or bailiff of ours, nor any other person, shall take the 
horses or carts of any freeman for carrying service,[28] except by the will 
of that freeman.

31. Neither we nor our bailiffs[29] will take some one else's wood for 
[repairing] castles or for doing any other work of ours, except by the will 
of him to whom the wood belongs.

32. We will hold the lands of those convicted of felony only for a year and 
a day, and the lands shall then be given to the lords of the fiefs 
[concerned].

33. All fish-weirs shall henceforth be entirely removed from the Thames and 
the Medway and throughout all England except along the sea-coasts.

34. Henceforth the writ called praecipe shall not be issued for any one 
concerning any tenement whereby a freeman may lose his court.[30]

35. There shall be one measure of wine throughout our entire kingdom, and 
one measure of ale; also one measure of grain, namely, the quarter of 
London; and one width of dyed cloth, russet [cloth], and hauberk 
[cloth],[31] namely, two yards between the borders. With weights, moreover, 
it shall be as with measures.

36. Nothing henceforth shall be taken or given for the writ of inquisition 
concerning life and limbs,[32] but it shall be issued gratis and shall not 
be denied.

37. If any one holding of us by fee-farm or by socage or by burgage[33] 
holds land of some one else by military service, on account of that fee-farm 
or socage or burgage we are not to have the wardship of the heir or of the 
land that is another's fee, unless the said [land held by] fee-farm owes 
military service. By virtue of some little serjeanty held of us by the 
service of rendering knives or arrows or something of the sort, we are not 
to have wardship of any one's heir or of land that he holds of another by 
military service.

38. No bailiff shall henceforth put any one to his law[34] by merely 
bringing suit [against him] without trustworthy witnesses presented for this 
purpose.

39. No freeman shall be captured or imprisoned or disseised[35] or outlawed 
or exiled or in any way destroyed, nor will we go against him or send 
against him, except by the lawful judgment of his peers or[36] 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[37] may safely and securely go away from England, come to 
England, stay in and go through England, by land or by water, for buying and 
selling under right and ancient customs and without any evil exactions,[38] 
except in time of war if they are from the land at war with us. And if such 
persons are found in our land at the beginning of a war, they shall be 
arrested without injury to their bodies or goods until we or our chief 
justice can ascertain how the merchants of our land who may then be found in 
the land at war with us are to be treated. And if our men are to be safe, 
the others shall be safe in our land.

42. Every one shall henceforth be permitted, saving our fealty, to leave our 
kingdom and to return in safety and security, by land or by water, except in 
the common interest of the realm for a brief period during wartime, and 
excepting [always] men imprisoned or outlawed according to the law of the 
kingdom and people from a land at war with us and merchants, who are to be 
treated as aforesaid.

43. If any one holds of any escheat — such as the honour of Wallingford, 
Nottingham, Boulogne, Lancaster, or the other escheats that are in our hands 
and are baronies — and if he dies, his heir shall give only such relief and 
shall render us only such service as would be due to the baron if that 
barony were in the hands of the baron; and we shall hold it in the same way 
that the baron held it.[39]

44. Men dwelling outside the forest shall no longer, in consequence of a 
general summons, come before our justices of the forest, unless they are 
[involved] in a plea [of the forest] or are sureties of some person or 
persons who have been arrested for [offences against] the forest.[40]

45. We will appoint as justiciars, constables, sheriffs, or bailiffs only 
such men as know the law of the kingdom and well desire to observe it.

46. All barons who have founded abbeys, concerning which they have charters 
from kings of England or [enjoy] ancient tenures, shall have the custody of 
those [abbeys] during vacancies, as they ought to have.[41]

47. All forests that have been afforested in our time shall at once be 
disafforested; and the same shall be done with regard to riverbanks which in 
our time we have placed under ban.[42]

48. Concerning all bad customs of forest and warrens, of foresters and 
warreners, of sheriffs and their officers, and of river-banks and their 
wardens, inquisition shall at once be made in each county through twelve 
knights of that same county placed under oath, who ought to be elected by 
the good men of the same county. And within forty days after the inquisition 
has been made, they shall be utterly abolished by the same [knights], so 
that they shall never be restored; in such fashion [however] that we may 
have prior notice, or our justiciar [may] if we are not in England.

49. We will immediately restore all hostages and charters which were 
delivered to us by Englishmen as security for the peace or for faithful 
service.

50. We will utterly remove from their offices the relatives of Gιrard 
d'Athιe, Engelard de Cigogne, Peter and Guy and Andrew de Chanceaux, Guy de 
Cigogne, Geoffrey de Martigny and his brothers, Philip Marc and his brothers 
and his nephew Geoffrey, together with all their adherents, so that 
henceforth they shall have no office in England.

51. And immediately after the restoration of peace we will remove from the 
kingdom all alien knights, crossbowmen, serjeants, and mercenaries, who have 
come with horses and arms to the injury of the kingdom.

52. If any one, without the lawful judgment of his peers, has been disseised 
or deprived by us of his lands, castles, liberties, or rights, we will at 
once restore them to him. And if a dispute arises in this connection, then 
let the matter be decided by the judgment of the twenty-five barons, 
concerning whom provision is made below in [the article on] security for the 
peace. With regard, however, to all those [possessions] of which any one, 
without lawful judgment of his peers, was disseised or deprived by King 
Henry, our father, or by King Richard, our brother — which possessions we 
have in our hands or which are held by others whose possession we are bound 
to warrant — we are to have respite for the ordinary term of crusaders,[43] 
except those [possessions] concerning which suit was brought or inquest was 
made by our precept before we took the cross. Moreover, when we return from 
our journey, or if perchance we abandon our journey, we will at once 
administer full justice in such matters.

53. Moreover, we are to have similar respite and in the same way with regard 
to the disafforestation or retention of the forests which Henry, our father, 
or Richard, our brother, afforested; with regard to wardships over lands of 
another's fee, which sort of wardships we have hitherto enjoyed on account 
of a fee that any one holds of us by military service,[44] and with regard 
to abbeys which were founded in a fee other than our own, and over which the 
lord of the fee has asserted that he has the right. And when we return, or 
if we abandon our journey, we will at once give full justice to those making 
complaints in such matters.

54. No one shall be seized or imprisoned on the appeal of a woman for the 
death of any one but her husband.[45]

55. All fines which have been made with us unjustly and contrary to the law 
of the land, and all amercements made unjustly and contrary to the law of 
the land, are to be entirely pardoned; or decision is thereon to be made by 
the judgment of the twenty-five barons concerning whom provision is made 
below in [the article on] security for the peace, or by the judgment of the 
majority of them, together with the aforesaid Stephen, archbishop of 
Canterbury, if he can be present, and other men whom he may wish to 
associate with himself for this purpose — and if he cannot be present, the 
business shall nevertheless proceed without him; yet so that, if any one or 
more of the twenty-five barons aforesaid are [involved] in a dispute of this 
kind, they shall be removed so far as this judgment is concerned, and 
others, elected and sworn for this purpose, shall be substituted in their 
places by the rest of the twenty-five.

56. If, without the lawful judgment of their peers, we have disseised or 
deprived Welshmen of their lands, liberties, or other things in England or 
in Wales, [the same] shall be immediately restored to them. And if a dispute 
arises in this connection, then decision is thereon to be made in the 
[Welsh] march by the judgment of their peers — according to the law of 
England for their tenements in England, according to the law of Wales for 
their tenements in Wales, and according to the law of the march for their 
tenements in the march. Welshmen shall act in the same way toward us and our 
men.

57. Moreover, with regard to those [possessions] of which any Welshman, 
without the lawful judgment of his peers, was disseised or deprived by King 
Henry, our father, or King Richard, our brother.[46] ...

58. We will at once restore the son of Llewelyn and all the [other] hostages 
of Wales, together with the charters that were given us as security for the 
peace.

59. We will act toward Alexander, king of the Scots, in the matter of 
restoring his sisters and the [other] hostages, together with his liberties 
and rights in the same way as we act toward our other barons of England,[47] 
unless by the charters which we have from his father William, one time king 
of the Scots, the action ought to be otherwise — and this shall be 
[determined] by the judgment of his peers in our court.

60. Now all these aforesaid customs and liberties, which we have granted, in 
so far as concerns us, to be observed in our kingdom toward our men, all men 
of our kingdom, both clergy and laity, shall, in so far as concerns them, 
observe toward their men.

61. Since moreover for [the love of] God, for the improvement of our 
kingdom, and for the better allayment of the conflict that has arisen 
between us and our barons, we have granted all these [liberties] aforesaid, 
wishing them to enjoy those [liberties] by full and firm establishment 
forever, we have made and granted them the following security: namely, that 
the barons shall elect twenty-five barons of the kingdom, whomsoever they 
please, who to the best of their ability should observe, hold, and cause to 
be observed the peace and liberties that we have granted to them and have 
confirmed by this our present charter; so that, specifically, if we or our 
justiciar or our bailiffs or any of our ministers are in any respect 
delinquent toward any one or trangress any article of the peace or the 
security, and if the delinquency is shown to four barons of the aforesaid 
twenty-five barons, those four barons shall come to us, or to our justiciar 
if we are out of the kingdom, to explain to us the wrong, asking that 
without delay we cause this wrong to be redressed. And if within a period of 
forty days, counted from the time that notification is made to us, or to our 
justiciar if we are out of the kingdom, we do not redress the wrong, or, if 
we are out of the kingdom, our justiciar does not redress it, the four 
barons aforesaid shall refer that case to the rest of the twenty-five 
barons, and those twenty-five barons, together with the community of the 
entire country, shall distress and injure us in all ways possible — namely, 
by capturing our castles, lands, and possessions and in all ways that they 
can — until they secure redress according to their own decision, saving our 
person and [the person] of our queen and [the persons] of our children. And 
when redress has been made, they shall be obedient to us as they were 
before. And any one in the land who wishes shall swear that, for carrying 
out the aforesaid matters, he will obey the commands of the twenty-five 
barons aforesaid and that he, with his men, will injure us to the best of 
his ability; and we publicly and freely give licence of [thus] swearing to 
every one who wishes to do so, and to no one will we ever prohibit [such] 
swearing. Moreover, all those of the land who of themselves and by their own 
free will are unwilling to take the oath for the twenty-five barons, with 
them to distress and injure us, we will by our mandate cause to swear [such 
an oath] as aforesaid. And if any one of the twenty-five barons dies or 
departs from the land, or in any other way is prevented from carrying out 
these aforesaid matters, the rest of the twenty-five barons aforesaid shall 
by their own decision choose another in his place, who is to be sworn in the 
same way as the others. Moreover, in all the matters entrusted to those 
twenty-five barons for execution, if perchance the same twenty-five are 
present and disagree among themselves in some respect, or if certain of 
those summoned are unwilling or unable to be present, that which the 
majority of those present may provide or command shall be held as settled 
and established, just as if all twenty-five had agreed to it. And the 
aforesaid twenty-five shall swear that they will faithfully observe all that 
has been set forth above. And neither of ourself nor through others will we 
procure from any one anything whereby any of these concessions and liberties 
may be revoked or diminished; and should anything of the sort be procured, 
it shall be null and void, and we will never make use of it either of 
ourself or through others.

62. And to all we freely pardon and condone all the ill-will, indignation, 
and rancour that from the beginning of the conflict have arisen between us 
and our men, both clergy and laity. Furthermore, to all, whether clergy or 
laity, we fully pardon and condone, in so far as pertains to us, all 
trespasses committed on account of the said conflict since Easter in the 
sixteenth year of our reign until the reestablishment of peace. And besides 
we have caused to be drawn up for them letters patent of the lord Stephen, 
archbishop of Canterbury, of the lord Henry, archbishop of Dublin, of the 
bishops aforesaid, and of Master Pandulf,[48] in witness of that security 
and the concessions aforesaid.

63. Wherefore we wish and straitly enjoin that the English Church shall be 
free and that the men in our kingdom shall have and holΰ all the aforesaid 
liberties, rights, and grants well and in peace, freely and quietly, fully 
and completely, for themselves and their heirs from us and our heirs, in all 
things and in all places forever, as aforesaid. Moreover, it has been sworn 
both on our part and on the part of the barons that all the aforesaid 
[provisions] shall be observed in good faith and without malicious intent. 
By the witness of the aforesaid men and of many others. Given by our hand in 
the meadow that is called Runnymede between Windsor and Staines, June 15, in 
the seventeenth year of our reign.

                      (Latin) Ibid., pp. 292 f., 336 f., 341 f., 350 f.



[1] John's charter was reissued under Henry III in 1216 and again in 1217, 
at both times with considerable revision. The second reissue was confirmed 
with minor changes by Henry III in 1225, after he had been declared of age, 
and this remained the official Magna Carta of subsequent reigns. Parts of 
the original charter omitted after 1215 are here printed in italics. It has 
not been thought necessary to show how the introductory and final clauses 
were modified in each reissue, but noteworthy alterations of the numbered 
articles are given in the footnotes. The latter also include explanations of 
the more obscure words and phrases. For more detailed comment, see 
McKechnie, Magna Carta; and for all points connected with the reissues, see 
Faith Thompson, The First Century of Magna Carta.

[2] Here in the text follow the names of eleven ecclesiastics.

[3] Here in the text follow the names of sixteen lay nobles.

[4] Above, no. 43.

[5] On the interpretation of this article, see J. H. Round, in Magna Carta 
Commemoration Essays, pp. 46 f.

[6] In the reissues this article ends as follows: "his lord shall not have 
wardship over him or over his land before receiving his homage. And when 
such heir, being under wardship, comes of age — that is to say, [attains] 
his twenty-first year — he shall have his inheritance without relief and 
without fine; so that, although he may become a knight while he is yet under 
age, his land shall nevertheless remain under the wardship of his lords 
until the term aforesaid."

[7] A term often used for an offering or a composition.

[8] In the reissues this article ends as follows: "and with all other things 
as, at least, he received it. All these [provisions] are to be observed with 
regard to custody over archbishoprics, bishoprics, abbeys, priories, 
churches, and vacant prelacies that belong to us, except that rights of this 
sort ought not to be sold."

[9] Wainnagium, by which the context forces us to understand chiefly 
harvested crops necessary for seed and the upkeep of the estate.

[10] Changed in the second reissue to "principal dwelling."

[11] See above, p. 47, n. 3. The second reissue adds: "unless it has been 
assigned to her earlier, or unless that house is a castle. And if she leaves 
the castle, she shall at once be provided with a suitable house, in which 
she may honourably dwell until her dowry is assigned to her as aforesaid. 
And in the meantime she shall have her reasonable estovers of common. 
Moreover, she shall be assigned as dowry one-third of all the land held by 
her husband during his lifetime, unless she was endowed with less at the 
church door." Estovers of common were a share of the produce.

[12 ]The reissues here insert the clause: "and the debtor is himself ready 
to satisfy [the debt] from them."

[13] The reissues here insert the clause: "or being unwilling to pay when he 
can."

[14] Literally, "in the same way let it be done...." The Londoners had 
wanted a guarantee of exemption from forced taxes, but secured only this 
vague and ambiguous article; see C. Stephenson, Borough and Town, p. 183.

[15] The reissues here make specific mention of the barons of the Cinque 
Ports; see above, p. 103, n. 17.

[16] See no. 33.

[17] The second reissue substitutes the following provisions: "once a year; 
and they, together with the knights of the counties, shall hold the 
aforesaid assizes in the counties. And those matters which cannot be 
concluded during that visit in the county by the aforesaid justices, sent to 
hold the said assizes, shall be concluded by the same men elsewhere on their 
eyre. And those matters which, owing to the difficulty of some particulars, 
cannot be determined by the same men shall be referred to our justices of 
the bench and there concluded. Assizes of darrein presentment shall always 
be held before the justices of the bench and there concluded. " The court of 
the bench (de banco) was that which became known as the court of common 
pleas; see Pollock and Maitland, I. 198 f.

[18] Sufficient property to guarantee sustenance for himself and his family.

[19] The second reissue here inserts: "of some one else, not our own."

[20] See above, p. 116, n. 9.

[21] Under such conditions the amercement was said to be afeered.

[22] Social equals.

[23] The wording of this article is changed in the reissues, but without 
affecting its meaning.

[24] See above, p. 53, n. 16.

[25] Certain large counties were divided into trithings or ridings, and 
these were subdivided into hundreds or wapentakes.

[26] Changed in the second reissue to read: "No constable or his bailiff 
shall take grain or other chattels of any one who is not of the vill where 
the castle is situated without immediate payment therefor in money, unless 
by the will of the seller he may secure postponement of that [payment]. If, 
moreover, he is of that vill, payment must be made within forty days."

[27 ]The reissues here substitute: "to perform the service owed from his 
fief."

[28] The reissues end the clause as follows: "unless he makes the anciently 
established payment [for such service]: namely, for a two-horse cart 10d. a 
day and for a three-horse cart 14d. a day. No cart from the demesne of any 
ecclesiastical parson or knight, or of any lady, shall be taken by the 
aforesaid bailiffs."

[29] The second reissue here inserts: "nor other men."

[30] That is to say, through which procedure a baron or other freeholder may 
lose jurisdiction over his men; see no. 33F.

[31] Perhaps cloth to be worn under a hauberk.

[32] Also called the writ de odio et atia; it was designed to relieve a man 
of trial by combat when he had been appealed "through spite and hatred." At 
this point the third reissue inserts: "by him who seeks the inquisition."

[33] These three tenures were alike in being free, though non-military.

[34] See above, p. 77, n. 3. The second reissue expands this phrase to 
"manifest law or oath." The new provision was probably intended to cover 
substitutes for the ordeal, which had been abolished by the Lateran Council 
of 1215.

[35] The second reissue adds: "of any free tenement or liberties or free 
customs."

[36] Presumably meaning "and"; cf. art. 56. The interpretation is also aided 
by John's writ of May, 1215 (Rotuli Litterarum Patentium, I, 141): "Know 
that we have granted to our barons who are opposing us that we will neither 
capture nor disseise them or their men, nor will we go against them with 
force or with arms, except by the law of our kingdom or by the judgment of 
their peers in our court...." See McIlwain, in Magna Carta Commemoration 
Essays, pp. 122 f.; and, for another interpretation, M. Radin, Anglo-
American Legal History, pp. 165 f.

[37] The reissues here insert: "unless they have earlier been given public 
prohibition."

[38] Malis toltis (maltotes); see no. 51C

[39] The second reissue adds: "Nor shall we, by virtue of such barony or 
escheat, have any escheat or [enjoy] wardship over any of our men unless he 
who held the barony or escheat [also] held of us in chief elsewhere." And 
after this a new article is inserted, as follows: "Henceforth no freeman 
shall give or sell to any one so much of his land that from what remains of 
it whatever service pertains to the fief cannot adequately be performed for 
the lord to whom it is owed."

[40] This became art. 2 of the Forest Charter, no. 45.

[41] Changed in the second reissue to read: "All patrons of abbeys who have 
charters from kings of England concerning their advowson, or [who enjoy] 
ancient tenure or possession [of that privilege], shall have custody of 
those [abbeys] when they are vacant, as they ought to have and as has been 
declared above."

[42] That is to say, reserved for the king's hawking. Part of this article 
was incorporated in the Forest Charter (no. 45); the rest was made into a 
new article in the second reissue.

[43] The three years' grace enjoyed by crusaders in meeting their 
obligations.

[44] Cf. art. 37.

[45] The second reissue adds three new articles:

"Henceforth no county [court] shall be held oftener than once a month; and 
wherever a longer time [between sessions] has been customary, let it be 
longer. Nor shall any sheriff or his bailiff make his tourn* through a 
hundred more often than twice a year; and [then he shall hold the court] 
only at the due and accustomed place [and time], namely, once after Easter 
and again after Michaelmas. And view of frankpledge shall without excuse be 
made then, at that Michaelmas term; and in such a way that every one shall 
enjoy the liberties which he was accustomed to have in the time of King 
Henry, our grandfather, or which he has subsequently acquired. The view of 
frankpledge, moreover, shall be made in this way: namely, so that our peace 
is maintained, the tithings are [kept] whole as has been accustomed, and the 
sheriff does not seek excuses [for additional revenue], but is content with 
what the sheriff was accustomed to have for making his view in the time of 
King Henry, our grandfather.

"Henceforth no one shall be permitted to give his land to any religious 
house in such a way as to receive it back, to be held of that house; nor 
shall any religious house be permitted to accept the land of any one on 
condition that it be given back, to be held by the man from whom it has been 
received. If, moreover, any one henceforth grants his land to any religious 
house in this way and is convicted of so doing, his grant shall be utterly 
quashed and that land shall be forfeit to the lord of the fief.

"Scutage shall henceforth be taken as it was customarily taken in the time 
of King Henry, our grandfather."

* See Pollock and Maitland, I, 530 f.

[46] The rest of this article repeats the ending of art. 52.

[47] The Scottish king held the earldom of Huntingdon and other English 
fiefs of King John.

[48] The papal legate.