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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.

25. All counties, hundred, wapentakes, and

trithings (except our demesne manors) shall remain at

the old rents, and without any additional payment.

26. If anyone holding of us a lay fief shall die,

and our sheriff or bailiff shall exhibit our letters

patent of summons for a debt which the deceased owed

us, it shall be lawful for our sheriff or bailiff to attach

and enroll the chattels of the deceased, found upon the

lay fief, to the value of that debt, at the sight of

law worthy men, provided always that nothing whatever

be thence removed until the debt which is evident

shall be fully paid to us; and the residue shall be

left to the executors to fulfill the will of the

deceased; and if there be nothing due from him to us,

all the chattels shall go to the deceased, saving to

his wife and children their reasonable shares.

27. If any freeman shall die intestate, his

chattels shall be distributed by the hands of his

nearest kinsfolk and friends, under supervision of the

Church, saving to every one the debts which the

deceased owed to him.

28. No constable or other bailiff of ours shall

take corn or other provisions from anyone without

immediately tendering money therefor, unless he can

have postponement thereof by permission of the seller.

29. No constable shall compel any knight to give

money in lieu of castle-guard, when he is willing to

perform it in his own person, or (if he himself cannot

do it from any reasonable cause) then by another

responsible man. Further, if we have led or sent him

upon military service, he shall be relieved from guard

in proportion to the time during which he has been on

service because of us.

30. No sheriff or bailiff of ours, or other

person, shall take the horses or carts of any freeman

for transport duty, against the will of the said

freeman.

31. Neither we nor our bailiffs shall take, for

our castles or for any other work of ours, wood which

is not ours, against the will of the owner of that

wood.

32. We will not retain beyond one year and one

day, the lands those who have been convicted of felony,

and the lands shall thereafter be handed over to the

lords of the fiefs.

33. All kydells for the future shall be removed

altogether from Thames and Medway, and throughout all

England, except upon the seashore.

34. The writ which is called praecipe shall not

for the future be issued to anyone, regarding any

tenement whereby a freeman may lose his court.

35. Let there be one measure of wine throughout

our whole realm; and one measure of ale; and one

measure of corn, to wit, "the London quarter"; and one

width of cloth (whether dyed, or russet, or

"halberget"), to wit, two ells within the selvedges;

of weights also let it be as of measures.

36. Nothing in future shall be given or taken for

a writ of inquisition of life or limbs, but freely it

shall be granted, and never denied.

37. If anyone holds of us by fee-farm, either

by socage or by burage, or of any other land by knight's

service, we will not (by reason of that fee-farm,

socage, or burgage), have the wardship of the

heir, or of such land of his as if of the fief of that

other; nor shall we have wardship of that fee-farm,

socage, or burgage, unless such fee-farm owes knight's

service. We will not by reason of any small serjeancy

which anyone may hold of us by the service of

rendering to us knives, arrows, or the like, have

wardship of his heir or of the land which he holds

of another lord by knight's service.

38. No bailiff for the future shall, upon his

own unsupported complaint, put anyone to his "law",

without credible witnesses brought for this purposes.

39. No freemen shall be taken or imprisoned

or disseised or exiled or in any way destroyed, nor

will we go upon him nor send upon him, except by the

lawful judgment of his peers or by the law of the land.

40. To no one will we sell, to no one will we

refuse or delay, right or justice.

41. All merchants shall have safe and secure exit

from England, and entry to England, with the right to

tarry there and to move about as well by land as by

water, for buying and selling by the ancient and right

customs, quit from all evil tolls, except (in time of

war) such merchants as are of the land at war with us.

And if such are found in our land at the beginning of

the war, they shall be detained, without injury to

their bodies or goods, until information be received by

us, or by our chief justiciar, how the merchants of our

land found in the land at war with us are treated; and

if our men are safe there, the others shall be safe in

our land.

42. It shall be lawful in future for anyone

(excepting always those imprisoned or outlawed in

accordance with the law of the kingdom, and natives of

any country at war with us, and merchants, who shall be

treated as if above provided) to leave our kingdom and

to return, safe and secure by land and water, except

for a short period in time of war, on grounds of public

policy- reserving always the allegiance due to us.

43. If anyone holding of some escheat (such as the

honor of Wallingford, Nottingham, Boulogne, Lancaster,

or of other escheats which are in our hands and are

baronies) shall die, his heir shall give no other

relief, and perform no other service to us than he

would have done to the baron if that barony had been

in the baron's hand; and we shall hold it in the same

manner in which the baron held it.

44. Men who dwell without the forest need not

henceforth come before our justiciaries of the forest

upon a general summons, unless they are in plea, or

sureties of one or more, who are attached for the forest.

45. We will appoint as justices, constables,

sheriffs, or bailiffs only such as know the law of the

realm and mean to observe it well.

46. All barons who have founded abbeys, concerning

which they hold charters from the kings of England, or

of which they have long continued possession, shall

have the wardship of them, when vacant, as they ought

to have.

47. All forests that have been made such in our

time shall forthwith be disafforsted; and a similar

course shall be followed with regard to river banks

that have been placed "in defense" by us in our time.

48. All evil customs connected with forests and

warrens, foresters and warreners, sheriffs and their

officers, river banks and their wardens, shall

immediately by inquired into in each county by twelve

sworn knights of the same county chosen by the honest

men of the same county, and shall, within forty days of

the said inquest, be utterly abolished, so as never to

be restored, provided always that we previously have

intimation thereof, or our justiciar, if we should not

be in England.

49. We will immediately restore all hostages and

charters delivered to us by Englishmen, as sureties of

the peace of faithful service.

50. We will entirely remove from their

bailiwicks, the relations of Gerard of Athee (so that

in future they shall have no bailiwick in England);

namely, Engelard of Cigogne, Peter, Guy, and Andrew of

Chanceaux, Guy of Cigogne, Geoffrey of Martigny with

his brothers, Philip Mark with his brothers and his

nephew Geoffrey, and the whole brood of the same.

51. As soon as peace is restored, we will banish

from the kingdom all foreign born knights, crossbowmen,

serjeants, and mercenary soldiers who have come with

horses and arms to the kingdom's hurt.

52. If anyone has been dispossessed or removed by

us, without the legal judgment of his peers, from his

lands, castles, franchises, or from his right, we will

immediately restore them to him; and if a dispute arise

over this, then let it be decided by the five and

twenty barons of whom mention is made below in the

clause for securing the peace. Moreover, for all

those possessions, from which anyone has, without the

lawful judgment of his peers, been disseised or

removed, by our father, King Henry, or by our brother,

King Richard, and which we retain in our hand (or which

as 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 our taking of the cross; but as soon as we return

from the expedition, we will immediately grant full

justice therein.

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 the wardship of lands which are of the

fief of another (namely, such wardships as we have

hitherto had by reason of a fief which anyone held of

us by knight's service), and concerning abbeys founded

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

fee 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 whom mention is made below in the clause for

securing the pease, 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 the

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,

and which we ought to warrant), we will 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 towards 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 towards our owher 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 observances of which we have granted

in our kingdom as far as pertains to us towards our

men, shall be observed b all of our kingdom, as well

clergy as laymen, as far as pertains to them towards

their men.

61. Since, moveover, 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

forever, 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 towards anyone, or shall have

broken any one of the articles of this 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 realm, 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 towards 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 everyone who wishes

to swear, and we shall never forbid anyone to swear.

All those, moveover, 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 foresaid. 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 entrusted,to these twenty five barons, if

perchance these twenty five are present and disagree

about anything, or if some of them, after being

summoned, are unwilling or unable to be 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 anyone, directly or indirectly, whereby any

part of these concessions and liberties might be

revoked or diminished; and if any such things has been

procured, let it be void and null, and we shall never

use it personally or by another.

62. And all the 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 to everyone. 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 we will and firmly order 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 forever, as is aforesaid. An oath, moreover,

has been taken, as well on our part as on the art 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.