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- We will entirely remove from their bailiwicks the kinsmen of Gerard de Athée, so that in future they shall have no office in England. The people concerned are Engelard de Cigogné, Peter, Guy, and Andrew de Chanceaux, Guy de Cigogné, Geoffrey de Martigny and his brothers, Philip Mark, his brothers and his nephew Geoffrey, and all their brood.
- As soon as peace is restored, we will banish from the kingdom all foreign-born knights, cross-bowmen, their attendants, and mercenaries who have come with horses and arms, to the kingdom’s detriment.
- If, without the lawful judgement of his peers, a man has been dispossessed of his lands, castles, franchises or his rights, or had them removed by us, we will at once restore these to him. If a dispute arises over this, the dispute shall be decided by the judgement of the twenty-five barons referred to below in the clause for securing the peace. Moreover, in all cases where possessions have been disseised or removed from anyone without the lawful judgement of his peers, by our father King Henry or our brother King Richard, and which are retained by us (or which are held by others under our warranty), we will have the usual respite period allowed to crusaders, unless a lawsuit has been started or we had ordered an enquiry before we took the cross [as a Crusader]. However, as soon as we return from our expedition, or if by chance we abandon it, we shall immediately grant full justice.
- We shall have the same respite (and the same manner in rendering justice [4]) concerning the disafforestation or retention of those forests [4]) which Henry our father and Richard our brother afforested, and concerning guardianship of lands under the fief of another (that is, the guardianships we had up to now because of a knight’s fee someone else held from us), and with abbeys founded in fiefs other than our own, in which the lord of the fief claims to have a right. When we return from our expedition, or if we abandon it, we will at once grant full justice to complaints about these things.
- No one shall be arrested or imprisoned on the appeal of a woman, for the death of anyone except her husband.
- All fines rendered to us unjustly and against the law of the land, and all amercements made unjustly and against the law of the land, shall be entirely remitted or else the matter settled by the decision of an majority of the five-and-twenty barons (or all of them) mentioned below in the clause for securing the peace. This decision shall be made together with Stephen, archbishop of Canterbury, if he can be present, and such others as he may wish to bring with him. If the archbishop cannot be present, business shall nevertheless proceed without him. This is provided always that, if any one or more of the twenty-five barons are involved in a similar action, they are removed for this particular judgement and are replaced by others. The replacements will be sworn in as a substitute only for this business, after being selected by the rest of the twenty-five.
- If we have disseised or removed Welshmen from lands or liberties, or other things, without the lawful judgement of their peers (in England or in Wales), these shall be immediately restored to them. If a dispute arises over this, it shall be determined in the Marches by the judgement of their peers. English law shall apply to land holdings in England, Welsh law to those in Wales, and the law of the Marches to those in the Marches. Welshmen shall the same to us and ours.
- Further, where a Welshman was deprived or dispossessed of anything, without the lawful judgement of his peers (in England or in Wales [5]), by our father King Henry or our brother King Richard, and which is retained by us (or which is held by others under our warranty), we will have the usual respite period allowed to crusaders, unless a lawsuit has been started or we had ordered an enquiry before we took the cross [as a Crusader]. However, as soon as we return from our expedition, or if by chance we abandon it, we shall immediately grant full justice according to the laws of Wales and the said regions.
- We will immediately return the son of Llywelyn and all the hostages of Wales, and the charters handed over to us as security for peace.
- We will return of the sisters and hostages of Alexander, king of Scotland, his liberties and his rights, in the same manner as we shall do towards our other barons of England, unless it ought to be otherwise according to the charters that we hold from his father William, formerly king of Scotland. This matter shall be determined by the judgement of his peers in our court.
- Moreover, all these previously described customs and liberties which we have granted shall be maintained in our kingdom as far as it concerns our own relations toward our men. Let these customs and liberties be observed similarly by all of our kingdom, by clergy as well as by laymen, in their relations towards their men.
- Since for God, for the improvement of our kingdom, and to better allay the discord arisen between us and our barons, we have granted all these concessions, and wishing that the concessions be enjoyed in their entirety with firm endurance (for ever [5]), we give and grant to the barons the following security:
Namely, that the barons choose any twenty-five barons of the kingdom they wish, who must with all their might observe and hold, and cause to be observed, the peace and liberties we have granted and confirmed to them by this our present Charter. Then, if we, our chief justiciar, our bailiffs or any of our officials, offend in any respect against any man, or break any of the articles of the peace or of this security, and the offence is notified to four of the said twenty-five barons, the four shall come to us—or to our chief justicicar if we are absent from the kingdom—to declare the transgression and petition that we make amends without delay.
And if we, or in our absence abroad the chief justice, have not corrected the transgression within forty days, reckoned from the day on which the offence was declared to us (or to the chief justice if we are out of the realm), the four barons mentioned before shall refer the matter to the rest of the twenty-five barons. Together with the community of the whole land, they shall then distrain and distress us in every way possible, namely by seizing castles, lands, possessions and in any other they can (saving only our own person and those of the queen and our children), until redress has been obtain in their opinion. And when amends have been made, they shall obey us as before.
Whoever in the country wants to, may take an oath to obey the orders of the twenty-five barons for the execution of all the previously mentioned matters and, with the barons, to distress us to the utmost of his power. We publicly and freely give permission to every one who wishes to take this oath, and we shall never forbid any one from taking it. Indeed, all those in the land who are unwilling to this oath, we shall by our command compel them to swear to it.
If any one of the twenty-five barons dies or leaves the country, or is in any other manner incapacitated so the previously mentioned provisions cannot be undertaken, the remaining barons of the twenty-five shall choose another in his place as they think fit, who shall be duly sworn in like the rest.
If there is any disagreement amongst the twenty-five barons on any matter presented to them, or if some of them are unwilling or unable to be present, what the majority of those present ordain or command shall be held as fixed and established, exactly as if all twenty-five had consented in this.
The said twenty-five barons shall swear to faithfully observe all the aforesaid articles and will do all they can to ensure that the articles are observed by others.
And we shall procure nothing from any one, either personally 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 make use of it ourselves or through someone else. - And all the ill-will, hatreds, and bitterness that have arisen between us and our people, clergy and laity, from the date of the quarrel, we have completely forgiven and pardoned to everyone. Moreover, we have fully forgiven and, as far as it concerns us, pardoned all transgressions occasioned by the said quarrel, between Easter in the sixteenth year of our reign [1215] and the restoration of peace, to all, both clergy and laymen, and completely forgiven, as far as this applies to us.
Additionally, we have had letters patent drawn up for the barons, over the seals of lord Stephen, archbishop of Canterbury, of the lord Henry, archbishop of Dublin, of the bishops mentioned before, and of Master Pandulf. The letters patent concern this security and the concessions previously stated. - Thus, we wish and we firmly ordain that the English church shall be free, and that men in our kingdom shall have and keep all these previously determined liberties, rights, and concessions, well and in peace, freely and quietly, in their fullness and integrity, for themselves and their heirs, from us and our heirs, in all things and all places for ever, as is previously described here.
An oath has been sworn, on the one hand by us and on the other by the barons, that all the aforesaid provisions shall be observed 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.
[That is 1215—the new regnal year began on 28 May.]
[That is 1215—the new regnal year began on 28 May.]