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\title Magna Carta \endtitle
\date June 15, 1215\enddate
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{\bf 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.

\paritem 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, f
or 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.

\paritem 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.

\paritem 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.

\paritem 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.

\paritem 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.

\paritem Heirs shall be married without disparagement, yet so that before 
the marriage takes place the nearest in blood to that heir shall have notice.

\paritem 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.

\paritem 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.

\paritem 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.

\paritem $\cdots$ remainder omitted $\cdots$


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