A Source Book of Mediaeval History Part 36

The account of the winning of the Charter given below comes from the hand of Roger of Wendover, a monk of St. Albans, a monastery in Hertfordshire which was famous in the thirteenth century for its group of historians and annalists. It begins with the meeting of the barons at St. Edmunds in Suffolk late in November, 1214, and tells the story to the granting of the Charter at Runnymede, June 15, 1215. On this subject, as well as on the entire period of English history from 1189 to 1235, Roger of Wendover is our princ.i.p.al contemporary authority.

Source--Rogerus de Wendover, _Chronica Majora, sive Liber qui dicitur Flores Historiarum_ [Roger of Wendover, "Greater Chronicle, or the Book which is called the Flowers of History"]. Translated by J. A. Giles (London, 1849), Vol. II., pp. 303-324 _pa.s.sim_.

[Sidenote: A conference held by the barons against King John]

About this time the earls and barons of England a.s.sembled at St.

Edmunds, as if for religious duties, although it was for another reason;[408] for after they had discoursed together secretly for a time, there was placed before them the charter of King Henry the First, which they had received, as mentioned before, in the city of London from Stephen, archbishop of Canterbury.[409] This charter contained certain liberties and laws granted to the holy Church as well as to the n.o.bles of the kingdom, besides some liberties which the king added of his own accord. All therefore a.s.sembled in the church of St. Edmund, the king and martyr, and, commencing with those of the highest rank, they all swore on the great altar that, if the king refused to grant these liberties and laws, they themselves would withdraw from their allegiance to him, and make war on him until he should, by a charter under his own seal, confirm to them everything that they required; and finally it was unanimously agreed that, after Christmas, they should all go together to the king and demand the confirmation of the aforesaid liberties to them, and that they should in the meantime provide themselves with horses and arms, so that if the king should endeavor to depart from his oath they might, by taking his castles, compel him to satisfy their demands; and having arranged this, each man returned home....

[Sidenote: They demand a confirmation of the old liberties]

[Sidenote: A truce arranged]

In the year of our Lord 1215, which was the seventeenth year of the reign of King John, he held his court at Winchester at Christmas for one day, after which he hurried to London, and took up his abode at the New Temple;[410] and at that place the above-mentioned n.o.bles came to him in gay military array, and demanded the confirmation of the liberties and laws of King Edward, with other liberties granted to them and to the kingdom and church of England, as were contained in the charter, and above-mentioned laws of Henry the First. They also a.s.serted that, at the time of his absolution at Winchester,[411] he had promised to restore those laws and ancient liberties, and was bound by his own oath to observe them.

The king, hearing the bold tone of the barons in making this demand, much feared an attack from them, as he saw that they were prepared for battle. He, however, made answer that their demands were a matter of importance and difficulty, and he therefore asked a truce until the end of Easter, that, after due deliberation, he might be able to satisfy them as well as the dignity of his crown.

After much discussion on both sides, the king at length, although unwillingly, procured the archbishop of Canterbury, the bishop of Ely, and William Marshal, as his sureties that on the day agreed upon he would, in all reason, satisfy them all; on which the n.o.bles returned to their homes. The king, however, wishing to take precautions against the future, caused all the n.o.bles throughout England to swear fealty to him alone against all men, and to renew their homage to him; and, the better to take care of himself, on the day of St. Mary's purification, he a.s.sumed the cross of our Lord, being induced to this more by fear than devotion....[412]

[Sidenote: The truce at an end]

[Sidenote: The preliminary demands of the barons]

In Easter week of this same year, the above-mentioned n.o.bles a.s.sembled at Stamford,[413] with horses and arms. They had now induced almost all the n.o.bility of the whole kingdom to join them, and const.i.tuted a very large army; for in their army there were computed to be two thousand knights, besides horse-soldiers, attendants, and foot-soldiers, who were variously equipped.... The king at this time was awaiting the arrival of his n.o.bles at Oxford.[414] On the Monday next after the octave of Easter,[415]

the said barons a.s.sembled in the town of Brackley.[416] And when the king learned this, he sent the archbishop of Canterbury and William Marshal, earl of Pembroke, with some other prudent men, to them to inquire what the laws and liberties were which they demanded. The barons then delivered to the messengers a paper, containing in great measure the laws and ancient customs of the kingdom, and declared that, unless the king immediately granted them and confirmed them under his own seal, they, by taking possession of his fortresses, would force him to give them sufficient satisfaction as to their before-named demands. The archbishop, with his fellow messengers, then carried the paper to the king, and read to him the heads of the paper one by one throughout. The king, when he heard the purport of these heads, said derisively, with the greatest indignation, "Why, amongst these unjust demands, did not the barons ask for my kingdom also? Their demands are vain and visionary, and are unsupported by any plea of reason whatever." And at length he angrily declared with an oath that he would never grant them such liberties as would render him their slave. The princ.i.p.al of these laws and liberties which the n.o.bles required to be confirmed to them are partly described above in the charter of King Henry,[417] and partly are extracted from the old laws of King Edward,[418] as the following history will show in due time.

[Sidenote: The castle of Northampton besieged by the barons]

As the archbishop and William Marshal could not by any persuasion induce the king to agree to their demands, they returned by the king's order to the barons, and duly reported to them all that they had heard from the king. And when the n.o.bles heard what John said, they appointed Robert Fitz-Walter commander of their soldiers, giving him the t.i.tle of "Marshal of the Army of G.o.d and the Holy Church," and then, one and all flying to arms, they directed their forces toward Northampton.[419] On their arrival there they at once laid siege to the castle, but after having stayed there for fifteen days, and having gained little or no advantage, they determined to move their camp. Having come without _petrariae_[420] and other engines of war, they, without accomplishing their purpose, proceeded in confusion to the castle of Bedford....[421]

[Sidenote: The city of London given over to the barons]

When the army of the barons arrived at Bedford, they were received with all respect by William de Beauchamp.[422] Messengers from the city of London also came to them there, secretly telling them, if they wished to get into that city, to come there immediately. The barons, encouraged by the arrival of this agreeable message, immediately moved their camp and arrived at Ware. After this they marched the whole night and arrived early in the morning at the city of London, and, finding the gates open, on the 24th of May (which was the Sunday next before our Lord's ascension) they entered the city without any tumult while the inhabitants were performing divine service; for the rich citizens were favorable to the barons, and the poor ones were afraid to murmur against them.

The barons, having thus got into the city, placed their own guards in charge of each of the gates, and then arranged all matters in the city at will.[423] They then took security from the citizens, and sent letters through England to those earls, barons, and knights who appeared to be still faithful to the king (though they only pretended to be so) and advised them with threats, as they had regard for the safety of all their property and possessions, to abandon a king who was perjured and who made war against his barons, and together with them to stand firm and fight against the king for their rights and for peace; and that, if they refused to do this, they, the barons, would make war against them all, as against open enemies, and would destroy their castles, burn their houses and other buildings, and pillage their warrens, parks, and orchards.... The greatest part of these, on receiving the message of the barons, set out to London and joined them, abandoning the king entirely....

[Sidenote: The conference between the king and the barons]

[Sidenote: The charter granted at Runnymede]

King John, when he saw that he was deserted by almost all, so that out of his regal superabundance of followers he retained scarcely seven knights, was much alarmed lest the barons should attack his castles and reduce them without difficulty, as they would find no obstacle to their so doing. He deceitfully pretended to make peace for a time with the aforesaid barons, and sent William Marshal, earl of Pembroke, with other trustworthy messengers, to them, and told them that, for the sake of peace and for the exaltation and honor of the kingdom, he would willingly grant them the laws and liberties they demanded. He sent also a request to the barons by these same messengers that they appoint a suitable day and place to meet and carry all these matters into effect. The king's messengers then came in all haste to London, and without deceit, reported to the barons all that had been deceitfully imposed on them. They in their great joy appointed the fifteenth of June for the king to meet them, at a field lying between Staines and Windsor.[424]

Accordingly, at the time and place agreed upon the king and n.o.bles came to the appointed conference, and when each party had stationed itself some distance from the other, they began a long discussion about terms of peace and the aforesaid liberties.... At length, after various points on both sides had been discussed, King John, seeing that he was inferior in strength to the barons, without raising any difficulty, granted the underwritten laws and liberties, and confirmed them by his charter as follows:--

[Here ensues the Charter.]

55. Extracts from the Charter

No doc.u.ment in the history of any nation is more important than the Great Charter; in the words of Bishop Stubbs, the whole of the const.i.tutional history of England is only one long commentary upon it.

Its importance lay not merely in the fact that it was won from an unwilling sovereign by the united action of n.o.bles, clergy, and people, but also in the admirable summary which it embodies of the fundamental principles of English government, so far as they had ripened by the early years of the thirteenth century. The charter contained almost nothing that was not old. It was not even an instrument, like the Const.i.tution of the United States, providing for the creation of a new government. It merely sought to gather up within a single reasonably brief doc.u.ment all the important principles which the best of the English sovereigns had recognized, but which such rulers as Richard and John had lately been improving every opportunity to evade. The primary purpose of the barons in forcing the king to grant the charter was not to get a new form of government or code of laws, but simply to obtain a remedy for certain concrete abuses, to resist the encroachments of the crown upon the traditional liberties of Englishmen, and to get a full and definite confirmation of these liberties in black and white. Not a new const.i.tution was wanted, but good government in conformity with the old one. Naturally enough, therefore, the charter of 1215 was based in most of its important provisions upon that granted by Henry I. in 1100, even as this one was based on the righteous laws of the good Edward the Confessor. And after the same manner the charter of King John, in its turn, became the foundation for all future resistance of Englishmen to the evils of misgovernment, so that very soon it came naturally to be called _Magna Charta_--the Great Charter--by which designation it is known to this day.

King John was in no true sense the author of the charter. Many weeks before the meeting at Runnymede the barons had drawn up their demands in written form, and when that meeting occurred they were ready to lay before the sovereign a formal doc.u.ment, in forty-nine chapters, to which they simply requested his a.s.sent. This preliminary doc.u.ment was discussed and worked over, the number of chapters being increased to sixty-two, but the charter as finally agreed upon differed from it only in minor details. It is a mistake to think of John as "signing"

the charter after the fashion of modern sovereigns. There is no evidence that he could write, and at any rate he acquiesced in the terms of the charter only by having his seal affixed to the paper. The original "Articles of the Barons" is still preserved in the British Museum, but there is no _one_ original Magna Charta in existence.

Duplicate copies of the doc.u.ment were made for distribution among the barons, and papers which are generally supposed to represent four of these still exist, two being in the British Museum.

The charter makes a lengthy doc.u.ment and many parts of it are too technical to be of service in this book; hence only a few of the most important chapters are here given. Translations of the entire doc.u.ment from the original Latin may be found in many places, among them the University of Pennsylvania _Translations and Reprints_, Vol. I., No.

6; Lee, _Source Book of English History_, 169-180; Adams and Stephens, _Select Doc.u.ments Ill.u.s.trative of English Const.i.tutional History_, pp.

42-52; and the _Old South Leaflets_, No. 5.

Source--Text in William Stubbs, _Select Charters Ill.u.s.trative of English Const.i.tutional History_ (8th ed., Oxford, 1895), pp. 296-306. Adapted from translation in Sheldon Amos, _Primer of the English Const.i.tution and Government_ (London, 1895), pp. 189-201 _pa.s.sim_.

John, by the grace of G.o.d, king of England, lord of Ireland, duke of Normandy, Aquitane, and count of Anjou, to his archbishops, bishops, abbots, earls, barons, justiciaries, foresters, sheriffs, governors, officers, and to all bailiffs, and his faithful subjects, greeting. Know ye, that we, in the presence of G.o.d, and for the salvation of our soul, and the souls of all our ancestors and heirs, and unto the honor of G.o.d and the advancement of Holy Church, and amendment of our Realm, ... have, in the first place, granted to G.o.d, and by this our present Charter confirmed, for us and our heirs forever:

[Sidenote: Liberties of the English Church guaranteed]

=1.= That the Church of England shall be free, and have her whole rights, and her liberties inviolable; and we will have them so observed that it may appear thence that the freedom of elections, which is reckoned chief and indispensable to the English Church, and which we granted and confirmed by our Charter, and obtained the confirmation of the same from our Lord Pope Innocent III., before the discord between us and our barons, was granted of mere free will; which Charter we shall observe, and we do desire it to be faithfully observed by our heirs forever.[425]

[Sidenote: The rate of reliefs]

=2.= We also have granted to all the freemen of our kingdom, for us and for our heirs forever, all the underwritten liberties, to be had and holden by them and their heirs, of us and our heirs forever. If any of our earls, or barons, or others who hold of us in chief by military service,[426] shall die, and at the time of his death his heir shall be of full age, and owe a relief, he shall have his inheritance by the ancient relief--that is to say, the heir or heirs of an earl, for a whole earldom, by a hundred pounds; the heir or heirs of a knight, for a whole knight's fee, by a hundred shillings at most; and whoever oweth less shall give less, according to the ancient custom of fees.[427]

=3.= But if the heir of any such shall be under age, and shall be in ward, when he comes of age he shall have his inheritance without relief and without fine.[428]

[Sidenote: The three aids]

=12.= No scutage[429] or aid shall be imposed in our kingdom, unless by the general council of our kingdom;[430] except for ransoming our person, making our eldest son a knight, and once for marrying our eldest daughter; and for these there shall be paid no more than a reasonable aid. In like manner it shall be concerning the aids of the City of London.[431]

[Sidenote: The Great Council]

=14.= And for holding the general council of the kingdom concerning the a.s.sessment of aids, except in the three cases aforesaid, and for the a.s.sessing of scutage, we shall cause to be summoned the archbishops, bishops, abbots, earls, and greater barons of the realm, singly by our letters. And furthermore, we shall cause to be summoned generally, by our sheriffs and bailiffs, all others who hold of us in chief, for a certain day, that is to say, forty days before their meeting at least, and to a certain place. And in all letters of such summons we will declare the cause of such summons.

And summons being thus made, the business shall proceed on the day appointed, according to the advice of such as shall be present, although all that were summoned come not.[432]

=15.= We will not in the future grant to any one that he may take aid of his own free tenants, except to ransom his body, and to make his eldest son a knight, and once to marry his eldest daughter; and for this there shall be paid only a reasonable aid.[433]

=36.= Nothing from henceforth shall be given or taken for a writ of inquisition of life or limb, but it shall be granted freely, and not denied.[434]

=39.= No freeman shall be taken or imprisoned, or disseised,[435]

or outlawed,[436] or banished, or in any way destroyed, nor will we pa.s.s upon him, nor will we send upon him,[437] unless by the lawful judgment of his peers,[438] or by the law of the land.[439]

=40.= We will sell to no man, we will not deny to any man, either justice or right.[440]

[Sidenote: Freedom of commercial intercourse]

=41.= All merchants shall have safe and secure conduct to go out of, and to come into, England, and to stay there and to pa.s.s as well by land as by water, for buying and selling by the ancient and allowed customs, without any unjust tolls, except in time of war, or when they are of any nation at war with us. And if there be found any such in our land, in the beginning of the war, they shall be detained, without damage to their bodies or goods, until it be known to us, or to our chief justiciary, how our merchants be treated in the nation at war with us; and if ours be safe there, the others shall be safe in our dominions.[441]

=42.= It shall be lawful, for the time to come, for any one to go out of our kingdom and return safely and securely by land or by water, saving his allegiance to us (unless in time of war, by some short s.p.a.ce, for the common benefit of the realm), except prisoners and outlaws, according to the law of the land, and people in war with us, and merchants who shall be treated as is above mentioned.[442]

=51.= As soon as peace is restored, we will send out of the kingdom all foreign knights, cross-bowmen, and stipendiaries, who are come with horses and arms to the molestation of our people.[443]

=60.= All the aforesaid customs and liberties, which we have granted to be holden in our kingdom, as much as it belongs to us, all people of our kingdom, as well clergy as laity, shall observe, as far as they are concerned, towards their dependents.[444]

[Sidenote: How the charter was to be enforced]