Magna Carta Hiberniae 1216
MAGNA CARTA HIBERNIAE 1216 | ||
1 HENRY III. A.D. 1216. | ||
THE GREAT CHARTER OF IRELAND. | ||
HENRY, by the grace of God; King of England, lord of Ireland, Duke of Normandy and Aquitaine, Count of Anjou, to the archbishops, bishops, abbots, earls, barons, justices, foresters, sheriffs, provosts, ministers, citizens, bailiffs, and his faithful people, greeting. Know yo that we, having regard to God and for the salvation of our soul and [the souls] of all our ancestors and successors, to the honour of God and for the exaltation of Holy Church and the amendment of our kingdom, by the advice of our venerable fathers, the lord Gualo, cardinal priest by the title of St. Martin, and legate of the Apostolic See; P[eter] of Winchester; R. of St. Asaph; J[ocelyn] of Bath and Glastonbury; S[imon] of Exeter; R[ichard] of Chichester; W[illiam] of Coventry; B[enedict] of Rochester; H[enry] of Llandaff; ... St. David’s; ... of Bangor; and S[ilvester] of Worcester, bishops; and of the nobles, William Marescal, earl of Pembroke, R[alph], earl of Chester; W[illiam] de Ferrars, earl of Derby; W[illiam], earl of Albemarle; Hubert de Burgo, our Justiciar; Savaric de Malo Leone; William Bruere, the father; William Bruere, the son; Robert de Curtenai, Falk de Breute, Reginald de Vantort, W[alter] de Laci, Hugh de Mortimer, John of Monmouth, W[alter] de Beuchaump, W[alter] de Clifford, R[obert] de Mortimer, William de Cantilupo, Matthew son of Herbert; John Marescal, Alan Basset, P[hilip] de Albuniaco, John Lestrange, and other our lieges. | ||
1 Interlined. | ||
2 The Red Book reads London, while Statutes of the Realm has Landav, which is correct, as Henry was Bishop of Llandaff, 1191-1219. The Bishop of London in 1216 was William de S. Mere l’eglise. | ||
3 So in Red Book. In 1216 Gervase was Bishop of St. David’s, and Cadwgan of Bangor. | ||
Irish Church free. | ||
Firstly we have granted to God, [and] by this our present Charter have confirmed for us and our heirs for ever that the Irish Church shall be free, and have all her rights entire and liberties inviolable. | ||
We have also granted to all free men of our kingdom, for us and our heirs for ever, all the liberties underwritten, to have and to hold to them and their heirs of us and our heirs. | ||
Reliefs. | ||
If any of our Earls or Barons or others holding of us in chief by knight service die, and at the time of his death his heir be of full age and owe Relief, he shall have his inheritance by the ancient Relief, namely, the heir or heirs of an Earl for the entire barony of the Earl by one hundred pounds; the heir or heirs of a Baron for the entire barony of the Baron by one hundred pounds; the heir or heirs of a Knight for a whole Knight’s fee by one hundred shillings at the most: and he who owes less shall give less, according to the ancient custom of the fees. | ||
Wardship and Homage. | ||
But if the heir of any one of such be under age, his lord shall not have the wardship of him nor of his land before that he take of him homage. And when such heir who shall have been in ward shall come to age, that is to say of twenty-one years, he shall have his inheritance without Relief and without fine; provided that if he while under age become a knight, nevertheless his land shall remain in the custody of his lord up to the said term. | ||
Waste on lands of a minor. | ||
The guardian of such land and heir, who may be under age, shall not take of the land of the heir save reasonable issues, reasonable customs, and reasonable services, and these without destruction or waste of men or goods. And if we commit the custody of any such land to the Sheriff or any other who ought to answer to us of the issues of that land, and he make destruction or waste of what is in his custody, we shall take of him amends, and the land shall he committed to two lawful and discreet men of that fee, who shall answer of the issues to us, or to him to whom we shall have assigned them. And if we shall give or sell to anyone the custody of any such land, and he make destruction thereof, or waste, he shall lose that custody, and it shall be delivered to two lawful and discreet men of that fee, who likewise shall answer to us thereof, as aforesaid. | ||
Guardian to keep up houses, &c. | ||
But the guardian as long as he has custody of the land shall keep up the houses, parks, vivaries, ponds, mills, and other things pertaining to that land out of the issues of the said land, and shall restore to the heir, when he shall have come to full age, all his land stored with ploughs, and all other things, at least as he received them. | ||
Same in cases of vacant Sees, &c. | ||
All these things shall be observed in regard to the custody of vacant archbishoprics, bishoprics, abbacies, priories, churches and dignities, save that such custodies ought not to be sold. | ||
Marriage of heirs. | ||
Widows. | ||
Quarentine | ||
Remarriage. | ||
Heirs shall be married without disparagement, A widow immediately after the death of her husband, and without any delay, shall have her marriage [portion] and her inheritance, neither shall she give anything for her dower or marriage [portion] or inheritance, which inheritance her husband and she herself held on the day of the death of the said husband, and the widow may remain in the house of her husband for forty days after her said husband’s death, within which her dower shall be assigned her, unless it shall have been assigned her previously, or unless that house be a castle, and if she depart from the castle, immediately a competent house shall be provided for her in which she may honourably dwell until her dower be assigned her as aforesaid. No widow shall be compelled to marry while she wishes to live without a husband, provided, nevertheless, that she give security that she will not marry without our assent, if she hold of us, or without the assent of her lord, if she hold of another. | ||
Seizure for debt. | ||
We or our bailiffs shall not seize any land or rent for any debt as long as the chattels of the debtor at hand suffice for paying the debt, and the debtor himself be prepared thereout to satisfy. Neither shall the sureties of the debtor himself be distrained as long as the principal debtor himself suffice for the payment of the debt. And if the principal debtor fail in payment, not having whereof he can pay, or be unwilling to pay when he is able, the sureties shall answer for the debt, and if they wish they may have the lands and rents of the debtor until satisfaction be made to them for the debt which they already paid for him, unless the principal debtor show that he is quit as regards those sureties. | ||
Liberties of Dublin, &c. | ||
The city of Dublin shall have all its ancient liberties and free customs: moreover, we will and grant that all other cities, towns, and burghs, and all ports shall have all their liberties and free customs. | ||
Distress for services. | ||
No one shall be distrained to do more service of a knight’s fee or of any other freehold than is thereout due. | ||
Common Pleas. | ||
Common Pleas shall not follow our Court, but shall be held in some certain place. | ||
Assises. | ||
Assises of Novel Disseisin, of Mort d’ancestor, and of Darrein presentment shall not be taken except in their own counties, and in this way. We, or if we be out of the kingdom, our Cheif Justiciar, shall send two justices through every county four times in the year, who, with four knights of every county elected by the county, shall take, both in the county [court] and on the day and place of the county, the aforesaid assises; and if on the day of the county [court] the aforesaid assises cannot be taken, so many knights and free tenants of those who were present at the county [court] on that day shall remain, by whom it may be competent to make judgments according as the business shall be more or less. | ||
Amercements of freemen, &c. | ||
Peers. | ||
Clerks. | ||
No freeman shall be amerced for a small fault, but according to the measure of the fault, and for a great fault according to the magnitude of the fault, saving his contenement; and a merchant in the same way, saving his merchandise; and a villein shall be amerced in the same way, saving his wannage, if he fall into our mercy; and none of the said amercements shall be assessed but by the oath of good and lawful men of the venue. Earls and barons shall not be amerced except by their peers, and according to the measure of their fault. No clerk shall be amerced except according to the form of the aforesaid, and not according to the quantity of his ecclesiastical benefice. | ||
Bridges. | ||
No town nor individual shall be distrained to make bridges over rivers, except those who of old and of right ought to make them. | ||
Pleas of the Crown. | ||
No sheriff, constable, coroners, or other our bailiffs shall hold pleas of our crown. | ||
Crown debts of a deceased. | ||
If any holding a lay fee of us die, and our sheriff or bailiff show our letters patent of our summons of debt, which the deceased owed us, it shall be lawful for our sheriff or bailiff to attach and schedule the chattels of the deceased, found in the lay fee, to the value of that debt, by view of lawful men; provided, nevertheless, that nothing thereof be removed until there be paid us the debt which was clear, and the residue shall remain to the executors to fulfuil the testament of the deceased; and if nothing be owing by him, they shall give up all chattels to the deceased, saving to his wife and children their reasonable portions. | ||
Purveyance for castles. | ||
No constable or his bailiff shall take corn or other chattels of anyone who be not of the vill where his castle is, unless he forthwith pay money therefor, or by the will of the vendor he can have respite thereof; but if he be of the vill, he shall be bound to pay the price within three weeks. | ||
Castle ward. | ||
No constable shall distrain any knight to pay money for guarding his castle, if he be willing to do it in his own person, or by any other good man, if he cannot for reasonable cause do it himself; and if we bring or send him on an expedition, he shall be quit of [castle] ward for the time he was on the expedition with us. | ||
Purveyance, Horses and carts. | ||
Wood. | ||
No sheriff or bailiff of ours or any other shall take horses or carts of any man for making carriage unless he pay the price of old time appointed, that is to say—for a cart for two horses, ten pence a day, and for a cart for three horses, fourteen pence a day. Neither we nor our bailiffs shall take the wood of another for castles or carrying out other our works unless by the will of him to whom the wood belongs. | ||
Lands of felons. | ||
We will not hold the lands of those who shall be convicted of felony, save for a year and a day, and then the lands shall be restored to the lords of the fees. | ||
Weirs. | ||
Also all weirs shall henceforth be put down through the whole of the Anna Liffey and all Ireland, except by the sea Coast. | ||
Writ of Precipe. | ||
The writ which is called “precipe” from henceforth shall not be granted to anyone of any tenement whereby a freeman may lose his court. | ||
Uniform measures and weights. | ||
There shall be one measure of wine throughout our entire kingdom, and one measure of ale, and one measure of corn, that is to say, the quarter of Dublin; and one breadth of dyed cloth, russets and habergets, that is to say, two ells within the lists; and let it be of weights as of measures. | ||
Writs of Inquisition. | ||
Nothing shall henceforth be given for a Writ of Inquisition of life or limbs, but it shall be freely granted and not denied. | ||
Wardship of heirs holding lands by divers services. | ||
If any hold of us by fee-farm, or by socage or burgage, and he hold land of another by knight service, we shall not have the wardship of the heir, nor of his land, which is of the fee of another, by reason of that fee-farm or socage or burgage; nor shall we have the custody of such fee-farm or socage or burgage, unless the same fee-farm owe knight service. We shall not have the wardship of any heir, or of any land which he holds of another by knight service, by reason of any petty serjeanty which he holds of us by the service of rendering to us knives or arrows or such like. | ||
Witnesses required. | ||
No bailiff shall henceforth put any man to law upon a simple statement, without trustworthy witnesses brought in for the same. | ||
No freeman to be imprisoned, &c., but by the law of the land. | ||
No freeman shall be taken or imprisoned or disseised or outlawed or exiled, or in any otherwise destroyed; nor will we pass upon him nor send upon him but by the lawful judgment of his peers or by the law of the land. We will sell to no man, we will deny to no man, or delay, right or justice. | ||
Freedom of trading for merchants. | ||
Save in time of war. | ||
All merchants, unless they were before publicly prohibited, shall have safe and secure [conduct] to depart from Ireland, and come into Ireland, and to tarry in and go through Ireland, as well by land as by water, to buy and sell, without all the evil extortions, by the old and rightful customs, except in time of war. And if they be of a land in a state of war against us, and if such are found in our land in the beginning of the war, they shall be attached without harm of bodies or goods, until it be known by us or our Chief Justiciar how the merchants of our land are treated, who then shall be found in the land in a state of war against us. And if ours be safe there, the others shall be safe in our land. | ||
Service of an heir holding of an escheat. | ||
If any hold of any escheat, as of the honor of Wallingford, Nottingham, Boulogne, Lancaster, or any other escheats which are in our hand, and are baronies, and die, his heir shall not give any other relief nor render to us other service than he should do to the Baron if that land were in the hand of the Baron; and we in the same way will hold it as the Baron hold it. | ||
Forest. | ||
Men that dwell out of the forest from henceforth shall not come before our justices of the Forest by common summons, unless they be impleaded or be sureties for some person or persons who were attached for the forest. | ||
Custody of vacant abbeys. | ||
All men who have founded abbeys, for which they have charters of the Kings of England or ancient tenure, shall have the custody of them when they become vacant, as they ought to have, and as is above declared. | ||
Disafforestsation. | ||
Rivers. | ||
All forests which were afforested in the time of King John, our father, shall be immediately disafforested; and so let it be done in the case of rivers which were placed in defence by the said John in his time. | ||
Appeal for death. | ||
No one shall be taken or imprisoned on account of the appeal of a woman for the death of any other than her husband. | ||
And all those customs and liberties, aforesaid, which we have granted to be held in our kingdom, as far as to us appertains towards our men, everyone in our realm, as well clergy as laymen, shall observe, as far as appertains to them, towards their men. | ||
Postponement of certain, articles. | ||
Inasmuch, however, as certain chapters were contained in the former charter which seemed grievous and doubtful, that is to say, about assessing scutages and aids, as to debts of Jews and others, and liberty of leaving our kingdom and returning to our kingdom, as to forests and foresters, warrens and warreners, about customs of counties, and rivers and their keepers, it seemed good to the aforesaid prelates and magnates that these should be held over until we should have had fuller counsel, and then we shall, in the fullest manner, as well with regard to these things as to others which happen to require amendment, do what pertains to the common utility of all and the peace and good estate of us and our kingdom. | ||
And because we have not yet a seal, we have caused this present charter to be sealed with the seals of our venerable father, the lord Gualo, cardinal priest by the title of St. Martin, legate of the Apostolic See, and of William Marescal, earl of Pembroke, governor of us and of our kingdom. Witness all the aforesaid and many others. | ||
Given by the hands of the aforesaid Lord Legate and William Marescal, at Bristol, the twelfth day of November, in the first year of our reign. |