Officers, and all Bailiffs, and his faithful subjects, who see this present Charter,-Greeting. Know ye, that in the presence of God, and for the salvation of our own soul, and of the souls of our ancestors, and of our successors, to the exaltation of the Holy Church, and the amendment of our kingdom, we spontaneously and of our own free will, do give and grant to the Archbishops, the Bishops, Abbots, Priors, Earls, Barons, and all of our kingdom, these under-written liberties to be held in our realm of England for ever.- -(I. 1.) In the first place we have granted unto God, and by this our present Charter we have confirmed for us, and for. our heirs for ever, that the Church of England shall be free, and shall have her whole rights and her liberties inviolable. We have also granted and given to all the freemen of our kingdom, for us and for our heirs for ever, these under-written liberties to be had and held by them and by their heirs, of us and of our heirs.-(II. 2.) If any of our Earls or Barons, or others who hold of us in chief by Military Service, shall die, and at his death his heir shall be of full age, and shall owe a relief, he shall have his inheritance by the ancient relief; that is to say, the heir or heirs of an Earl, a whole Earldom for one hundred pounds: the heir or heirs of a Baron, a whole Barony, for one hundred marks; the heir or heirs of a Knight, a whole Knight's Fee, for one hundred shillings at the most: and he who hath less, shall give less, according to

the ancient customs of fees.-(III. 3.) But if the heir of any such be under age, his Lord shall not have the wardship of him nor of his land, before he shall have received his homage, and afterward such heir shall be in ward; and when he shall come to age, that is to say, to twenty and one years, he shall have his inheritance without relief and without fine: yet so, that if he be made a Knight, whilst he is under age, his lands shall nevertheless remain in custody of his Lords, until the term aforesaid.(IV. 4.) The warden of the land of such heir who shall be under age, shall not take from the lands, of the heir any but reasonable issues, and reasonable customs, and reasonable services, and that without destruction and waste of the men or goods. And if we commit the custody of any such lands to a Sheriff, or to any other person who is bound to us for the issues of them, and he shall make destruction or waste upon the ward-lands, we will recover damages from him, and the lands shall be committed to two lawful and discreet men of the same fee, who shall answer for the issues to us, or to him to whom we have assigned them: and if we shall give or sell to any one the custody of any such lands, and he shall make destruction or waste upon them, he shall lose the custody; and it shall be committed to two lawful and discreet men of the same fee, who shall answer to us in like manner as it is said before.-(V. 5.) But the warden, so long as he hath the custody of the lands, shall keep up

and maintain the houses, parks, warrens, ponds, mills, and other things belonging to them, out of their issues; and shall restore to the heir, when he comes of full age, his whole estate, provided with carriages and all other things, at the least such as he received it. All these things shall be observed in the custodies of vacant Archbishoprics, Bishoprics, Abbies, Priories, Churches, and Dignities, which appertain to us; excepting that these wardships are not to be sold.-(VI. 6.) Heirs shall be married without disparagement.-(VII. 7.) A widow, after the death of her husband, shall immediately, and without difficulty, have her freedom of marriage and her inheritance; nor shall she give any thing for her dower, or for her freedom of marriage, or for her inheritance, which her husband and she held at the day of his death; and she may remain in the principal messuage of her husband, for forty days after her husband's death, within which time her dower shall be assigned; unless it shall have been assigned before, or excepting his house shall be a Castle; and if she depart from the Castle, there shall be provided for her a complete house in which she may decently dwell, until her dower shall be assigned to her as aforesaid: and she shall have her reasonable Estover within a common term. And for her dower, shall be assigned to her the third part of all the lands of her husband, which were his during his life, except she were endowed with less at the church door.

No widow shall be distrained to marry herself, whilst she is willing to live without a husband; but yet she shall give security that she will not marry herself, without our consent, if she hold of us, or without the consent of her lord if she hold of another. (VIII. 8.) We nor our Bailiffs, will not seize any land or rent for any debt, whilst the chattels of his debtor present sufficient for the payment of the debt, and the debtor shall be ready to make satisfaction. Nor shall the sureties of the debtor be distrained, whilst the principal debtor is able to pay his debt; and if the principal debtor fail in payment of the debt, not having wherewith to discharge it, or will not discharge it when he is able, then the sureties shall answer for the debt; and if they be willing, they shall have the lands and rents of the debtor, until satisfaction be made to them for the debt which they had before paid for him, unless the principal debtor can shew himself acquitted thereof against the said sureties. -(IX. 9.) The City of London shall have all it's ancient liberties, and it's free customs, as well by land as by water.-Furthermore, we will and grant that all other Cities, and Burghs, and Towns, and the Barons of the Cinque Ports, and all Ports, should have all their liberties and free customs.(X. 10.) None shall be distrained to do more service for a Knight's-Fee, nor for any other free' tenement, than what is due from thence.--(XI. 11.) Common Pleas shall not follow our court, but