Constitutional history -- England -- Sources; Magna Carta
(41) All merchants may enter or leave England unharmed and without
fear, and may stay or travel within it, by land or water, for purposes
of trade, free from all illegal exactions, in accordance with ancient
and lawful customs. This, however, does not apply in time of war to
merchants from a country that is at war with us. Any such merchants
found in our country at the outbreak of war shall be detained without
injury to their persons or property, until we or our chief justice have
discovered how our own merchants are being treated in the country at
war with us. If our own merchants are safe they shall be safe too.
(42) In future it shall be lawful for any man to leave and return to
our kingdom unharmed and without fear, by land or water, preserving his
allegiance to us, except in time of war, for some short period, for the
common benefit of the realm. People that have been imprisoned or
outlawed in accordance with the law of the land, people from a country
that is at war with us, and merchants - who shall be dealt with as
stated above - are excepted from this provision.
(43) If a man holds lands of any ‘escheat’ such as the ‘honour’ of
Wallingford, Nottingham, Boulogne, Lancaster, or of other ‘escheats’ in
our hand that are baronies, at his death his heir shall give us only
the ‘relief’ and service that he would have made to the baron, had the
barony been in the baron’s hand. We will hold the ‘escheat’ in the same
manner as the baron held it.
(44) People who live outside the forest need not in future appear
before the royal justices of the forest in answer to general summonses,
unless they are actually involved in proceedings or are sureties for
someone who has been seized for a forest offence.
(45) We will appoint as justices, constables, sheriffs, or other
officials, only men that know the law of the realm and are minded to
keep it well.
(46) All barons who have founded abbeys, and have charters of English
kings or ancient tenure as evidence of this, may have guardianship of
them when there is no abbot, as is their due.
(47) All forests that have been created in our reign shall at once be
disafforested. River-banks that have been enclosed in our reign shall
be treated similarly.
(48) All evil customs relating to forests and warrens, foresters,
warreners, sheriffs and their servants, or river-banks and their
wardens, are at once to be investigated in every county by twelve sworn
knights of the county, and within forty days of their enquiry the evil
customs are to be abolished completely and irrevocably. But we, or our
chief justice if we are not in England, are first to be informed.
(49) We will at once return all hostages and charters delivered up to
us by Englishmen as security for peace or for loyal service. ***here
were some strange characters, not completely removed
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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