Charter of Liberties of King Henry I
A.D. 1100 also known as the
Coronation Charter
With this charter,
granted by Henry when
he ascended the throne, the king formally bound himself to the laws,
setting
the stage for the rule of law and constitutionalism. The Charter of
Liberties
inspired those who compelled King John to sign the Magna Carta in 1215
and served as the model for that great document.
Henry, king of the English, to
Bishop
Samson and Urso de Abetot and all his barons and faithful, both French
and English, of Worcestershire, [copies were sent to all the shires]
greeting.
1. Know
that by the mercy of
God and
the common counsel of the barons of the whole kingdom of England I have
been crowned king of said kingdom; and because the kingdom had been
oppressed
by unjust exactions, I, through fear of god and the love which I have
toward
you all, in the first place make the holy church of God free, so that I
will neither sell nor put to farm, nor on the death of archbishop or
bishop
or abbot will I take anything from the church's demesne or from its men
until the successor shall enter it. And I take away all the bad customs
by which the kingdom of England was unjustly oppressed; which bad
customs
I here set down in part:
2. If any of my barons, earls,
or others
who hold of me shall have died, his heir shall not buy back his land as
he used to do in the time of my brother, but he shall relieve it by a
just
and lawful relief. Likewise also the men of my barons shall relieve
their
lands from their lords by a just and lawful relief.
3. And if any of my barons or
other
men should wish to give his daughter, sister, niece, or kinswoman in
marriage,
let him speak with me about it; but I will neither take anything from
him
for this permission nor prevent his giving her unless he should be
minded
to join her to my enemy. And if, upon the death of a baron or other of
my men, a daughter is left as heir, I will give her with her land by
the
advice of my barons. And if, on the death of her husband, the wife is
left
and without children, she shall have her dowry and right of marriage,
and
I will not give her to a husband unless according to her will.
4. But if a wife be left with
children,
she shall indeed have her dowry and right of marriage so long as she
shall
keep her body lawfully, and I will not give her unless according to her
will. And the guardian of the land and children shall be either the
wife
or another of the relatives who more justly ought to be. And I command
that my barons restrain themselves similarly in dealing with the sons
and
daughters or wives of their men.
5. The common seigniorage,
which has
been taken through the cities and counties, but which was not taken in
the time of King Edward I absolutely forbid henceforth. If any one,
whether
a moneyer or other, be taken with false money, let due justice be done
for it.
6. I remit all pleas and all
debts which
were owing to my brother, except my lawful fixed revenues and except
those
amounts which had been agreed upon for the inheritances of others or
for
things which more justly concerned others. And if any one had pledged
anything
for his own inheritance, I remit it; also all reliefs which had been
agreed
upon for just inheritances.
7. And if any of my barons or
men shall
grow feeble, as he shall give or arrange to give his money, I grant
that
it be so given. But if, prevented by arms or sickness, he shall not
have
given or arranged to give his money, his wife, children, relatives, or
lawful men shall distribute it for the good of his soul as shall seem
best
to them.
8. If any of my barons or men
commit
a crime, he shall not bind himself to a payment at the king's mercy as
he has been doing in the time of my father or my brother; but he shall
make amends according to the extent of the crime as he would have done
before the time of my father in the time of my other predecessors. But
if he be convicted of treachery or heinous crime, he shall make amends
as is just.
9. I forgive all murders
committed before
the day I was crowned king; and those which shall be committed in the
future
shall be justly compensated according to the law of King Edward.
10. By the common consent of
my barons
I have kept in my hands forests as my father had them.
11. To those knights who
render military
service for their lands I grant of my own gift that the lands of their
demesne ploughs be free from all payments and all labor, so that,
having
been released from so great a burden, they may equip themselves well
with
horses and arms and be fully prepared for my service and the defense of
my kingdom.
12. I impose a strict peace
upon my
whole kingdom and command that it be maintained henceforth.
13. I restore to you the law
of King
Edward with those amendments introduced into it by my father with the
advice
of his barons.
14. If any one, since the
death of King
William my brother, has taken anything belonging to me or to any one
else,
the whole is to be quickly restored without fine; but if any one keep
anything
of it, he upon whom it shall be found shall pay me a heavy fine.
Witnesses Maurice bishop of
London,
and William bishop elect of Winchester, and Gerard bishop of Hereford,
and earl Henry, and earl Simon, and Walter Giffard,and Robert de
Montfort,
and Roger Bigot, and Eudo the steward, and Robert son of Hamo, and
Robert
Malet. At London when I was crowned. Farewell.
Translated in
Albert Beebe
White and Wallce Notestein, eds., Source Problems in English
History (New
York: Harper and Brothers, 1915).
