60 Clauses…And Absolutely No Organizational Structure
- King John promises that the English church has the right to elect its own officials. And this goes way beyond all the other demands because even the Pope agrees…and he's holy so you'll do what he says forever and ever.
Bonus emphasis of importance: Everything else in this document applies to all free men in England and all those who will be born later—because it's going to last forever. - The king promises to stop abusing the taxes placed on the transfer of aristocratic titles to heirs. The amounts are stated.
- The barons remind the king that it's not cool to charge underage heirs fees to inherit titles: so back off.
- The barons continue on the theme of protecting wealthy children by forbidding the guardians of underage heirs from robbing or destroying the property of the heir they're supposed to be watching out for.
If they do there will be consequences, and they'll be replaced. - In case the last two clauses weren't clear enough, they continue by stating that these guardians of underage heirs should also maintain the land and then give it back to the heir in reasonable condition so that the heir can actually make money from it.
- The authors clarify the rules around forced marriage by saying it's fine if you want to arrange a marriage for an heir, but only if the marriage is to someone of equal rank and the family is invited.
No secret marriages to poor people. - They also clarify the events after a marriage by saying you're not allowed to (excessively) hassle widows.
They get their inheritance money and they get to stay in their husband's house for forty days before getting thrown out. - Continuing on the widow theme, it's made clear that you're not allowed to force a widow to get married again.
And rich widows have to get permission to remarry from various other rich people. - The King promised that he and his officials will no longer take land as payment of debt except as a last resort.
All other goods and money should be taken first. - It's also made clear that underage heirs do not have to pay the interest on their dead parent's loans.
- Continuing with the theme of widows and children, it's stated that they do not have to spend all their money paying off their late husband/father's debts.
They get their inheritance and/or a reasonable amount of money before they have to worry about paying back loans. - The king promises not to make up a new tax on barons whenever he feels like it.
He gets to take the traditional tax on eldest sons becoming knights and eldest daughters getting married, but no others.
The exception to this is if the king is kidnapped, in which case the barons will be taxed to pay his ransom. - The king recognizes that London (and other locations) has a lot of traditions and he isn't allowed to mess with them.
- The king agrees that if he wants to make up a new tax he'll need to set up a meeting with important people who will come together (or not) and give their consent.
- The barons promise to submit to the same rules about not making up new taxes on their subordinates—only the one on eldest sons and daughters with the exception in the case of kidnapping.
- Everybody agrees that there should be no adding extra "services" to the taxes for becoming a knight…because knights are people too and not just the personal playthings of the rich and powerful.
- It's established that lawsuits should get a court hearing in one location, not wherever the king happens to be on any given day.
- It's also agreed that county courts should be set up four times a year to deal with issues such as property, inheritance, and title disputes.
- They also suggest that there should be a plan in place for handling lawsuits that come up after the quarterly court days.
- Everybody agrees that the punishments for free men should fit the crimes and shouldn't financially ruin them. Also: no fine should be used unless there's a reputable witness to the crime.
- Continuing on how not to punish people—it's also agreed that punishments for the aristocracy should also fit their crimes and they should only be fined by their equals and not by members of the common rabble (who are so beneath them).
- It's also added that punishments for church officials should also fit their crimes, but can't include taking away their church title…because that isn't yours to take.
- Everybody agrees to stop making up new ways to force people to build stuff unless it's part of some ancient tradition.
- It's stated that just working for the government doesn't automatically make you a judge and only judges can decide lawsuits.
- They all agree to stop raising local rents and taxes on all land except the king's land, which he can charge whatever he wants for.
- It's established that if someone dies and he hasn't paid his taxes to the king, then royal officials can come and take his stuff until the debt is paid.
- It's also established that if someone dies without a will, then his family and friends get to divvy up his stuff and pay off his debts while church officials watch.
- The king agrees that royal officials and government employees aren't allowed to give people IOUs when they're shopping for goods unless the seller offers.
- The king also agrees that government officials aren't allowed to make up new taxes or services on knights.
- Furthermore royal officials aren't allowed to steal modes of transportation from people or use them like an unpaid taxi service.
- Continuing along the lines of things-the-king-can't-do-anymore, the king and his officials are no longer allowed to steal firewood without asking.
- It's established that the king only gets to take the lands from convicted felons for a year and a day before he has to give them back.
- Everyone agrees to stop using fish traps on English rivers, only on the coast.
- Also no one can take land away from anyone else without a local court trial.
- It is suggested that England should use standard measurements for things such as grain and cloth.
- They all agree that you shouldn't charge people taxes when a crime has to be investigated…especially if it may result in a trial and a punishment.
- The king agrees that he doesn't get to have guardianship of everyone's heirs just because they are in some minor way in service to the king.
- It's established that court officials can't act as witnesses in trials. Instead actual, credible witnesses must be used.
- The king agrees to stop punishing people unless they have been found guilty by their equals or by the court.
- It's stated that people can't buy your way out of punishment or delay it and the court can't unfairly tax the accused.
- Everyone agrees not to make up new taxes that would prevent merchants from doing business and moving freely in England.
Unless England is at war with that merchant's home country, in which case the merchant will be imprisoned and whatever is happening to English merchants in his home country will then also happen to him. - They establish that it's okay for people to leave England and then come back, and that people should only be hassled for doing that in times of war or if they've been exiled.
- The king promises not to make up new taxes on forfeited titles. He must use traditional methods for allowing heirs to buy back their family's title.
- They agree that people can't be summoned to a court hearing for no reason if they don't have any business before the court.
- The king agrees to appoint judges and court officials who actually know the laws, and to stop filling the courts with his amateur friends.
- The barons make clear that anyone who founded a religious abbey gets to govern it whenever there's an abbot vacancy.
- The king promises to stop making royal forests and riverbanks that only he can use and has to give back the ones he already made.
- They plan to have some knights investigate and correct the way that the king had been treating lands such as forests, rivers, and land for livestock.
- The king agrees to free the hostages and charters that he took during the skirmishes that led up to this peace agreement.
- However, the king will also strip certain other people certain people of their titles and they will never be given titles again.
- They all agree that if there isn't going to be any more fighting in England, then the foreign mercenaries will go home.
- The current king promises that if he took any land or punished anyone without a trial, then those people get a do-over.
But if either of the previous two kings did that, then it's not this king's problem because he's going on Crusade (and it isn't fair to make people deal with lawsuits while on Crusade). But he'll think about it once he comes back. - The barons also agree that the current king doesn't have to deal with legal disputes created during the reign of previous kings because he's going on Crusade. He'll get around to all that when he returns.
- Back to all that stuff about fair trials: they all agree that women can't be witnesses in court proceedings unless they're testifying about the death of their own husband.
- The king promises to give back all fines that were unjustly collected and the council of 25 barons, plus the Archbishop of Canterbury, get to decide what to do with the money.
- It's stated that all these rights given to Englishmen also apply to Welshmen too…and to people living on that sketchy border between Wales and England.
- It's made clear that that part about not dealing with the unfair acts of the previous kings also applies to the Welsh. The current king isn't getting involved because, in case you didn't hear, he's going on Crusade as soon as he's done here.
- The king agrees to return Welsh hostages and charters too as part of the peace agreement.
- The king also promises to treat the king of Scotland the same as the English barons, giving back hostages and charters unless there is some traditional way of handling them that he doesn't know about.
Hmm. Somebody should have really looked that up before writing this clause. - It's stated that all of the above applies to everybody even clergy and ordinary men.