The Complete Structure and Content of the Magna Carta (1215)

The original charter signed by King John at Runnymede contains an opening preamble followed by 63 distinct clauses. Here is what every part of the charter specifically enacted:

The Preamble

Parties and Opening: Addressed from King John to his archbishops, bishops, abbots, earls, barons, justiciars, and loyal subjects. It asserts that the agreement was made out of reverence for God, for the health of the King’s soul, and to restore peace and order to the realm under the advice of his counselors.

Part 1: Freedom of the Church (Clause 1)

Clause 1: Grants that the English Church shall be free, holding its rights undiminished and its liberties inviolate, particularly guaranteeing the freedom of church elections without royal interference.

Part 2: Feudal Reliefs, Heirs, and Wardships (Clauses 2–6)

Clause 2: Fixes traditional feudal inheritance taxes (“reliefs”) at reasonable, standardized rates (£100 for an earl’s or baron’s barony; 100 shillings for a knight’s fee) to end arbitrary extortion when an heir takes over an estate.
Clause 3: Mandates that under-age heirs who are made wards are exempt from inheritance relief taxes upon reaching majority.
Clause 4: Forbids guardians of minor heirs from wasting estate assets, destroying buildings, or exploiting the tenant labor.
Clause 5: Obligates the guardian to maintain houses, parks, fishponds, and mills using revenues from the land, returning the property fully stocked to the heir upon adulthood.
Clause 6: Protects young heirs from being forced into marriages with persons of lower social rank (“without disparagement”).

Part 3: Widows and Marriage Rights (Clauses 7–8)

Clause 7: Ensures a widow receives her marriage portion and inheritance immediately without paying fees, and permits her to remain in her husband’s primary house for 40 days while dower lands are assigned.
Clause 8: Protects widows from being forced to remarry against their will, provided they give security not to marry without royal or lordly consent.

Part 4: Royal Debts and Jewish Moneylenders (Clauses 9–11)

Clause 9: Prevents the Crown from seizing land for debts if sufficient personal property (movables) exists to pay, and protects sureties/guarantors from seizure until the principal debtor defaults.
Clauses 10–11: Regulate debts owed to moneylenders when a debtor dies leaving an underage heir—forbidding interest accumulation during minority and protecting the widow’s dower and basic sustenance for the children before the debt is satisfied.

Part 5: Taxation and the Great Council (Clauses 12, 14, 15)

Clause 12: Establishes the core principle of tax consent—no “scutage” (tax in lieu of military service) or “aid” may be levied without the “common counsel of the realm,” except for three traditional ransoms: ransoming the King’s person, knighting his eldest son, and marrying his eldest daughter once.
Clause 14: Defines how the Great Council must be convened: archbishops, bishops, abbots, earls, and greater barons are summoned individually by royal writ, while lesser tenants-in-chief receive general summons via sheriffs with at least 40 days’ notice.
Clause 15: Restricts lords from levying arbitrary aids upon their free tenants without consent, matching royal rules.

Part 6: Feudal Services and Court Access (Clauses 13, 16, 23)

Clause 13: Preserves the ancient liberties, customs, and privileges of the City of London and all other cities, boroughs, towns, and ports by land and sea.
Clause 16: Establishes that no man shall be forced to perform more knightly service than is lawfully due from his fee.
Clause 23: Prohibits villages and individuals from being compelled to build or maintain bridges across rivers unless bound by ancient custom.

Part 7: The Administration of Justice (Clauses 17–22, 24, 34, 36, 40)

Clause 17: Establishes fixed court locations—ordinary lawsuits (“Common Pleas”) will no longer follow the King’s traveling court, but will sit in a permanent fixed venue (Westminster).
Clauses 18–19: Standardizes property dispute trials (novel disseisin, mort d’ancestor, darrein presentment) to be heard locally four times a year by traveling circuit judges.
Clauses 20–22: Proportionality in punishment—fines must fit the severity of the offense and cannot deprive a freeman of his livelihood (contenement), a merchant of his trade goods, or a rustic of his cart and plow. Fines can only be assessed upon oath by reputable local men.
Clause 24: Prohibits royal officials—sheriffs, constables, and coroners—from holding pleas of the Crown (trying criminal cases); criminal trials must be held by qualified royal judges.
Clause 34: Forbids the writ Praecipe from being issued to strip a feudal lord of his private court’s jurisdiction over land.
Clause 36: Provides that the writ of inquisition of life or limb (investigating unlawful imprisonment) must be granted freely and never denied or paid for.
Clause 40: “To no one will we sell, to no one will we deny or delay right or justice.” (One of the most famous enduring principles of equal legal access).

Part 8: Royal Requisitions and Purveyance (Clauses 28–31)

Clause 28: Prohibits constables and royal officers from seizing grain or other goods from any man without immediate cash payment, unless the seller voluntarily agrees to credit.
Clause 29: Allows a knight to provide a capable deputy for castle-guard duty or exempts him entirely if he is away serving on military duty.
Clause 30: Bans sheriffs, bailiffs, and royal agents from seizing horses or carts belonging to free men without consent.
Clause 31: Bars the King or his officials from cutting and carrying off another man’s timber for castles or royal works without the owner’s express consent.

Part 9: Seizure of Felons’ Lands (Clause 32)

Clause 32: Limits royal possession of lands belonging to convicted felons to a year and a day, after which the property must revert to the lord of the fee.

Part 10: Commerce, Weights, and Standard Measures (Clauses 33, 35, 41–42)

Clause 33: Demands the removal of all fish weirs and navigational obstructions from the Thames, Medway, and rivers throughout England.
Clause 35: Establishes national standards for weights and measures—one standard for wine, ale, and corn (the London quarter), and one standard width for dyed cloths and russets (two yards within the selvedges).
Clause 41: Protects foreign and domestic merchants, granting safe entry, exit, and transit through England without arbitrary tolls (“evil exactions”), provided they conduct trade peacefully (and sets reciprocal treatment for enemy merchants during wartime).
Clause 42: Allows all free persons to safely leave and re-enter England in peacetime, excepting convicts, outlaws, and citizens of hostile nations at war.

Part 11: Due Process and the Rule of Law (Clauses 38, 39, 45)

Clause 38: Prohibits bailiffs and prosecutors from putting anyone on trial based solely on their own accusation, without credible supporting witnesses.
Clause 39: “No free man shall be seized, imprisoned, stripped of his rights or possessions, outlawed, exiled, or in any way destroyed, nor will we proceed against him or prosecute him, except by the lawful judgment of his equals or by the law of the land.” (The cornerstone foundation of trial by jury and constitutional due process).
Clause 45: Requires that the King appoint as judges, constables, sheriffs, and bailiffs only men who know the law of the realm and intend to keep it faithfully.

Part 12: Forests, Rivers, and Environmental Limits (Clauses 44, 47, 48)

Clause 44: Relieves people living outside royal forests from being compelled to appear before royal forest judges simply upon general summons.
Clause 47: Disafforests (deregulates) all lands turned into royal hunting preserves during King John’s reign and opens fenced river banks.
Clause 48: Directs that all corrupt customs surrounding royal forests, warrens, foresters, and river wardens be investigated immediately by 12 elected local knights and completely abolished within 40 days.

Part 13: Redress, Restitution, and Foreign Mercenaries (Clauses 49–59)

Clause 49: Demands the immediate return of all hostages and charters surrendered to King John as pledges of security.
Clauses 50–51: Orders the dismissal of foreign mercenaries and the complete expulsion of the foreign de Athée family and their relatives from holding public administrative offices in England.
Clauses 52–53, 55: Sets up a legal restitution mechanism to restore lands, castles, and liberties unjustly taken from barons, knights, or Welshmen without lawful judgment, and vacates unjust fines and ransoms.
Clauses 56–58: Restores peace and returns confiscated Welsh lands and hostages (including Llywelyn’s son).
Clause 59: Grants reciprocal justice and restitution regarding the sisters and hostages of King Alexander II of Scotland.

Part 14: General Guarantees and Pardons (Clauses 60, 62)

Clause 60: Mandates that every custom and liberty King John granted to his own men must likewise be observed by all nobles and lords toward their own tenants.
Clause 62: Grants full royal pardon and forgiveness for all animosities, grievances, and rebellions arising from the civil conflict between the King and his barons.

Part 15: The Enforcement Clause (Clause 61)

Clause 61 (The Security Clause): The ultimate enforcement mechanism. It empowers the barons to elect 25 barons from their ranks to act as an oversight committee. If the King or his officers violate any term of the charter, the committee presents the grievance. If not corrected within 40 days, the 25 barons, together with the commonalty of the entire realm, are legally authorized to seize the King’s castles, lands, and possessions—sparing only the persons of the King, Queen, and their children—until justice is redressed.

Concluding Ratification (Clause 63)

Clause 63: Concludes with an oath binding King John and his successors to keep all granted liberties intact in perpetuity, sealed at Runnymede on June 15, in the 17th year of his reign (1215).