The account of the winning of the Charter given below comes from the hand of Roger of Wendover, a monk of St. Albans, a monastery in Hertfordshire which was famous in the thirteenth century for its group of historians and annalists. It begins with the meeting of the barons at St. Edmunds in Suffolk late in November, 1214, and tells the story to the granting of the Charter at Runnymede, June 15, 1215. On this subject, as well as on the entire period of English history from 1189 to 1235, Roger of Wendover is our principal contemporary authority.
Source—Rogerus de Wendover, Chronica Majora, sive Liber qui dicitur Flores Historiarum [Roger of Wendover, "Greater Chronicle, or the Book which is called the Flowers of History">[. Translated by J. A. Giles (London, 1849), Vol. II., pp. 303-324 passim.
About this time the earls and barons of England assembled at St. Edmunds, as if for religious duties, although it was for another reason;[408] for after they had discoursed together secretly for a time, there was placed before them the charter of King Henry the First, which they had received, as mentioned before, in the city of London from Stephen, archbishop of Canterbury.[409] This charter contained certain liberties and laws granted to the holy Church as well as to the nobles of the kingdom, besides some liberties which the king added of his own accord. All therefore assembled in the church of St. Edmund, the king and martyr, and, commencing with those of the highest rank, they all swore on the great altar that, if the king refused to A conference held by the barons against King John grant these liberties and laws, they themselves would withdraw from their allegiance to him, and make war on him until he should, by a charter under his own seal, confirm to them everything that they required; and finally it was unanimously agreed that, after Christmas, they should all go together to the king and demand the confirmation of the aforesaid liberties to them, and that they should in the meantime provide themselves with horses and arms, so that if the king should endeavor to depart from his oath they might, by taking his castles, compel him to satisfy their demands; and having arranged this, each man returned home....
In the year of our Lord 1215, which was the seventeenth year of the reign of King John, he held his court at Winchester at Christmas for one day, after which he hurried to London, and They demand a confirmation of the old liberties took up his abode at the New Temple;[410] and at that place the above-mentioned nobles came to him in gay military array, and demanded the confirmation of the liberties and laws of King Edward, with other liberties granted to them and to the kingdom and church of England, as were contained in the charter, and above-mentioned laws of Henry the First. They also asserted that, at the time of his absolution at Winchester,[411] he had promised to restore those laws and ancient liberties, and was bound by his own oath to observe them. The king, hearing the bold tone of the barons in making this demand, much feared an attack from them, as he saw that they were prepared for battle. He, however, made answer that their demands were a matter of importance A truce arranged and difficulty, and he therefore asked a truce until the end of Easter, that, after due deliberation, he might be able to satisfy them as well as the dignity of his crown. After much discussion on both sides, the king at length, although unwillingly, procured the archbishop of Canterbury, the bishop of Ely, and William Marshal, as his sureties that on the day agreed upon he would, in all reason, satisfy them all; on which the nobles returned to their homes. The king, however, wishing to take precautions against the future, caused all the nobles throughout England to swear fealty to him alone against all men, and to renew their homage to him; and, the better to take care of himself, on the day of St. Mary's purification, he assumed the cross of our Lord, being induced to this more by fear than devotion....[412]
In Easter week of this same year, the above-mentioned nobles assembled at Stamford,[413] with horses and arms. They had now The truce at an end induced almost all the nobility of the whole kingdom to join them, and constituted a very large army; for in their army there were computed to be two thousand knights, besides horse-soldiers, attendants, and foot-soldiers, who were variously equipped.... The king at this time was awaiting the arrival of his nobles at Oxford.[414] On the Monday next after the octave of Easter,[415] the said barons assembled in the town of Brackley.[416] And when the king learned this, he sent the archbishop of Canterbury and William Marshal, earl of Pembroke, with some other prudent men, to them to inquire what the laws The preliminary demands of the barons and liberties were which they demanded. The barons then delivered to the messengers a paper, containing in great measure the laws and ancient customs of the kingdom, and declared that, unless the king immediately granted them and confirmed them under his own seal, they, by taking possession of his fortresses, would force him to give them sufficient satisfaction as to their before-named demands. The archbishop, with his fellow messengers, then carried the paper to the king, and read to him the heads of the paper one by one throughout. The king, when he heard the purport of these heads, said derisively, with the greatest indignation, "Why, amongst these unjust demands, did not the barons ask for my kingdom also? Their demands are vain and visionary, and are unsupported by any plea of reason whatever." And at length he angrily declared with an oath that he would never grant them such liberties as would render him their slave. The principal of these laws and liberties which the nobles required to be confirmed to them are partly described above in the charter of King Henry,[417] and partly are extracted from the old laws of King Edward,[418] as the following history will show in due time.
As the archbishop and William Marshal could not by any persuasion induce the king to agree to their demands, they The castle of Northampton besieged by the barons returned by the king's order to the barons, and duly reported to them all that they had heard from the king. And when the nobles heard what John said, they appointed Robert Fitz-Walter commander of their soldiers, giving him the title of "Marshal of the Army of God and the Holy Church," and then, one and all flying to arms, they directed their forces toward Northampton.[419] On their arrival there they at once laid siege to the castle, but after having stayed there for fifteen days, and having gained little or no advantage, they determined to move their camp. Having come without petrariæ[420] and other engines of war, they, without accomplishing their purpose, proceeded in confusion to the castle of Bedford....[421]
When the army of the barons arrived at Bedford, they were received with all respect by William de Beauchamp.[422] Messengers from the city of London also came to them there, secretly telling them, if they wished to get into that city, to come there immediately. The barons, encouraged by the arrival of this agreeable message, immediately moved their camp and arrived The city of London given over to the barons at Ware. After this they marched the whole night and arrived early in the morning at the city of London, and, finding the gates open, on the 24th of May (which was the Sunday next before our Lord's ascension) they entered the city without any tumult while the inhabitants were performing divine service; for the rich citizens were favorable to the barons, and the poor ones were afraid to murmur against them. The barons, having thus got into the city, placed their own guards in charge of each of the gates, and then arranged all matters in the city at will.[423] They then took security from the citizens, and sent letters through England to those earls, barons, and knights who appeared to be still faithful to the king (though they only pretended to be so) and advised them with threats, as they had regard for the safety of all their property and possessions, to abandon a king who was perjured and who made war against his barons, and together with them to stand firm and fight against the king for their rights and for peace; and that, if they refused to do this, they, the barons, would make war against them all, as against open enemies, and would destroy their castles, burn their houses and other buildings, and pillage their warrens, parks, and orchards.... The greatest part of these, on receiving the message of the barons, set out to London and joined them, abandoning the king entirely....
King John, when he saw that he was deserted by almost all, so that out of his regal superabundance of followers he retained scarcely seven knights, was much alarmed lest the barons should attack his castles and reduce them without difficulty, as they The conference between the king and the barons would find no obstacle to their so doing. He deceitfully pretended to make peace for a time with the aforesaid barons, and sent William Marshal, earl of Pembroke, with other trustworthy messengers, to them, and told them that, for the sake of peace and for the exaltation and honor of the kingdom, he would willingly grant them the laws and liberties they demanded. He sent also a request to the barons by these same messengers that they appoint a suitable day and place to meet and carry all these matters into effect. The king's messengers then came in all haste to London, and without deceit, reported to the barons all that had been deceitfully imposed on them. They in their great joy appointed the fifteenth of June for the king to meet them, at a field lying The charter granted at Runnymede between Staines and Windsor.[424] Accordingly, at the time and place agreed upon the king and nobles came to the appointed conference, and when each party had stationed itself some distance from the other, they began a long discussion about terms of peace and the aforesaid liberties.... At length, after various points on both sides had been discussed, King John, seeing that he was inferior in strength to the barons, without raising any difficulty, granted the underwritten laws and liberties, and confirmed them by his charter as follows:—
[Here ensues the Charter.]