310 P.OGKH OF WF.NDOVER. [A.O . 1215. our present charter have confirmed, on behalf of lis and our heirs for ever, that the church of Kngland be a free church, and keep its laws entire, and its liberties uninfringed, and we wish it to be observed so, inasmuch as it appears that the liberty of elections, which is considered to be of the greatest importance and most necessary to the English church, was granted bv us. of our own free will, and confirmed by our charter, before any open disagreement had arisen between us and our barons, and we obtained a confirmation of it from our lord pope Innocent the third, and we will keep it ourselves and wish it to be observed by our heirs in good faith for ever. Also to all our free subjects of the. kingdom of England, we, for ourselves and our heirs for ever, have granted all the underwritten liberties, to be had and to be held by them and their heirs from us and our heirs. If ain one of our earls, or barons, or any others holding possession from us in chief by knight's service, shall die, and, after his decease, his heir shall be of age. and shall owe relief, be shall take his inheritance hy the old relief ; that is to say, the heir or heirs of an earl shall pay a hundred pounds for the entire barony of the earl, the heir or heirs of a baron a hundred marks for the whole of bis barony, and the heir or heirs of a knight a hundred shillings at most for the wdiole of his knight's fee, and whoever owes less let him pay less, according to the old custom of fees. But if the heir of any one of these shall be under age, his lord shall not have custody of him or his land, before be has received his homage, and after that such heir shall be in wardship, and attain the age of twenty-one years, he shall take up bis inheritance without relief or tine; so that if the heir himself, whilst under age, be made a knight, nevertheless his land shall remain in the custody of his Ioni till the before-named period. The guardian of the property of an heir under age. bury, Hu^h of Lincoln, Walter of Worcester, William of Coventry, and Benedict of llochester, of master Pamlulph, sub-deacon and familiar ot our lord the pope, the master of the knights-templars in England, and ot the nobles William Marshall ear! of Pembroke, W. earl of .Salisburv. William earl Warrennc, William earl of Arundel, Alan de Ι,οκτν countable of Scotland, Wan π FiU-Gcraril, Peter KHz-Herbert, Hubert de Bonn: seneschal of Poictou, lluph de Neville, Matthew Pitz-llerbcrt, Thomas Basset, Alan Basset, Philip Daubcncy, Robert de Ilopeslc. John Marshal., John 1'itz-Hugh, and others of our faithful subjects amongst the first."