9 Bizarre Things You Never Realised Were In Magna Carta

No more must we labour under the yoke of obligatory bridge-building.

It's 800 years since Magna Carta was sealed by King John at Runnymede, giving us all manner of rights and freedoms. But too few of us know the real rights and freedoms it promised us.

Translations via the British Library.

1. Thanks to Magna Carta, the Queen isn't allowed to steal your wood to build her castle.

Evrart de Conty, Le livre des échecs amoureux moralisés / Via gallica.bnf.fr

"Neither we nor any royal official will take wood for our castle, or for any other purpose, without the consent of the owner."

2. Thanks to Magna Carta, if you die, your wife and kids won't have to pay off any debts you owe to Jews.

“The Birth of the Virgin in the Initial G”, Metropolitan Museum of Art / Via nytimes.com

"If a man dies owing money to Jews, his wife may have her dower and pay nothing towards the debt from it. If he leaves children that are under age, their needs may also be provided for on a scale appropriate to the size of his holding of lands. The debt is to be paid out of the residue, reserving the service due to his feudal lords. Debts owed to persons other than Jews are to be dealt with similarly."

3. Thanks to Magna Carta, you don't have to build bridges – well, most of you don't.

Detail of a miniature from "The Chronicles of Gilles Li Muisis" (1272-1352), abbot of the monastery of St. Martin of the Righteous. Bibliothèque royale de Belgique, / Via commons.wikimedia.org

"No town or person shall be forced to build bridges over rivers except those with an ancient obligation to do so."

4. Thanks to Magna Carta, you don't have to worry about your wapentake's rent going up. Unless it's a demesne.

A group of naked men and women dancing around a conductor and three musicians. c. 1475 Den Haag, MMW, 10 A 11 35v Source. / Via pinterest.com

"Every county, hundred, wapentake, and tithing shall remain at its ancient rent, without increase, except the royal demesne manors."

5. Thanks to Magna Carta, evil has been abolished.

Hans Vintler, Die pluemen der tugent, Vienna 1450. Wien, Österreichische Nationalbibliothek / Via pinterest.com

"All evil customs relating to forests and warrens, foresters, warreners, sheriffs and their servants, or river-banks and their wardens, are at once to be investigated in every county by 12 sworn knights of the county, and within 40 days of their enquiry the evil customs are to be abolished completely and irrevocably. But we, or our chief justice if we are not in England, are first to be informed."

6. Thanks to Magna Carta, there will be an end to the tyranny of fish-weirs.

d'après Solin, Secrets d'histoire naturelle, 1480-1485. BNF, Manuscrits, Français 22971 fol. 15v / Via pinterest.com

"All fish-weirs shall be removed from the Thames, the Medway, and throughout the whole of England, except on the sea coast."

7. Thanks to Magna Carta, wine is sold in standard measures.

A Medieval French Monk Testing Wine / Via pinterest.com

"There shall be standard measures of wine, ale, and corn (the London quarter), throughout the kingdom. There shall also be a standard width of dyed cloth, russet, and haberject, namely two ells within the selvedges. Weights are to be standardised similarly."

8. Thanks to Magna Carta, you can't be a judge unless you know some law.

Moses Bible, Hagenau ca. 1441-1449. Universitätsbibliothek Heidelberg / Via pinterest.com

"We will appoint as justices, constables, sheriffs, or other officials, only men that know the law of the realm and are minded to keep it well."

9. Thanks to Magna Carta, The Man can't steal your horse and cart.

Medieval marginalia / Via pinterest.com

"No sheriff, royal official, or other person shall take horses or carts for transport from any free man, without his consent."

Thanks, Magna Carta.