Also known as the Coronation Charter of 1100 Henry, king of the
English, to Bishop Samson and Urso de Abetot and all his barons
and faithful, both French and English, [copies were sent to all
the English shires] greeting. 1. Know that by the mercy of God
and the common counsel of the barons of the whole kingdom of
England I have been crowned king of said kingdom; and because
the kingdom had been oppressed by unjust exactions, I, through
fear of god and the love which I have toward you all, in the
first place make the holy church of God free, so that I will
neither sell nor put out to farm, nor on the death of archbishop
or bishop or abbot will I take anything from the church’s
demesne or from its men until the successor shall enter it. And
I take away all the bad customs by which the kingdom of England
was unjustly oppressed; which bad customs I here set down in
part: 2. If any of my barons, earls, or others who hold of me
shall have died, his heir shall not buy back his land as he used
to do in the time of m