of 1215, the standard rates became one quarter of a year's profit of the estate payable by an under-tenant, and a full year's profit payable by a non-baronial tenant-in-chief. Rates payable It is clear from the pre-eminent positioning in Magna Carta (1215), of the clauses concerning the regulation of relief, that the question of the exaction of extortionate reliefs was one of the major complaints made by the barons to King John. These clauses, in order numbers 2 and 3 follow no other but a clause which promises the free election of bishops to the English church, an issue of paramount significance in the mediaeval world. There can be no better exposition of the charging structure than that given in the Charter itself, which is quoted as follows: (2) "If any earl, baron or other person who holds lands directly from the Crown for military service shall die, and at his death his heir shall be of full age and owe a Relief, the heir shall have his inheritance on payment of the ancient scale of Relief. That is to say, the heir or heirs of an earl shall pay £100 for the entire earl's barony, the heir or heirs of a knight 100 shillings at most for the entire knight's fee and any man that owes less shall pay less in accordance with the ancient usage of fees". (3) "But if the heir of such a person is under age (i.e. 21) and a ward, when he comes of age he shall have his inheritance without Relief or fine". In summary, therefore, Magna Carta set feudal relief for earls (who all held per baroniam and were therefore themselves barons) at £100 and for knights at 100 shillings (i.e. £5) per knight's fee, in both cases restoring the rates to their traditional levels. Although no mention appears to be made of the rates payable by barons for their baronies, it is known that the level set was as for earls, £100. The relative proportion of relief for barony and knight's fee of 20:1 seems to imply that originally a barony consisted of, or was equivalent in some way, to twenty knight's fees. See also History of the English fiscal system, section: Sources of revenue Primer seisin Sources Sanders, I.J. English Baronies, A Study of their Origin & Descent 1086-1327, Oxford, 1960 References External links Canute, King of the English: On