The Twenty Five Barons of the Magna Carta

King John Signing the Magna Carta, Runnymede 15th June 1215

The 25 Barons, of the Magna Carta.

King John signed the Magna Carta at Runnymede on June 15, 1215. It is a historical fact that 25 Barons were commissioned to form the Committee of Barons. Signatories to the Magna Carta and charged with seeing that King John did not renege on his promise to comply with the terms of the Magna Carta as set out in clause 61. Of the 25 Barons, I have discovered 7 Barons that I can connect to as Ancestors.

The King:

King John Lakeland: 23rd Great grandfather

The Barons:

• Eustace de Vesci

• Robert de Ros

• Richard de Percy: 24th Great granduncle.

• William de Mowbray

• Roger de Montbegon

• John FitzRobert

• William de Forz

• John de Lacy: 23rd Great grandfather.

• Saer de Quincy, Earl of Winchester: 25th Great grandfather.

• Richard de Montfichet

• William de Huntingfield

• Roger Bigod and Hugh Bigod:

• Robert de Vere

• Geoffrey de Mandeville:

• Henry de Bohun

• Richard de Clare and Gilbert de Clare: 23rd and 24th Great grandfather

• William D'Albini

• Robert Fitzwalter: 2nd Cousin 24x removed.

• William Hardel

• William de Lanvallei

• William Malet

• William Marshall II: 22nd Great granduncle.

• Geoffrey de Say

Finding out that I had an ancestral connection to the Plantagenets opened the door to the discovery that I not only had a connection to King John and the Magna Carta but also as I dug deeper I discovered that I also connected to 1, 2 then 3 and finally 9 of the 25 Barons who bought the King to the table at Runnymede for the signing of the document that changed English history as we know it today. Serendipity plays an enormous role in our research, we should be ready at any time for a change in direction.

King John and the nine barons I am related to and their families have given me enormous satisfaction in discovering and recording my family history.

Recommended reading: Magna Carta, by David Starkey. King John, by Marc Norris.

The Pantagenets, The Kings Who Made England, by Dan Jones.

Copyright © Noel Bond. Researched and written by Noel Bond, No written part of this Blog may be reproduced in any form, by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author.