The Baronial Order of Magna Charta ("BOMC") is a scholarly, charitable, and lineage society founded in 1898. The BOMC was originally named the Baronial Order of Runnemede, but the name was subsequently changed to better reflect the organization's purposes relating to the

Magna Charta (Medieval Latin for "Great Charter of Freedoms"), commonly called (also ''Magna Charta''; "Great Charter"), is a royal charter of rights agreed to by King John of England at Runnymede, near Windsor, on 15 June 1215. First drafted by t ...

and the promulgation of "freedom of man under the rule of law."

Profile

The BOMC is a

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

501(c)3 corporation with research, charitable, and educational purposes. Among other things, the BOMC, and the related Magna Charta Research Foundation, seek to "encourage the study and practice of the Magna Charta, within its historical context, and the evolution of its meaning as represented in the concepts of self-determination and the rule of law." Towards this end, the BOMC preserves documents and literature relating to the Magna Charta, sponsors scholarships and educational programs, and works with the Magna Charta Trust in the United Kingdom in furtherance of that organization's preservationist and educational goals. Notably, since 1993, the BOMC has held a seat on the Board of Trustees of the Magna Charta Trust. The BOMC is an approved lineage organization in the

Hereditary Society Community of the United States of America The Hereditary Society Community of the United States of America ("HSC") is a non-profit organization, founded in 2002, which conveys the public interface for over 300 lineage societies. HSC's primary mission is to facilitate and increase the comm ...

Membership Requirements

Membership in the BOMC may be extended to men and women of good moral character who can establish through genealogical proofs (i.e., primary or acceptable secondary sources) their descent from one of the twenty five Magna Charta Surety

Barons Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knigh ...

: * William d'Aubigny, Lord of

Belvoir Castle Belvoir Castle ( ) is a faux historic castle and stately home in Leicestershire, England, situated west of the town of Grantham and northeast of Melton Mowbray. The Castle was first built immediately after the Norman Conquest of 1066 an ...

. * Roger Bigod,

Earl of Norfolk Earl of Norfolk is a title which has been created several times in the Peerage of England. Created in 1070, the first major dynasty to hold the title was the 12th and 13th century Bigod family, and it then was later held by the Mowbrays, who we ...

and Suffolk. * Hugh Bigod, Heir to the Earldoms of

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

and Suffolk. * Henry de Bohun,

Earl of Hereford The title of Earl of Hereford was created six times in the Peerage of England. Dates indicate the years the person held the title for. Earls of Hereford, First Creation (1043) * Swegen Godwinson (1043–1051) ''earldom forfeit 1051–1052'' Earl ...

. * Richard de Clare,

Earl of Hertford Earl () is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom. The title originates in the Old English word ''eorl'', meaning "a man of noble birth or rank". The word is cognate with the Scandinavian form ''jarl'', and meant "chieftain", particular ...

. * Gilbert de Clare, heir to the earldom of Hertford. * John FitzRobert, Lord of

Warkworth Castle Warkworth Castle is a ruined medieval castle in Warkworth in the English county of Northumberland. The village and castle occupy a loop of the River Coquet, less than a mile from England's north-east coast. When the castle was founded is unc ...

. *

Robert Fitzwalter Robert FitzwalterAlso spelled Fitzwater, FitzWalter, fitzWalter, etc. (died 9 December 1235) was one of the leaders of the baronial opposition against King John, and one of the twenty-five sureties of ''Magna Carta''. He was feudal baron of Lit ...

, Lord of Dunmow Castle. * William de Fortibus,

Earl of Albemarle Earl of Albemarle is a title created several times from Norman times onwards. The word ''Albemarle'' is derived from the Latinised form of the French county of ''Aumale'' in Normandy (Latin: ''Alba Marla'' meaning "White Marl", marl being a typ ...

. *

William Hardell William Hardell was a Mayor of London and a '' Magna Carta'' surety. He was appointed Sheriff of the City of London in 1207 and elected Mayor of London (a century later known as Lord Mayor of London) in 1215. After the sealing of ''Mag ...

, **

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

of the

City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London f ...

. *

William de Huntingfield William of Huntingfield (d. 1225) was a medieval English baron, Sheriff of Norfolk and Suffolk and one of the ''Magna Carta'' sureties. He held Dover Castle for John, King of England, King John from September 1203 (as a Lord Warden of the Cinque ...

Sheriff of Norfolk and Suffolk This is a list of Sheriffs of Norfolk and Suffolk. The Sheriff (since 1974 called High Sheriff) is the oldest secular office under the Crown and is appointed annually by the Crown. He was originally the principal law enforcement officer in the c ...

. * John de Lacie, Lord of

Pontefract Castle Pontefract (or Pomfret) Castle is a castle ruin in the town of Pontefract, in West Yorkshire, England. King Richard II is thought to have died there. It was the site of a series of famous sieges during the 17th-century English Civil War ...

. *

William de Lanvallei William de Lanvallei III (died 1217) was an English landowner, governor of Colchester Castle. He was lord of Walkern, Hertfordshire. Relationship with King John William III accompanied King John of England on his expedition to Poitou in 1214 an ...

, Lord of Standway Castle. * William Malet, Lord of Curry-Mallet, Sheriff of

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

and

Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset. Covering an area of , ...

. * Geoffrey de Mandeville,

Earl of Essex Earl of Essex is a title in the Peerage of England which was first created in the 12th century by King Stephen of England. The title has been recreated eight times from its original inception, beginning with a new first Earl upon each new cre ...

and

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east ...

. * William Marshall Jr, heir to the earldom of Pembroke. * Roger de Montbegon, Lord of

Hornby Castle, Lancashire Hornby Castle is a country house, developed from a medieval castle, standing to the east of the village of Hornby in the Lune Valley, Lancashire, England. It occupies a position overlooking the village in a curve of the River Wenning. The ho ...

. * Richard de Montfichet, Baron. *

William de Mowbray William de Mowbray (–), lord of Thirsk and Mowbray, was a Norman Lord and English noble who was one of the twenty-five executors of '' Magna Carta''. He was described as being as small as a dwarf but very generous and valiant. Family origin W ...

, Lord of Axholme. *

Richard de Percy Sir Richard de Percy (c. 1170–1244), 5th Baron Percy, was a Magnate from the North of England, and a participant in the First Barons' War. He was the son of Agnes de Perci, ''suo jure'' Baroness Percy, the heiress of the Percy estates, and her h ...

, Baron. * Saire/Saher de Quincey,

Earl of Winchester Earl of Winchester was a title that was created three times in the Peerage of England during the Middle Ages. The first was Saer de Quincy, who received the earldom in 1207/8 after his wife inherited half of the lands of the Beaumont earls of Lei ...

. * Robert de Roos, Lord of Hamlake Castle. *

Geoffrey de Saye Geoffrey de Saye II (1155–1230), was the Lord of West Greenwich, and a Magna Carta surety. He owned land at Edmonton and Sawbridgeworth. His family bore the arms ''Quarterly, or and gules''. Geoffrey de Saye II was born in 1155 in West G ...

, Baron. * Robert de Vere, heir to the earldom of Oxford. *

Eustace de Vesci Eustace de Vesci (1169–1216) was an English lord of Alnwick Castle, and a ''Magna Carta'' surety. He also held lands in Sprouston, Roxburghshire, Scotland as brother in-law to King Alexander II of Scotland. Eustace was a leader during the Baro ...

, Lord of

Alnwick Castle Alnwick Castle () is a castle and country house in Alnwick in the English county of Northumberland. It is the seat of the 12th Duke of Northumberland, built following the Norman conquest and renovated and remodelled a number of times. It is a G ...

. Descendants of the following non-Surety supporters of the Magna Charta are also candidates for membership in the BOMC: William III d'Aubigny, Hubert de Burgh, Alan of Galloway, William Marshall Sr., and William IV de Warenne. Membership may also be considered for individuals of good moral character who, while not descended from a surety or non-surety supporter, have an interest in the purposes of the BOMC. The BOMC maintains a partial list of "gateway" immigrants who descend from Magna Charta Barons. Many of these individuals and their descendants played significant roles in the history of the United States. For example,

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of ...

's family descend from William d'Aubigny, Lord of

Notable Members and Award Recipients

Among others, members of the BOMC have included: Frederick H. Winston, diplomat and founder of the law firm

Winston & Strawn Winston & Strawn LLP is an international law firm. Headquartered in Chicago, it has nearly 800 attorneys in ten offices in the United States and six offices in Europe and Asia. Founded in 1853, it is one of the largest and oldest law firms in Chic ...

; Charles W. Darling, Assistant Secretary of the Navy;

William S. Sessions William Steele Sessions (May 27, 1930June 12, 2020) was an American attorney and jurist who served as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas and Director of the Federal Bureau of Inv ...

, Federal Judge and Director of the FBI;

Hugh Scott Hugh Doggett Scott Jr. (November 11, 1900 – July 21, 1994) was an American politician. A member of the Republican Party, he represented Pennsylvania in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1947 to 1959 and in the U.S. Senate, from 195 ...

, U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania; Dorsey B. Hardeman, influential Texas politician; and, Martin W. Clement, 20th century railroad magnate. Recipients of the BOMC's Magna Charta Day Award include Sir

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 during the Second World War, and again from ...

, General Douglas MacArthur, President

Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, ...

, and Masters of The Rolls of England Lords Donaldson and Woolf.

References

BOMC Home PageThe Hereditary Society Community of the United States of America
* Stinson, David V., ed., ''Magna Charta in America''. Baltimore: Gateway Press, Inc., 1993 (a project of the BOMC and the Magna Charta Research Foundation) {{Authority control Lineage societies Magna Carta Charities based in Pennsylvania