Post by Urban Warrior on May 18, 2006 6:57:00 GMT
Truth behind mythical Magna Carta revealed
By Martina Smit
Magna Carta was written in archaic Latin on sheepskin parchment.
Magna Carta shaped Britain more than any other document, yet only three of its 63 clauses are still valid. Now a new display at the British Library reveals the truth behind the myth.
The legendary paper was never meant to lay down enduring legal principles, but was drawn up in 1215 to resolve a feud between the medieval King John and his barons.
Most of it addressed feudal customs - now long obsolete. It hardly mentioned the un-free peasantry, which made up most of the population.
Still, three clauses remain as valid today as they were 800 years ago.
continued...
A new addition to the John Ritblat gallery of treasures at the British Library shows how this came about. Next to two original copies of Magna Carta, a touch-screen display and video recordings makes the archaic Latin of its text accessible to all.
The document's most famous excerpt reads: "No free man shall be seized or imprisoned or stripped of his rights or possessions, or outlawed or exiled nor will we proceed with force against him except by the lawful judgement of his equals or by the law of his hand.
"To no-one will we sell, to no-one deny or delay right or justice."
In 1215 the clause was obscure, but in the centuries since then it has become the basis for trial by jury and individual liberties.
Other sections still in force lay down the rights of the English church and the liberties of towns, including London.
King subject to law
But the most important legacy of Magna Carta was to limit the king's authority. Like his people, the king is subject to the law.
To fund his costly and mostly futile battles for English territory in France, King John abused his feudal rights back home. He levied extortionate taxes and fines, seized estates from his barons, took hostages and punished rebels with no regard to justice.
"To no-one will we sell, to no-one deny or delay right or justice."
Magna Carta
The barons wanted an article to defend themselves against the king. Talks at Runnymede in June 1215 led to an agreement of Magna Carta, Latin for "great charter".
The most radical clause created an elected commission of barons with the power to seize the king's land if he breached the charter.
Over the next few days, scribes drafted at least 13 copies to be sent out to officials countrywide. Only four survive - one in Lincoln, one in Salisbury and two at the British Library.
Of the library's copies, one was badly burnt in 1731 when a fire devoured much of the archives at Ashburnham House, Westminster.
Ironically, the first version of Magna Carta was legally valid for a mere ten weeks before Pope Innocent III declared it null and void. In a declaration, he branded its limitations on the king's authority as "unlawful and unjust as it is base and shameful".
Civil war broke out, ending only after the sudden death of King John a year later. When his nine-year-old Henry III ascended the throne, Magna Carta was revised and reissued.
In centuries to come, one king after the other confirmed the agreement until it was taken up in parliamentary statute - becoming the cornerstone of what we now call human rights.
Magna Carta at the John Ritblat gallery of treasures, British Library, admission free.
By Martina Smit
Magna Carta was written in archaic Latin on sheepskin parchment.
Magna Carta shaped Britain more than any other document, yet only three of its 63 clauses are still valid. Now a new display at the British Library reveals the truth behind the myth.
The legendary paper was never meant to lay down enduring legal principles, but was drawn up in 1215 to resolve a feud between the medieval King John and his barons.
Most of it addressed feudal customs - now long obsolete. It hardly mentioned the un-free peasantry, which made up most of the population.
Still, three clauses remain as valid today as they were 800 years ago.
continued...
A new addition to the John Ritblat gallery of treasures at the British Library shows how this came about. Next to two original copies of Magna Carta, a touch-screen display and video recordings makes the archaic Latin of its text accessible to all.
The document's most famous excerpt reads: "No free man shall be seized or imprisoned or stripped of his rights or possessions, or outlawed or exiled nor will we proceed with force against him except by the lawful judgement of his equals or by the law of his hand.
"To no-one will we sell, to no-one deny or delay right or justice."
In 1215 the clause was obscure, but in the centuries since then it has become the basis for trial by jury and individual liberties.
Other sections still in force lay down the rights of the English church and the liberties of towns, including London.
King subject to law
But the most important legacy of Magna Carta was to limit the king's authority. Like his people, the king is subject to the law.
To fund his costly and mostly futile battles for English territory in France, King John abused his feudal rights back home. He levied extortionate taxes and fines, seized estates from his barons, took hostages and punished rebels with no regard to justice.
"To no-one will we sell, to no-one deny or delay right or justice."
Magna Carta
The barons wanted an article to defend themselves against the king. Talks at Runnymede in June 1215 led to an agreement of Magna Carta, Latin for "great charter".
The most radical clause created an elected commission of barons with the power to seize the king's land if he breached the charter.
Over the next few days, scribes drafted at least 13 copies to be sent out to officials countrywide. Only four survive - one in Lincoln, one in Salisbury and two at the British Library.
Of the library's copies, one was badly burnt in 1731 when a fire devoured much of the archives at Ashburnham House, Westminster.
Ironically, the first version of Magna Carta was legally valid for a mere ten weeks before Pope Innocent III declared it null and void. In a declaration, he branded its limitations on the king's authority as "unlawful and unjust as it is base and shameful".
Civil war broke out, ending only after the sudden death of King John a year later. When his nine-year-old Henry III ascended the throne, Magna Carta was revised and reissued.
In centuries to come, one king after the other confirmed the agreement until it was taken up in parliamentary statute - becoming the cornerstone of what we now call human rights.
Magna Carta at the John Ritblat gallery of treasures, British Library, admission free.