Magna Carta
Magna Carta (Latin for 'Great Charter') was the brainchild of Stephen
Langton, Archbishop of Canterbury (c.1150-1228). To combat King John's
attacks on the church, ill-advised foreign policies, and excessive
demands for feudal
aids
and feudal
incidents,
in 1213 he suggested that the barons should draw up a binding 'charter
of liberties', to protect themselves and other subjects from unreasonable
actions on the part of the Crown.
Eventually, on 12 June 1215, the barons forced John to meet them at Runnymede, a large meadow beside the Thames, in Surrey; and after several days of negotiation he reluctantly agreed to affix his seal to the charter. Copies of it were then delivered by messengers to every county in the realm. Although some of the charter's 63 clauses have little relevance
today, others safeguard basic civil liberties. During Tudor times
it was practically forgotten, being regarded as a relic of the feudal
era. But in the 17th century it was rescued from oblivion by the
Parliamentarians Magna Carta was reissued in 1216 by William Marshal, Earl of Pembroke
(regent for the nine-year-old Henry III), with the omission of a
number of clauses that he judged unreasonable from the sovereign's
point of view. Further revisions were made in 1217 and 1225. The
third version of Magna Carta - the final version that entered the
statute books - is reproduced here. |
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