Magna Carta and the growth of Parliament

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Notes de leçon

King John's Problems

  • King John was the third of the Angevin kings and ruled England in the early 13th century.
  • John and his predecessors ruled using the principle of vis et voluntas ('force and will'), taking executive and sometimes arbitrary decisions, often justified on the basis that a king was above the law.
  • Many contemporary writers believed that monarchs should rule in accordance with custom and the law, with the counsel of the leading members of the realm, but there was no model for what should happen if a king refused to do so.
  • John faced a series of problems, including the loss of Normandy, heavy taxation, and quarrels with the Pope and the barons.
  • These problems made John unpopular and led to a rebellion by a group of barons who demanded that the King confirm the Charter of Liberties.

Magna Carta Sealed (1215)

  • Magna Carta (Medieval Latin for 'Great Charter') is a royal charter of rights sealed by King John at Runnymede, near Windsor, on 15 June 1215.
  • It was first drafted by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Cardinal Stephen Langton, to make peace between the unpopular king and a group of rebel barons.
  • The charter promised the protection of church rights, protection for the barons from illegal imprisonment, access to swift and impartial justice, and limitations on feudal payments to the Crown.
  • These terms were to be implemented through a council of 25 barons.
  • Neither side stood by their commitments, and the charter was annulled by Pope Innocent III, leading to the First Barons' War.

Reissues and Legacy

  • After John's death, the regency government of his young son, Henry III, reissued the document in 1216, stripped of some of its more radical content, in an unsuccessful bid to build political support.
  • At the end of the war in 1217, it formed part of the peace treaty agreed at Lambeth, where the document acquired the name 'Magna Carta', to distinguish it from the smaller Charter of the Forest, issued at the same time.
  • Short of funds, Henry reissued the charter again in 1225 in exchange for a grant of new taxes.
  • His son, Edward I, repeated the exercise in 1297, confirming it as part of England's statute law.
  • Magna Carta was not unique; other legal documents of its time, both in England and beyond, made broadly similar statements of rights and limitations on the powers of the Crown.
  • The charter became part of English political life and was typically renewed by each monarch in turn.
  • As time went by and the fledgling Parliament of England passed new laws, it lost some of its practical significance.

Later Interpretations

  • At the end of the 16th century, there was an upsurge of interest in Magna Carta.
  • Lawyers and historians at the time believed that there was an ancient English constitution, going back to the days of the Anglo-Saxons, that protected individual English freedoms.
  • They argued that the Norman invasion of 1066 had overthrown these rights and that Magna Carta had been a popular attempt to restore them, making the charter an essential foundation for the contemporary powers of Parliament and legal principles such as habeas corpus.
  • Although this historical account was badly flawed, jurists such as Sir Edward Coke invoked Magna Carta extensively in the early 17th century, arguing against the divine right of kings.
  • Both James I and his son Charles I attempted to suppress the discussion of Magna Carta.
  • The political myth of Magna Carta as a medieval revival of ancient personal liberties persisted after the Glorious Revolution of 1688 until well into the 19th century.
  • It influenced the early American colonists in the Thirteen Colonies and the formation of the United States Constitution, which became the supreme law of the land in the new republic of the United States.

Modern Views and Significance

  • Research by Victorian historians showed that the original 1215 charter had concerned the medieval relationship between the monarch and the barons, and not ordinary subjects.
  • The majority of historians now see the interpretation of the charter as a unique and early charter of universal legal rights as a myth that was created centuries later.
  • Despite the changes in views of historians, the charter has remained a powerful, iconic document, even after almost all of its content was repealed from the statute books in the 19th and 20th centuries.
  • Magna Carta still forms an important symbol of liberty today, often cited by politicians and campaigners, and is held in great respect by the British and American legal communities.
  • Lord Denning described it in 1956 as 'the greatest constitutional document of all times—the foundation of the freedom of the individual against the arbitrary authority of the despot'.
  • In the 21st century, four exemplifications of the original 1215 charter remain in existence: two at the British Library, one at Lincoln Castle and one at Salisbury Cathedral.
  • These are recognised by UNESCO on its Memory of the World international register.
  • The 800th anniversary of Magna Carta in 2015 included extensive celebrations and discussions, and the four original 1215 charters were displayed together at the British Library.
  • None of the original 1215 Magna Carta is currently in force since it has been repealed; however, three clauses of the original charter are enshrined in the 1297 reissued Magna Carta and do still remain in force in England and Wales.

Simon de Montfort's Parliament (1265)

  • Simon de Montfort was a leading baron who rebelled against Henry III.
  • In 1265, he called a parliament that included not only barons and clergy but also representatives of the towns and shires.
  • This parliament is often seen as an important step in the emergence of Parliament as a representative institution.
  • It built on the idea that the king should rule with the counsel of leading members of the realm, which had been a theme in the events leading to Magna Carta.
  • De Montfort's parliament was not a permanent institution, but it set a precedent for later parliaments.

Diapos

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  1. 1.At which place was Magna Carta sealed by King John in 1215?

    Easy
    • ARunnymede
    • BWestminster
    • CCanterbury
    • DWindsor Castle

  2. 2.Who was the Archbishop of Canterbury who first drafted Magna Carta?

    Easy
    • AStephen Langton
    • BThomas Becket
    • CCardinal Wolsey
    • DSimon de Montfort

  3. 3.Which king was forced to agree to Magna Carta?

    Easy
    • AJohn
    • BHenry III
    • CRichard I
    • DEdward I

  4. 4.In which year was Magna Carta sealed?

    Easy
    • A1215
    • B1265
    • C1297
    • D1066

  5. 5.Which pope annulled Magna Carta?

    Easy
    • AInnocent III
    • BGregory VII
    • CUrban II
    • DBoniface VIII

  6. 6.Which of the following was NOT a key clause of the original Magna Carta?

    Medium
    • AThe right to trial by jury for all free men
    • BProtection of church rights
    • CProtection for barons from illegal imprisonment
    • DLimitations on feudal payments to the Crown

  7. 7.How many barons were to enforce the terms of Magna Carta?

    Medium
    • A25
    • B15
    • C50
    • D100

  8. 8.In which year was Magna Carta reissued by Henry III's regency government?

    Medium
    • A1216
    • B1215
    • C1217
    • D1225

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