Magna Carta
Magna Carta
On the 19 June 1215 at Runnymede King John signed the Magna Carta.
(This means Great Charter.)
It was the first formal document stating that a King had to follow the
laws of the land and it guaranteed the rights of individuals against the
wishes of the King. This meant people couldn't be arrested, imprisoned
of have their possessions taken away except by the judgement of his
equals and/or the law of the land. This laid the way for trial by jury
which means people are tried by their peers and guaranteed the civil
rights of the individual.
The Magna Carta established the principle that the people of England,
at this stage represented by the Barons, could limit the power of a
King, if he was doing things that were not good for the country
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/primaryhistory/british_history/magna_carta/
Richard, the Lionheart
Richard, the Lionheart, King of England had spent much of his reign
outside England fighting wars in the Middle East and France. To pay for
these he had taxed the English heavily. In 1199, Richard died and his
brother, John became king.
John continued to fight wars in France but he kept losing battles. He
needed more money so his government in England ruthlessly
demanded more taxes from the nobility who were expected to pay tax
if the King asked.
The Barons became very unhappy about John exploiting their loyalty
and belief in his complete power. They rebelled and took over London
and forced John to negotiate.
The Magna Carta was written in Medieval Latin on Parchment.
The scribes wrote in tiny letters because the parchment was very
expensive.
This is the seal of King John, which would have been attached to
the Magna Carta.
King John signed the Magna Carta at Runnymede on the 19th
June 1215.
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/primaryhistory/british_history/magna_carta/
One of the four surviving copies of the 1215 Magna Carta containing the famous clause ‘to no one
will we sell, to no one deny or delay right or justice’. - See more at: http://www.bl.uk/magnacarta/articles/magna-carta-and-human-rights#sthash.ToplNo7M.dpuf
Click this link to see a three minute cartoon about the
writing of the Magna Carta: http://www.bl.uk/magnacarta/videos/what-is-magna-carta
What is the Magna Carta? Our guide for kids
Have you heard of the Magna Carta? Do you know what it is, or why it’s so important?
On the 800th anniversary of the signing of the Magna Carta at Runnymede, Eileen
Cameron fills you in...
This is a page from the actual Magna Carta, the first time human rights are
recognised by law for ordinary people. There are only four copies of this
incredible document in the whole world. Not surprising when you think it was
written 800 years ago. Photograph: FACUNDO ARRIZABALAGA/EPA
Eileen Cameron
Monday 15 June 2015 03.00 EDTLast
Imagine walking onto a field at Runnymede in June, 800 years ago in 1215.
Things were probably quite different back then! You’ve spent your life in small,
nearby town where you help your father in his workshop. There’s no
technology, no internet (no Guardian children’s books site!) and you’ve never
seen anything quite like it…
The field is rocking with vibrant colour and sound. Horses prance, knights’
chain mail clinks, shields and weapons shine, tents fill the field with banners
waving, and the smell of cooks lighting fires and beginning preparations for a
feast are in the air. Barons (men who own a lot of land, and are much
wealthier than yourself) stride about in battle gear. Bishops seem to glide
along the ground in their long, flowing robes. Clerks set up writing tables.
Eileen Cameron: my story is based on a fictional character called Rupert, but
it’s about real events that took place 800 years ago. Illustration: Doris
Ettlinger
Overwhelmed, you walk through the field, weave in and out of all these
important people and listen to their conversations. It seems that everyone is
mad at the King.
You shudder - you’ve heard tales of King John abusing his people. You know
that he has raised taxes to the point where ordinary people cannot pay them,
seized whole castles from barons, taken timber from the forests that grow on
their land and the grain needed for bread from their fields, without paying any
money to the owners. You hear another man saying he was pulling a cart of
cabbages he had grown to market to sell, and had been stopped by the King’s
sheriffs and forced to hand over all his produce.
Here’s an image of King John signing the Magna Carta at Runnymede in
Surrey on 15 June 1215 |(painted around 1860). Photograph: Print
Collector/Getty Images
This isn’t fair, you think. But what can be done about it? The King is the King
after all!
That’s where the Magna Carta comes in.
800 years ago the king of England was challenged about how he treated his
people. Churchmen, barons and knights challenged the king’s rule and took
control (by force) of the rich city of London. The king needed control over the
city, since it was so wealthy and was an enormous source of income for him,
and so he heeded the demands of the people, and vowed to stop taking their
goods.
And that is when the Magna Carta was born. It is a document or “charter”
which lays out the rights of the people and states that the law applies to
everyone. Even the king.
We are all born free – our human rights in pictures
The Magna Carta is celebrated for creating the very idea of human rights, the
idea that “all men are equal” and was the start of people’s human rights being
protected in the UK and elsewhere. A section of the document reads:
No free man shall be imprisoned or stripped of his rights or possessions…
except by the lawful judgment of his equals or by the law of the land.
Translation: nobody will be put in prison or punished unless they
are found guilty by trial. AND those in power (kings, queens, prime
ministers) cannot just send someone to prison, or take their things
because they feel like it - the person has to have been found guilty
of breaking a law.
Essentially the Magna Carta protected normal, every day people from being
completely controlled by their rulers, giving them the freedom to live their
lives the way they choose, own things without fearing they will be taken away,
and have freedom and independence. It also allowed the general population to
hold their rulers to account. Before the Magna Carta, the king could take
whatever he felt like from anyone, but after signing the charter, if the king
tried to take something that didn’t belong to him, he could be arrested and put
in prison the same as the rest of the people in his kingdom.
The Magna Carta has been called “The Foundation of Liberty”, because it has
evolved over past 800 years and influenced change in many countries. The
American Founding Fathers for example, used the Magna Carta as evidence
when they were trying to gain independence from England. Without the
Magna Carta, the United States might have been a very different place, or
perhaps not existed as we know it at all!
Source: http://www.theguardian.com/childrens-books-site/2015/jun/15/magna-carta-800-yearsguide#img-1
Fast forward to today and a great event is again scheduled in the field of
Runnymede on 15 June 2015. The green meadow will again be alive with
excitement, colour and sound when hundreds of people will return to
celebrate the signing of the Magna Carta. The charter marked the beginning of
freedoms which we might take for granted today, and the signing of it remains
one of the most historic and influential moments in British and world history.
Top Ten Facts About the Magna Carta
1. King Richard I ‘Richard the Lionheart', brother of King John, died in
1199. Under Richard's rule England was involved in a series of expensive
wars.
2. King John inherited his brother's wars and needed money to continue to
fight so he put pressure on his barons to raise the necessary finance. He
increased taxes, confiscated land and levied heavy fines.
3. The barons were angered by what they saw as King John’s misuse of
feudal customs and rights.
4. The barons rebelled and on 17 May 1215 they captured London. King
John was forced to meet with them at Runnymede in June 1215.
5. The Archbishop of Canterbury, Stephen Langton, played an important
role in negotiations between the king and the barons. The Magna Carta
contains many references to the rights of the church.
6. The text of the Magna Carta was written by scribes in
Medieval Latin. They wrote on parchment; this was very expensive
and so they used small writing and abbreviations in order not to waste
any space.
7. King John did not sign the Magna Carta. It was authenticated by
the Great Seal. It is possible that King John could not write!
8. Many copies of the Magna Carta were made and sent out to important
officials such as sheriffs and bishops. Only four copies currently exist;
two are in the British Library, one in Lincoln Castle and one in Salisbury
Cathedral.
9. The Magna Carta originally had sixty-three clauses of which only three
remain in law today.
10.The most famous clause of the Magna Carta is interpreted as
guaranteeing individuals the right to a free and fair trial under the law.
This means that the law provides protection from punishments
such as imprisonment, seizure of property or exile without a
trial.
Source: http://www.theschoolrun.com/homework-help/the-magna-carta
Source : http://blog.postofficeshop.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Magna-Carta-infographic-FV.jpg
Two ancient treasures loaned to Luxembourg
Justice Ministers visit 800-year-old icebreaker
Guests view one of 4 surviving copies of the 1217 Magna Carta and the only copy of King
John's 1215 Writ
Photo: Lex Kleren
Published on Tuesday, 6 October, 2015 at 11:28
(JB) EU Justice Ministers will be treated to an unusual ice-breaker when they visit a copy of the 1217
Magna Carta and King John's 1215 Writ in Luxembourg between meetings later this week.
The Magna Carta, which is one of only four copies still in existence and the Writ, which is the only
one of its kind to have survived, are on loan to the British Embassy in Luxembourg from their
permanent home in Hereford Cathedral, England.
“We knew it was the 800th anniversary of the Magna Carta and I heard that one could travel. The
obvious place to display it was in the Palace of justice because it's the seat of modern justice,” British
Ambassador to Luxembourg Alice Walpole said, adding: “At the end of the week, the Justice council
is coming and all the EU justice ministers will come to town. It's the first time our new Justice
Minister, Michael Gove, will attend. So they will come here and take a look.”
The two immaculately well-preserved documents were written by one of King John's chancery in a
kind of latin short-hand on sheepskin using an ink composed of iron filings and oak gall.
“It makes an incredibly distinct ink which eats its way into the parchment. In fact, it gets darker with
age,” said Hereford's Canon Chris Pullin, who accompanied the documents on their tour.
The documents were written by one of King John's chancery in a kind of latin short-hand on
sheepskin using an ink composed of iron filings and oak gall
Photo: Lex Kleren
To preserve them in their current state, both are kept in a cabinet in which the temperature is
controlled. The documents also have a limited number of “light hours” each year during which they
can be displayed.
The 1215 Magna Carta signed by King John in Runnymede was a kind of peace treaty which for the
first time set out terms to protect the customary rights of free subjects from the king.
Among its most famous clauses is the seventh: “No free man shall be seized or imprisoned or
stripped of his rights or possession or outlawed or exiled or deprived of his standing in any other way,
nor will we condemn him but by lawful judgement of his equals or by the law of the land.”
The 1215 Writ was sent a day after the charter was signed to every sheriff in every county in England
to prepare them for the arrival of the new legislation.
“The most important thing was to appoint knights to begin investigating vile practices of the king's
offices. The recipient didn't know he was someone named to be removed from office,” Canon Pullin
explained.
The 1215 Writ on display in Luxembourg was originally sent to the then Sheriff of Gloucester, who
covered Hereford at the time. The sheriff was deposed only to be later appointed constable of
Windsor Castle, the Canon explained.
While the Magna Carta was not successful as a peace treaty, today it is widely considered as a
precursor to modern respect for human rights.
British Ambassador to Luxembourg Alice Walpole
Photo: Lex Kleren
The week-long exhibition hosted at the Court of Justice of the European Union is open to private
visitors only for security reasons.
The British Embassy has, however, arranged tours of the two documents with a number of schools,
business people and others including Luxembourg Prime Minister Xavier Bettel and Grand Duke
Henri.
Source: http://www.wort.lu/en/politics/two-ancient-treasures-loaned-to-luxembourg-justiceministers-visit-800-year-old-ice-breaker-5613921d0c88b46a8ce61ad9