Magna Carta

:This article follows the usual academic style and refers to the document as "Magna Carta" rather than "the Magna Carta".

Magna Carta of 1215

Magna Carta guaranteed certain English political liberties and contained clauses providing for a church free from domination by the monarchy, reforming law and justice, and controlling the behaviour of royal officials.

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A large part of Magna Carta was copied, nearly word for word, from the Charter of Liberties of Henry I, issued when Henry I ascended to the throne in 1100, which bound the king to certain laws regarding the treatment of church officials and nobles, effectively granting certain civil liberties to the church and the English nobility.

Related Topics:
Charter of Liberties - Henry I - 1100 - Civil liberties - Nobility

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Magna Carta is composed of 63 different clauses or articles, the majority of which are very specific to the 13th century and of temporary importance. For example, it repealed certain royal taxes that were unpopular and reduced the amount of hunting land that was royal and thus off-limits to most people. The text displays its origin as a product of negotiation, haste and many hands.

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One of the most important clauses that would have the longest lasting effect was Article 39 according to which

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No free man shall be arrested, or imprisoned, or deprived of his property, or outlawed, or exiled, or in any way destroyed, nor shall we go against him or send against him, unless by legal judgement of his peers, or by the law of the land.

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This meant the King must judge individuals according to the law, and not according to his own will. Similarly, Article 40 stated:

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To no one will we sell, to no one will we refuse or delay, right or justice.

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These clauses were a check on the power of the king and the first step in the long road to a constitutional monarchy.

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Significance

Although the first version of Magna Carta remained in effect only a few weeks, its reissue following John's death in autumn 1216 and the definite reissue of 1225 made it perpetual, the first of England's statutes and a cornerstone of the British constitution. Henry III and his successors evaded and broke provisions in the charters; indeed, the absolute power of the English Monarchy, despite Magna Carta, actually grew during the Mediæval period. For example, in his historical play King John, William Shakespeare did not mention Magna Carta. However, a fundamental principle had been asserted and accepted by the King: monarchy was subject to the law, and the thirty reissues of Magna Carta during the mediæval era reminded him of this fact, even if he didn't always abide by it. Magna Carta was not considered a particularly important document during the mediæval period, during which the power of the English crown grew.

Related Topics:
British constitution - King John - William Shakespeare

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The charter became increasingly important in the 17th century as the conflict between the Crown and Parliament grew. Magna Carta was repeatedly revised and other documents created such as the Provisions of Oxford, guaranteeing greater rights to greater numbers of people, thus setting the stage for the British Constitutional monarchy.

Related Topics:
17th century - Parliament - Provisions of Oxford - Constitutional monarchy

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The version of Magna Carta from 1297 is still part of English law, although only part of the introductory sentences, three articles, and the ending remain in force: the remaining 34 articles have been repealed or superseded. The articles currently in force are articles one, nine and twenty-nine of the 1297 version, which are broadly similar to articles one, thirteen, thirty-nine and forty of the 1215 version. Today, Magna Carta has little practical legal use. Despite this, it is still used in arguments about reform of the jury system.

Related Topics:
English law - Jury

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Many later attempts to draft constitutional forms of government, including the United States Constitution, trace their lineage back to this source document. The influence of Magna Carta can be clearly seen in the U.S. Bill of Rights, which enumerates various rights of the people and restrictions on government power, such as:

Related Topics:
United States Constitution - Bill of Rights

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No person shall be ... deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law.

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Magna Carta has influenced international law as well: Eleanor Roosevelt referred to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as "a Magna Carta for all mankind".

Related Topics:
International law - Eleanor Roosevelt - Universal Declaration of Human Rights

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Magna Carta and the Jews in England

Magna Carta contained two articles related to money lending and Jews in England. Jewish involvement with money lending caused Christian resentment, because the Church forbade the lending of money at interest (known at the time as usury); it was seen as vice (such as gambling, an un-Christian way to profit at others' expense) and was punishable by excommunication, although Jews, as non-Christians, could not be excommunicated and were thus in a legal grey area. Secular leaders, unlike the Church, tolerated the practice of Jewish usury because it gave the leaders opportunity for personal enrichment. This resulted in a complicated legal situation: debtors were frequently trying to bring their Jewish creditors before Church courts, where debts would be absolved as illegal, while the Jews were trying to get their debtors tried in secular courts, where they would be able to collect plus interest. The relations between the debtors and creditors would often become very nasty. There were many attempts over centuries to resolve this problem, and Magna Carta contains one example of the legal code of the time on this issue:

Related Topics:
Jews in England - Usury - Vice - Excommunication

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:If one who has borrowed from the Jews any sum, great or small, die before that loan be repaid, the debt shall not bear interest while the heir is under age, of whomsoever he may hold; and if the debt fall into our hands, we will not take anything except the principal sum contained in the bond. And if anyone die indebted to the Jews, his wife shall have her dower and pay nothing of that debt; and if any children of the deceased are left under age, necessaries shall be provided for them in keeping with the holding of the deceased; and out of the residue the debt shall be paid, reserving, however, service due to feudal lords; in like manner let it be done touching debts due to others than Jews.

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After the Pope annulled Magna Carta, future versions contained no mention of Jews. Jews were seen by the Church as a threat to their authority, and the welfare of Christians, because of their special relationship to Kings as moneylenders. "Jews are the sponges of kings," wrote the theologian William de Montibus, "they are bloodsuckers of Christian purses, by whose robbery kings dispoil and deprive poor men of their goods." The anti-semitic attitudes came about in part because of Christian nobles who permitted the otherwise illegal activity to occur, a symptom of the ongoing power struggle between Church and State.

Related Topics:
Theologian - William de Montibus - Bloodsucker - Power struggle between Church and State

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