Magna Carta

Magna Carta
/mag"neuh kahr"teuh/
1. the "great charter" of English liberties, forced from King John by the English barons and sealed at Runnymede, June 15, 1215.
2. any fundamental constitution or law guaranteeing rights and liberties.
Also, Magna Charta.
[1425-75; late ME < ML]

* * *

(Latin: "Great Charter") Document guaranteeing English political liberties, drafted at Runnymede, a meadow by the Thames, and signed by King John in 1215 under pressure from his rebellious barons.

Resentful of the king's high taxes and aware of his waning power, the barons were encouraged by the archbishop of Canterbury, Stephen Langton, to demand a solemn grant of their rights. Among the charter's provisions were clauses providing for a free church, reforming law and justice, and controlling the behavior of royal officials. It was reissued with alterations in 1216, 1217, and 1225. Though it reflects the feudal order rather than democracy, the Magna Carta is traditionally regarded as the foundation of British constitutionalism.

* * *

England [1215]
English  Great Charter 
 the charter of English (England) liberties granted by King John in 1215 under threat of civil war and reissued with alterations in 1216, 1217, and 1225.

      The charter meant less to contemporaries than it has to subsequent generations. The solemn circumstances of its first granting have given to Magna Carta of 1215 a unique place in popular imagination; quite early in its history it became a symbol and a battle cry against oppression, each successive generation reading into it a protection of its own threatened liberties. In England the Petition of Right (1628) and the Habeas Corpus Act (1679) looked directly back to clause 39 of the charter of 1215, which stated that “no free man shall be…imprisoned or disseised [dispossessed]…except by the lawful judgment of his peers or by the law of the land.” In the United States both the national and the state constitutions show ideas and even phrases directly traceable to Magna Carta.

 Earlier kings of England—Henry I, Stephen, and Henry II—had issued charters, making promises or concessions to their barons. But these were granted by, not exacted from, the king and were very generally phrased. Moreover, the steady growth of the administration during the 12th century weakened the barons' position vis-à-vis the crown. But the need for heavy taxation for the Third Crusade, and for the ransom of Richard I after his capture by the Holy Roman emperor Henry VI, increased his successor's difficulties. John's position was further weakened by a rival claim to the throne and the French attack upon John's Duchy of Normandy. In 1199, 1201, and 1205 John's barons had to be promised their “rights”; his financial exactions increased after his loss of Normandy (1204), and, during his quarrel (1208–13) with Pope Innocent III, he taxed the English church heavily. It is, therefore, not surprising that after 1213 Stephen Langton, archbishop of Canterbury, directed baronial unrest into a demand for a solemn grant of liberties by the king. The document known as the Articles of the Barons was at last agreed upon and sealed by John on June 15, 1215, at Runnymede (beside the River Thames, between Windsor and Staines, now in the county of Surrey). During the next several days the document went through further modifications and refinements, and the final version of Magna Carta was accepted by the king and the barons on June 19.

      Although written in stages, the charter has been traditionally discussed as consisting of a preamble and 63 clauses. Roughly, its contents may be divided into nine groups. The first concerned the church, asserting that it was to be “free.” A second group provided statements of feudal law of particular concern to those holding lands directly from the crown, and the third assured similar rights to subtenants. A fourth group of clauses referred to towns, trade, and merchants. A particularly large group was concerned with the reform of the law and of justice, and another with control of the behaviour of royal officials. A seventh group concerned the royal forests, and another dealt with immediate issues, requiring, for instance, the dismissal of John's foreign mercenaries. The final clauses provided a form of security for the king's adherence to the charter, by which a council of 25 barons should have the ultimate right to levy war upon him should he seriously infringe it.

      Councillors for John's young son Henry III reissued the charter in 1216 and 1217, omitting all matters relating only to the political situation of 1215. In 1217 clauses relating to the forests were transferred to a separate forest charter. The great reissue of 1225, given by Henry III himself after his coming of age, differed little from that of 1217, and it was probably already realized that efforts to keep the charter up to date were impracticable. Thus the charter of 1225, again reissued by Henry III in 1264 and “inspected” and enrolled on his new statute rolls by Edward I in 1297, gradually became less a statement of current law than a sourcebook of basic principles. There are four extant “originals” of the charter of 1215, one each in Lincoln Cathedral and Salisbury Cathedral and two in the British Museum. Durham Cathedral possesses the charters of 1216, 1217, and 1225.

      Click here for a translation of the Latin text of Magna Carta Source.

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем сделать НИР

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Magna Carta — La Magna Carta Libertatum ou Grande Charte est une charte de soixante trois articles arrachée par le baronnage anglais au roi Jean sans Terre[note 1] le 15 juin 1215 après une courte guerre civile notamment marquée par …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Magna carta — La Grande Charte ou Magna Carta Libertatum est une charte de 63 articles arrachée par le baronnage anglais au roi Jean sans Terre le 15 juin 1215 après une courte guerre civile notamment marquée par la prise de Londres, le …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Magna Carta — • The charter of liberties granted by King John of England in 1215 and confirmed with modifications by Henry III in 1216, 1217, and 1225 Catholic Encyclopedia. Kevin Knight. 2006. Magna Carta     Magna Carta …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • Magna Carta — Mag·na Car·ta or Mag·na Char·ta / mag nə kär tə/ n [Medieval Latin, literally, great charter]: a charter of liberties signed under duress by King John of England in 1215 that influenced the development of several modern legal and constitutional… …   Law dictionary

  • Magna Carta — is the usual spelling now for the famous English charter of 1215, although Magna Charta, once the dominant form, is still sometimes found, especially in AmE. Charta and Carta are both valid forms in Latin …   Modern English usage

  • Magna Carta — Mag na Car ta, Magna Charta Mag na Char ta [L., great charter.] 1. The great Charter, so called, obtained by the English barons from King John, A. D. 1215. This name is also given to the charter granted to the people of England in the ninth year… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Magna Carta — also Magna Charta, 1560s, Medieval Latin, literally great charter (of English personal and political liberty), attested in Anglo Latin from 1279; obtained from King John, June 15, 1215. See MAGNATE (Cf. magnate), CARD (Cf. card) (n.) …   Etymology dictionary

  • Magna Carta — or Magna Charta [mag′nə kär′tə] n. [ML, lit., great charter] the great charter that King John of England was forced by the English barons to grant at Runnymede, June 15, 1215, traditionally interpreted as guaranteeing certain civil and political… …   English World dictionary

  • Magna Carta — This article is about the English charter originally issued on 15 June 1215, and later modified. For other uses, see Magna Carta (disambiguation). Great Charter redirects here. For the Irish law, see Great Charter of Ireland. Magna Carta …   Wikipedia

  • Magna Carta — Kopie der Magna Charta von 1215 Die meist nur kurz als Magna Carta (auch: Magna Charta[1]) bezeichnete Magna Charta Libertatum – auf Deutsch etwa: „großer Freibrief“ – ist eine von König Johann Ohneland zu Runnymede in England am 15.… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”