The Magna Carta (The World's Greatest Codes)

by John of England

England's Magna Carta and it's influence on America's Bill of Rights In 1215 King John agreed to the terms of the Magna Carta following the uprising of a group of rebel barons in England. The barons captured London in May 1215, which forced King John's hand and caused him to finally negotiate with the group, and the Magna Carta was created as a peace treaty between the king and the rebels. The document was written in Latin, and the original Magna Carta had 63 clauses. Today, only three of these remain on the British statute books; one defends the liberties and rights of the English Church, another confirms the liberties and customs of London and other towns, and the third gives all English subjects the right to justice and a fair trial. The third says: "No free man shall be seized or imprisoned, or stripped of his rights or possessions, or outlawed or exiled, or deprived of his standing in any other way, nor will we proceed with force against him, or send others to do so, except by the lawful judgement of his equals or by the law of the land. Inspiration for America The Magna Carta greatly influenced Americas founding fathers when writing America's Bill of Rights. During the American Revolution, the Magna Carta served to inspire and justify action in liberty's defense. The colonists believed they were entitled to the same rights as Englishmen, rights guaranteed in the Magna Carta. They embedded those rights into the laws of their states and later into the Constitution and Bill of Rights. The Fifth Amendment to the Constitution ("no person shall . . . be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law.") is a direct descendent of Magna Carta's guarantee of proceedings according to the "law of the land."

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Politics, Philosophy, Law, Classics, Political Science

26 pages, Paperback

First published June 15, 1215

Reviews

[Abby]

It is fascinating seeing the foundation of worldwide constitutions and political thought, though my own interest is the way that the Magna Carta sought to regain a system of justice into England, one that was squashed by John (after all the hard work of Henry II). Fascinating, and short, read for anybody who is interested in political development or the thirteenth century.

[Neal Maro]

Complete waste of time

[Brian]

Interesting to see what was important enough to the English barons to codify as law when they had the chance.

[P.H. Wilson]

Real rating: 5.9/10
I feel like paraphrasing my review from the declaration of Independence is apt here.
It is a legal document, which means it is not stellar reading. One feels that like the bible most people are quoting the quotable aspects and never reading the source material. If one is British, one is apt to romanticise the document and ignore the plain almost boring nature of what is held within. A must read it is not, its importance is grand, but one need not put it on their bucket list as it were.

[Clay Davis]

A good step toward democracy. Seemed like the king gave up a lot of power to the barons and lower subjects. I was surprise by the frequent mention of money. The mention of sheriffs and forests made me think of Robin Hood. The English translation was difficult to follow at times. Makes me wonder why there is no written English constitution.

[sarah]

[40] To no one will we sell, to no one deny or delay right or justice.

[Dave]

New protocols were laid out to benefit the common man and prevent exploitation.

[Timothy Decker]

Lex Rex! Lesser magistrates interposing against tyrants is always classic!!!

[Elly]

F JOHN LACKLAND

[Burak Taşcı]

Magna Charta (Büyük Sözleşme), ilk anayasal metin kabul ediliyor. Metne anayasal hüviyetini kazandıran temel unsur iktidarın hukuk ile sınırlandırılıp hukukun kraldan üstün olduğunu ortaya koyması.



Büyük Sözleşme'ye kral ile birlikte imza koyanlar papa ve baronlar olunca sözleşme ile imtiyaz tanınanlar, hakları korunanlar da genel itibari ile kilise ve baronlar. Ancak bazı maddelerde bireylerin temel hak ve hürriyetlerine yönelik düzenlemelerin de oluşu dikkat çekici.

Elbette kral durduk yere yetkilerinin sınırlandırıldığı bir sözleşmeye imza atmıyor. Kralın otoritesinin sallandığı bir döneme denk geliyor Magna Charta. Daha doğrusu imzanın diğer tarafları oldukça güçlü. Ortaçağda Avrupa'da kilise çok güçlü. Bunun yanında derebeyliği sistemini ayakta tutan büyük toprak sahipleri de oldukça güçlü. Bu iki erkle mutualist bir ilişki kurmayı beceremeyen kral sonunda gücünün bir miktarından feragat etmek zorunda kalıyor. Ve bu gelişmeler anayasal hukuk tarihini başlatıyor..

[Gabriel Gioia Ávila Oliveira]

Li a Magna Carta de maneira protocolar como um rito de passagem do meu projeto cronológico de leitura devido à importância histórica do documento. Sendo um texto curtíssimo que me custou no máximo 15 minutos, sinto que valeu a pena.

A carta, precursora do constitucionalismo, é a primeira tentativa histórica de limitar o poder absoluto de um monarca, no caso o Rei João da Inglaterra em 1215. É interessante ver quais os assuntos que preocupavam os legisladores da época a ponto de os incluirem nessa carta, mas nada muito notável além de uma passagem definindo a isonomia dos cidadãos ingleses (mesmo que só entre membros de uma mesma classe social). O resto da carta menciona temas como dívidas, heranças, empréstimos, a profissionalização do judiciário e da polícia (o que achei interessante), e a taxação das cidades inglesas.

[Ultan]

The foundation of western classical liberalism, the Magna Carta has inspired many people throughout history to fight for freedom, justice and liberty for all. I highly recommend you read this document as it's very important to understand how our modern democracy was developed. This document is, in my own humble opinion, one of the most important historical documents of all time and an inspiration to all who advocate for free-speech, freedom from tyranny and the importance of democracy.

[Bob]

Plenty of odd words and some strange rules codified.

[Isaac Chan]

From my reading of the US Constitution earlier this year, I have learned that I can gain nothing from reading these primary documents raw. Without context, these foundational documents are little more than boring drivel. I will still read these documents to gain an idea first, and the real learning will come from a book that I will read later that explains their historical context. And indeed, the Magna Carta was a piece of painfully boring drivel.

That being said, I had long marvelled at the reflection that the US and the UK are 2 exemplary nations that have never descended to totalitarian rule. Even Germany and Italy, nations that we today still consider strong Western democracies (alas with the possible exception of Germany, with its recent rapid rise of the far-right party), fell to totalitarianism in the 20th century. The US, being a young nation, founded its Constitution on the liberal English political philosophies of Locke and Smith that had had the luxury of centuries of refinement and fermentation, so there are few surprises there; but what is more interesting in my view is that England, an old country that had lived through centuries of deeply authoritarian monarchy justified by the divine right of kings, was never totalitarian. And I trace this exemplary performance of liberty all the way back to the Magna Carta: a supreme achievement of chipping away at centralized power. I am usually skeptical of grand narratives of history, but a quiet reflection on the Magna Carta induces in me an exhilarating thought that the long march of history may very well trend towards freedom.

As noted above, nothing much to add to these dense legal clauses: but one reflection! My attention was drawn to clause 8 and other relevant clauses regarding debtors and guarantors. It was clear to me from this reading that my profession – that of lending, and the necessary adjacent tasks that follow, e.g. managing debts and drafting covenants for debtor behaviour – is an ancient one: since mankind has bartered goods and services on God's green earth, thus have lenders existed. And there is a clear paper trail, in the Magna Carta to say the least, of charters outlining debtor laws (in this case, the creditors will not seize any land or rent for any debt, as long as the debtor's existing chattels suffice for the debt repayment, nor will the guarantors be distrained ... etc etc). My reflection is that I am hardly operating anywhere near the frontier of human knowledge or expertise, given that I operate in an ancient profession, the core skills and modus operandi of which remain the same across millennia, as evidenced by the fact that a lending clause is recognizable in the Magna Carta. If I were working in a quantitative credit HF, or a CLO HF, building complex factor models on large multi-dimensional datasets to predict loan default rates, or assessing credit risks across multiple layers of securitization, that would be a different story entirely; but in the discretionary credit space that I operate in, it is clear that the monkey business that I do on a daily basis can be done by a 13th-century merchant if you gave him modern tools. This reflection is not a normative claim, it is a positive one. It contextualizes the minuscule magnitude of my job function and the value that modern commercial bankers bring to the table within the grand history of lending. I now wonder if my profession suffers from any Baumol effects, given that it is an ancient one with little change in productivity (unless we replace all the human credit managers with AI).

And, unsurprisingly, women had no liberties in the Magna Carta.

[Fanlin Zeng]

英国大宪章，不能不给满分，因为其之伟大，是不能错过原文的
开始读之后第一个感受是，为什么规定这么多“细枝末节”的东西呢？比如，森林的恢复、不能征用马车、河道的疏浚。
可能从现代人的观点来看，这么伟大的文件为什么规定这么多“细枝末节”的东西。而不是像美国宪法一样，规定人的基本权利、限制政府的权利？
但是，我们看待一个东西不能脱离其时代背景，从大宪章规定的内容来看，很可能是奋起抗争的男爵们与King battle的结果。森林、农田、河道其实和在没有审判前不能关押是同等重要的条款。
其意义是通过抗争，限制了王权。虽然有反复，但是其是伟大的历史里程碑。就和我们不能以今天相对论的视角去评价牛顿经典物理的贡献一样。因为没有经典物理、没有物理学的思维，也就不会有相对论的出现。
Magna Carta必须是五星

[Medhat ullah]

This 1215 document, forced upon King John of England, outlined the rights of the barons and limits to the king's power, establishing the principle that everyone, including the monarch, was subject to the law. Though not a political manifesto in the modern sense, it laid the groundwork for constitutional democracy.

[Josh McQueen]

Read for my Development of Western Freedoms class. Although many of these liberties are no longer in place, it is fascinating to see which ideals were considered important enough to codify and how they helped shape later Western thought. The writing lacks the stylistic elegance of later Western thinkers, but the Magna Carta still reveals the development of big ideas through the ages.

[' Syamil]

15 Jun 1215
Perjanjian antara Raja John dan Barons. Pihak gereja jadi orang tengah.
Dokumen yang menuntut kebebasan individu.
Permulaan kepada penulisan perlembagaan dan undang-undang am Barat.

[Debby Blake]

Important document with two take-always for me: neither side stood behind their commitments, and the US Constitution is considered to be modeled off the contents of the Magna Carta to some degree

[Aspen Roads]

I mean…

[Cooper Dack]

classic england 😂

[OSCAR]

Más que una ley o constitución, la Carta Magna parece ser también una revocación de varias acciones emprendidas por reyes anteriores.

Fue a ratos difícil leer el documento porque es farragoso y usa términos en inglés antiguo y términos jurídicos que son difíciles de comprender y traducir.

Es la segunda vez que lo leo y fue una mejor experiencia. Ahora tuve más contexto y mejor dominio del inglés. Sin embargo, el documento es un desafío.

Texto ineludible para los constitucionalistas.

[Henry Wilhelm]

It's interesting to look at this from a modern perspective and to see how it's influenced constitutions today. It's less a constitution and more a bill.of rights, so if you're expecting anything about legislation you'll be disappointed. It DEFINITELY shows it's age.

[Bilal Anis]

A short yet comprehensive set of laws set by the barons on the king of england of which is known today as one of the major influence on human rights, bill of rights, and downsizing powers of the king of england..

You can say it is a founding stone for limiting the powers of an ultimate ruler who owns everything under the support of the pope

[Bread]

obvs v influential, although moreso in what it represented than in actual fact. the charter moreso limits the arbitrary power of the king in relation to freemen (people not in bondage to a feudal lord ie. a minority of people) but particularly the barons in relation to the administration of justice & imprisonment, property rights, debt & inheritance. there are also a few clauses advocating the interests of the merchants, as well as two restricting usury from jewish moneylenders (who were seen as chattel of the king). it gives more rights to widows, while preventing women from giving testimony in murder allegations. interestingly, it also has a few clauses defending right of access to the common woods+rolling back the expansion of the royal forests, something later expanded in the charter of the forest

[Pamela]

I enjoyed reading & learning about this historic document written 800 years ago. Long before the The Bill of Rights, people recognized their natural rights & declared them in the Magna Carta. Right to own property, right to be ruled by law & not men, right to be judged by peers, right to pass on property to posterity, right to have witnesses to prove guilt, right to engage in commerce however they'd like.

"Wherefore we will & firmly order that the English Church be free, & that the men in our kingdom have & hold all the aforesaid liberties, rights, & concessions, well & peaceably, freely & quietly, fully & wholly, for themselves & their heirs, of us & our heirs, in all respects & in all places forever, as is aforesaid. An oath, moreover, has been taken -- that all these conditions aforesaid shall be kept in good faith & without evil intent."

[Melita]

A seminal document in English history. Some of it is wildly inappropriate due to things like sexism and antisemitism. However, other parts remain highly relevant today, such as:

(38) In future no official shall place a man on trial upon his own unsupported statement, without producing credible witnesses to the truth of it.

(40) To no one will we sell, to no one deny or delay right or justice. This clause is one of the few from the Magna Carta that is still in effect in English law.

(45) We will appoint as justices, constables, sheriffs, or other officials, only men that know the law of the realm and are minded to keep it well.

[Chris]

Seminal document. Other reviewers have said all that needs to be said. For my part, I'll just add that there's something cool about basically witnessing the germination of a modern legal system, a deeply satisfying assertion of rights.

[♥♣Mary♦♠ If She So Pleases]

Of great historical significance but can it really be considered a book? Either way, I enjoyed reading this Angevin charter.

[Timothy Yim-Stueve]

History's first great dab on monarchies