Magna Carta

Paradoxplace BRITISH ABBEYS AND CATHEDRALS

Magna Carta - 15 June 1215

Magna Carta (Dom P points out that scholarly opinion, which he has boned up on, is that there should be no "the") was "negotiated" between King John (1167 - 1199 - 1216 (49)), son of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine, and the leaders of England - to wit 25 Barons, 13 Bishops (including Archbishop Stephen Langton), 19 Abbots, a papal delegate and Brother Aymeric, Master of the Knights Templar in England. Note the relative power of the Church and more particularly Abbots in medieval society ... the 4th Lateran Council, also run in 1215 and the most important church council of the middle ages, had 800 abbots attending compared to under 500 senior churchmen.

Archbishop Langton had previously spent some years at the Cistercian Abbey of Pontigny whilst John foolishly disputed his appointment by the all powerful Pope Innocent III, and lost. John, younger brother of the nasty Richard I, was in fact an all-round loser - his nicknames included "Lackland" ("Sans Terre" in French) and "Soft- Sword" (leave that one to you).

Norman and Plantagenet Monarchs of England

Magna Carta was signed on 15 June 1215 in a tent in the meadow of Runneymede on the River Thames. Copies were made for all the participants and although there was probably one with the royal seal, this has not survived. Four of the original copies still do exist - one in Salisbury Cathedral, one in Lincoln Castle, and two in the British Library.

Even after it was signed, Magna Carta nearly did not make it because John successfully appealed to Innocent (now his mate in the fight against this attack on Divine Rights) to annul it, as it had been signed under duress. Luckily John died soon afterwards in 1216 (as did Innocent), leaving his 9 year old son (Henry III) on the throne for more than half of the euro-boom years of the 1200s. In 1225 Henry was persuaded by Langton to reissue a slightly modified Magna Carta, which became the one embedded in English law. As you will see from the Wikipedia Magna Carta page the charter has been extensively amended and added to over the intervening 800 years.

The Coats of Arms of two of the barons and Archbishop Stephen Langton

The American Bar Association Magna Carta Memorial (1957) at Runnymede

That's all it is - a just over A-4 sized one pager in wincy handwriting - if only modern corporate lawyers .......

Link to British Library Magna Carta page

Link to Wikipedia Magna Carta page

Norman and Plantagenet Monarchs of England

Tomb of Archbishop Stephen Langton

Canterbury Cathedral

The largely forgotten Cardinal Archbishop Stephen Langton (1150 - 1207 - 1228 (78)) to whom Canterbury Cathedral and England owe so much, was buried in a stone tomb which was just outside the pilgrim's entrance to the south quire aisle of Canterbury Cathedral. The area was later built over by the SW transept and St Michael's Chapel - memorial chapel for "The Buffs" - the Royal East Kent Regiment. Maybe it is a mark of his greatness that his tomb was left in place and intact, even though it was built over. The unmarked feet end projects through the east wall of the Chapel.

Tomb of King John

Worcester Cathedral

The tomb and effigy of King John (1167-1199-1216 (49)), son of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine, and brother of the nasty absentee French speaking King Richard I, is in Worcester Cathedral. The Purbeck marble sarcophagus plate is original, but the rest of the tomb dates from a 1540 rebuild.

Tomb of Pope Innocent III

Basilica of Saint John Lateran (Rome)

Pope Innocent III (1161 - 1198 - 1216 (55)) died of the fever in Perugia in 1216 aged 55. He was buried in the Perugia Duomo, but in 1892 his remains were re-interred in this tomb in the Basilica of Saint John Lateran in Rome. The tomb is over the entrance to what is now the postcard and momento shop, and sadly not many people register who they are walking under as they go in to purchase their memorabilia.

Much more interesting, and much less visited, is the contemporary fresco of the mighty Pope Innocent III below - this is located half way between the upper and lower churches of the Monastery of Saint Benedict (called Sacro Speco) near Subiaco. The Pope is holding the bull with which he presented some revenue to the Monastery in 1203.

William de Fortibus, Earl of Albemarle (? - 1242) (who was not a very nice person even by the standards of 1215) was a junior baron at the 1215 signing of Magna Carta at Runneymede. Whilst he was one of the baron boys, he also switched to the King's side (both King John and his son Henry III) whenever it was to his advantage, and he demonstrated quite extraordinary survival skills doing this over a period of 25 years. He died at sea in 1242 on his way to see the Holy Land.

This statue, thought to be of him, is outside the south west nave wall of Bolton Abbey (to which he gave a lot of moolah and which is an outstandingly nice place). His shield is the one next to the National Trust logo on the information board below.

"Although written continuously, 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." (for more of this, see the Encyclopedia Britannica)

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