Introductory notes
As might be expected, the text of
Magna Carta of 1215 bears many traces of haste, and
is clearly the product of much bargaining and many hands.
Most of its clauses deal with specific, and often long-standing,
grievances rather than with general principles of law.
Some of the grievances are self-explanatory: others can
be understood only in the context of the feudal society
in which they arose. Of a few clauses, the precise meaning
is still a matter of argument.
In feudal society, the king's barons
held their lands 'in fee' (feudum) from the king, for an
oath to him of loyalty and obedience, and with the obligation
to provide him with a fixed number of knights whenever
these were required for military service. At first the
barons provided the knights by dividing their estates (of
which the largest and most important were known as 'honours')
into smaller parcels described as 'knights' fees', which
they distributed to tenants able to serve as knights. But
by the time of King John it had become more convenient
and usual for the obligation for service to be commuted
for a cash payment known as 'scutage', and for the revenue
so obtained to be used to maintain paid armies.
Besides military service, feudal
custom allowed the king to make certain other exactions from
his barons. In times of emergency, and on such special occasions
as the marriage of his eldest daughter, he could demand from
them a financial levy known as an 'aid' (auxilium).
When a baron died, he could demand
a succession duty or relief (relevium) from the baron's heir.
If there was no heir, or if the succession was disputed, the
baron's lands could be forfeited or 'escheated' to the Crown.
If the heir was under age, the king could assume the guardianship
of his estates, and enjoy all the profits from them - even
to the extent of despoliation - until the heir came of age.
The king had the right, if he chose,
to sell such a guardianship to the highest bidder, and to
sell the heir himself in marriage for such price as the value
of his estates would command. The widows and daughters of
barons might also be sold in marriage. With their own tenants,
the barons could deal similarly.
The scope for extortion and abuse
in this system, if it were not benevolently applied, was
obviously great and had been the subject of complaint long
before King John came to the throne. Abuses were, moreover,
aggravated by the difficulty of obtaining redress for them,
and in Magna Carta the provision of the means for obtaining
a fair hearing of complaints, not only against the king
and his agents but against lesser feudal lords, achieves
corresponding importance.
About two-thirds of the clauses of
Magna Carta of 1215 are concerned with matters such as these,
and with the misuse of their powers by royal officials.
As regards other topics, the first
clause, conceding the freedom of the Church, and in particular
confirming its right to elect its own dignitaries without
royal interference, reflects John's dispute with the Pope
over Stephen Langton's election as archbishop of Canterbury.
It does not appear in the 'Articles of the Barons', and its
somewhat stilted phrasing seems in part to be attempting to
justify its inclusion, none the less, in the charter itself.
The clauses that deal with the royal forests (§§ 44,
47, 48),
over which the king had special powers and jurisdiction, reflect
the disquiet and anxieties that had arisen on account of a
longstanding royal tendency to extend the forest boundaries,
to the detriment of the holders of the lands affected.
Those that deal with debts (§§ 9-11)
reflect administrative problems created by the chronic scarcity
of ready cash among the upper and middle classes, and their
need to resort to money-lenders when this was required.
The clause promising the removal
of fish-weirs (§ 33)
was intended to facilitate the navigation of rivers.
A number of clauses deal with the
special circumstances that surrounded the making of the charter,
and are such as might be found in any treaty of peace. Others,
such as those relating to the city of London (§ 13)
and to merchants (§ 41),
clearly represent concessions to special interests.
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