Another Fool King, another fine consequence :
Following a revolt by the English nobility against his rule, King John puts his royal seal on the Magna Carta, or “Great Charter.” The document, essentially a peace treaty between John and his barons, guaranteed that the king would respect feudal rights and privileges, uphold the freedom of the church, and maintain the nation’s laws. Although more a reactionary than a progressive document in its day, the Magna Carta was seen as a cornerstone in the development of democratic England by later generations.
John was enthroned as king of England following the death of his brother, King Richard the Lion-Hearted, in 1199. King John’s reign was characterized by failure. He lost the duchy of Normandy to the French king and taxed the English nobility heavily to pay for his foreign misadventures. He quarreled with Pope Innocent III and sold church offices to build up the depleted royal coffers. Following the defeat of a campaign to regain Normandy in 1214, Stephen Langton, the archbishop of Canterbury, called on the disgruntled barons to demand a charter of liberties from the king.
In 1215, the barons rose up in rebellion against the king’s abuse of feudal law and custom. John, faced with a superior force, had no choice but to give in to their demands. Earlier kings of England had granted concessions to their feudal barons, but these charters were vaguely worded and issued voluntarily. The document drawn up for John in June 1215, however, forced the king to make specific guarantees of the rights and privileges of his barons and the freedom of the church. On June 15, 1215, John met the barons at Runnymede on the Thames and set his seal to the Articles of the Barons, which after minor revision was formally issued as the Magna Carta.
- June 15 : This Day In History
The four surviving copies of the Magna Carta (British Library copies, top left and bottom right, Salisbury Cathedral copy, top right, Lincoln Cathedral copy, bottom left), reunited in London for the anniversary.
King John's 800-year-old seal at the base of The British Library's Canterbury Magna Carta
Another Fool King, another fine consequence :
detail
A Person Looks At A Work Of Art/
someone looks at something...
LOGOS/HA HA
'Untitled Document'
sealed on this day
another day
FIAPCE, 1973
A Person Looks At A Work Of Art/
someone looks at something...
LOGOS/HA HA
(Untitled Document)