Editing Magna Carta (section)

====Great Charter of 1215====
[[File:Article-barons-add-ms-4838.jpg|thumb|upright|The Articles of the Barons, 1215, held by the [[British Library]]]]
John met the rebel leaders at [[Runnymede]], a [[water-meadow]] on the south bank of the [[River Thames]], on 10 June 1215. Runnymede was a traditional place for assemblies, but it was also located on neutral ground between the royal fortress of [[Windsor Castle]] and the rebel base at [[Staines]], and offered both sides the security of a rendezvous where they were unlikely to find themselves at a military disadvantage.{{sfn|Tatton-Brown|2015|p=36}}{{sfn|Holt|2015|p=219}} Here the rebels presented John with their draft demands for reform, the 'Articles of the Barons'.{{sfn|Turner|2009|p=180}}{{sfn|McGlynn|2013|p=137}}{{sfn|Warren|1990|p=236}} Stephen Langton's pragmatic efforts at mediation over the next ten days turned these incomplete demands into a charter capturing the proposed peace agreement; a few years later, this agreement was renamed Magna Carta, meaning "Great Charter".{{sfn|McGlynn|2013|p=137}}{{sfn|Warren|1990|p=236}}{{sfn|Turner|2009|pp=180, 182}} By 15 June, general agreement had been made on a text, and on 19 June, the rebels renewed their oaths of loyalty to John and copies of the charter were formally issued.{{sfn|McGlynn|2013|p=137}}{{sfn|Warren|1990|p=236}}

Although, as the historian [[David Carpenter (historian)|David Carpenter]] has noted, the charter "wasted no time on political theory", it went beyond simply addressing individual baronial complaints, and formed a wider proposal for political reform.{{sfn|Turner|2009|p=180}}{{sfn|Turner|2009|p=182}} It promised the protection of church rights, protection from illegal imprisonment, access to swift justice, and, most importantly, limitations on taxation and other feudal payments to the Crown, with certain forms of feudal taxation requiring baronial consent.{{sfn|Carpenter|1990|p=9}}{{sfn|Turner|2009|pp=184–185}} It focused on the rights of free men—in particular, the barons.{{sfn|Turner|2009|p=182}} The rights of [[serf]]s were included in articles 16, 20 and 28.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bl.uk/magna-carta/articles/magna-carta-english-translation
|title=Magna Carta|publisher=British Library|access-date=16 March 2016}}</ref>{{efn|The Runnymede Charter of Liberties did not apply to [[Chester]], which at the time was a [[Earl of Chester|separate feudal domain]]. [[Ranulf de Blondeville, 6th Earl of Chester|Earl Ranulf]] granted his own [[Magna Carta of Chester]].{{sfn|Hewit|1929|p=9}} Some of its articles were similar to the Runnymede Charter.{{sfn|Holt|1992b|pp=379–380}}}} Its style and content reflected Henry I's Charter of Liberties, as well as a wider body of legal traditions, including the royal charters issued to towns, the operations of the Church and baronial courts and European charters such as the [[Statute of Pamiers]].{{sfn|Vincent|2012|pp=61–63}}{{sfn|Carpenter|2004|pp=293–294}} Magna Carta reflected other legal documents of its time, in England and beyond, which made broadly similar statements of rights and limitations on the powers of the Crown.<ref>{{harvnb|Helmholz|2016|p=869}} "First, the formulation of Magna Carta in England was not an isolated event. It was not unique. The results of the meeting at Runnymede coincided with many similar statements of law on the Continent."</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Holt|2015|pp=50–51}}: "Magna Carta was far from unique, either in content or in form"</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Blick|2015|p=39}}: "It was one of a number of such sets of concessions issued by kings, setting out limits on their powers, around this time, though it had its own special character, and subsequently it has become the most celebrated and influential of them all."</ref>  <!--this point about contemporary comparisons could be expanded on -->

Under what historians later labelled "clause 61", or the "security clause", a council of 25 barons would be created to monitor and ensure John's future adherence to the charter.{{sfn|Turner|2009|p=189}} If John did not conform to the charter within 40 days of being notified of a transgression by the council, the 25 barons were empowered by clause 61 to seize John's castles and lands until, in their judgement, amends had been made.{{sfn|Danziger|Gillingham|2004|pp=261–262}} Men were to be compelled to swear an oath to assist the council in controlling the King, but once redress had been made for any breaches, the King would continue to rule as before.{{sfn|Goodman|1995|pp=260–261}}

{{Politics of the United Kingdom}}

In one sense this was not unprecedented. Other kings had previously conceded the right of individual resistance to their subjects if the King did not uphold his obligations. Magna Carta was novel in that it set up a formally recognised means of collectively coercing the King.{{sfn|Goodman|1995|pp=260–261}} The historian [[Wilfred Warren]] argues that it was almost inevitable that the clause would result in civil war, as it "was crude in its methods and disturbing in its implications".{{sfn|Warren|1990|pp=239–240}} The barons were trying to force John to keep to the charter, but clause 61 was so heavily weighted against the King that this version of the charter could not survive.{{sfn|Danziger|Gillingham|2004|pp=261–262}}

John and the rebel barons did not trust each other, and neither side seriously attempted to implement the peace accord.{{sfn|Turner|2009|p=189}}{{sfn|Poole|1993|p=479}} The 25 barons selected for the new council were all rebels, chosen by the more extremist barons, and many among the rebels found excuses to keep their forces mobilised.{{sfn|Turner|2009|pp=189–191}}{{sfn|Danziger|Gillingham|2004|p=262}}{{sfn|Warren|1990|pp=239, 242}} Disputes began to emerge between the royalist faction and those rebels who had expected the charter to return lands that had been confiscated.{{sfn|Carpenter|1990|p=12}}

Clause 61 of Magna Carta contained a commitment from John that he would "seek to obtain nothing from anyone, in our own person or through someone else, whereby any of these grants or liberties may be revoked or diminished".{{sfn|Carpenter|1996|p=13}}<ref name="All clauses"/> Despite this, the King appealed to Pope Innocent for help in July, arguing that the charter compromised the Pope's rights as John's feudal lord.{{sfn|Carpenter|1990|p=12}}{{sfn|Turner|2009|p=190–191}} As part of the June peace deal, the barons were supposed to surrender London by 15 August, but this they refused to do.{{sfn|Turner|2009|p=190}} Meanwhile, instructions from the Pope arrived in August, written before the peace accord, with the result that papal commissioners [[excommunicated]] the rebel barons and suspended Langton from office in early September.{{sfn|Warren|1990|pp=244–245}}

Once aware of the charter, the Pope responded in detail: in a letter dated 24 August and arriving in late September, he declared the charter to be "not only shameful and demeaning but also illegal and unjust" since John had been "forced to accept" it, and accordingly the charter was "null, and void of all validity for ever"; under threat of excommunication, the King was not to observe the charter, nor the barons try to enforce it.{{sfn|Carpenter|1990|p=12}}{{sfn|Turner|2009|p=190}}{{sfn|Rothwell|1975|pp=324–226}}{{sfn|Warren|1990|pp=245–246}}

By then, violence had broken out between the two sides. Less than three months after it had been agreed, John and the loyalist barons firmly repudiated the failed charter: the First Barons' War erupted.{{sfn|Carpenter|1990|p=12}}{{sfn|Holt|1992a|p=1}}{{sfn|Crouch|1996|p=114}} The rebel barons concluded that peace with John was impossible, and turned to Philip II's son, the future [[Louis VIII]], for help, offering him the English throne.{{sfn|Carpenter|1990|p=12}}{{sfn|Carpenter|2004|pp=264–267}}{{efn|Louis's claim to the English throne, described as "debatable" by the historian David Carpenter, derived from his wife, [[Blanche of Castile]], who was the granddaughter of King [[Henry II of England]]. Louis argued that since John had been legitimately deposed, the barons could then legally appoint him king over the claims of John's son Henry.{{sfn|Carpenter|1990|p=12}}}} The war soon settled into a stalemate. The King became ill and died on the night of 18 October 1216, leaving the nine-year-old [[Henry III of England|Henry III]] as his heir.<ref>{{harvnb|Warren|1990|pp=254–255}}</ref>

===== Charters of the Welsh Princes =====
Magna Carta was the first document in which reference is made to English and Welsh law alongside one another, including the principle of the common acceptance of the lawful judgement of peers.

<u>Chapter 56:</u> The return of lands and liberties to Welshmen if those lands and liberties had been taken by English (and vice versa) without a law abiding judgement of their peers.

<u>Chapter 57:</u> The return of [[Gruffudd ap Llywelyn ap Iorwerth]], illegitimate son of [[Llywelyn ap Iorwerth]] (Llywelyn the Great) along with other Welsh hostages which were originally taken for "peace" and "good".<ref name="auto">{{Cite web|url=https://www.parliament.uk/about/living-heritage/evolutionofparliament/2015-parliament-in-the-making/2015-historic-anniversaries/magna-carta/magna-carta---wales-scotland-and-ireland/|title=Magna Carta: Wales, Scotland and Ireland|access-date=19 October 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Smith |first1=J. Beverley |title=Magna Carta and the Charters of the Welsh Princes |journal=The English Historical Review |date=1984 |volume=XCIX |issue=CCCXCI |pages=344–362 |doi=10.1093/ehr/XCIX.CCCXCI.344 |issn = 0013-8266}}</ref>

{{hidden begin|title={{center|Lists of participants in 1215|style=border:solid 1px #aaa}}}}
======Counsellors named in Magna Carta======
The preamble to Magna Carta includes the names of the following 27 ecclesiastical and secular magnates who had counselled John to accept its terms. The names include some of the moderate reformers, notably Archbishop [[Stephen Langton]], and some of John's loyal supporters, such as [[William Marshal, Earl of Pembroke]]. They are listed here in the order in which they appear in the charter itself:<ref>{{cite web|title=Preface|url=http://magnacartaresearch.org/read/magna_carta_1215/Preface|publisher=Magna Carta Project|access-date=17 May 2015}}</ref>
{{div col|colwidth=22em}}
* [[Stephen Langton]], [[Archbishop of Canterbury]] and [[Cardinal (Catholicism)|Cardinal]]
* [[Henry de Loundres]], [[Archbishop of Dublin]]
* [[William of Sainte-Mère-Église]], [[Bishop of London]]
* [[Peter des Roches]], [[Bishop of Winchester]]
* [[Jocelin of Wells]], [[Bishop of Bath and Glastonbury]]
* [[Hugh of Wells]], [[Bishop of Lincoln]]
* [[Walter de Gray]], [[Bishop of Worcester]]
* [[William de Cornhill]], [[Bishop of Coventry]]
* [[Benedict of Sausetun]], [[Bishop of Rochester]]
* [[Pandulf Verraccio]], subdeacon and [[papal legate]] to England
* Aimery de Sainte-Maure, Master of the [[Knights Templar]] in England
* [[William Marshal, Earl of Pembroke]]
* [[William Longespée, 3rd Earl of Salisbury|William Longespée, Earl of Salisbury]]
* [[William de Warenne, 5th Earl of Surrey|William de Warenne, Earl of Surrey]]
* [[William d'Aubigny, 3rd Earl of Arundel|William d'Aubigny, Earl of Arundel]]
* [[Alan of Galloway]], [[Constable of Scotland]]
* [[Warin FitzGerold]]
* [[Peter FitzHerbert]]
* [[Hubert de Burgh]], [[Seneschal]] of [[Poitou]]
* [[Hugh de Neville]]
* [[Matthew FitzHerbert]]
* [[Thomas Basset (died 1220)|Thomas Basset]]
* [[Alan Basset]]
* [[Philip d'Aubigny]]
* [[Robert of Ropsley]]
* [[John Marshal (Magna Carta counsellor)|John Marshal]]
* [[John FitzHugh]]
{{div col end}}

======The Council of Twenty-Five Barons======
The names of the Twenty-Five Barons appointed under clause 61 to monitor John's future conduct are not given in the charter itself, but do appear in four early sources, all seemingly based on a contemporary listing: a late-13th-century collection of law tracts and statutes, a [[Reading Abbey]] manuscript now in [[Lambeth Palace Library]], and the {{lang|la|[[Chronica Majora]]}} and {{lang|la|Liber Additamentorum}} of [[Matthew Paris]].{{sfn|Holt|1992b|pp=478–480|ps=:the list in the collection of law tracts is at [[British Library]], [[Harleian Collection|Harley]] MS 746, fol. 64; the Reading Abbey list is at Lambeth Palace Library, MS 371, fol. 56v.}}<ref>{{cite web|title=Profiles of Magna Carta Sureties and Other Supporters |url=http://www.magnacharta.com/bomc/profiles-of-magna-charta-sureties-and-other-supporters/|publisher=Baronial Order of Magna Charta|access-date=17 May 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=The Magna Charta Barons at Runnymede|url=http://www.brookfieldpublishing.com/Barons/magna_charta_barons_at_runnymede.htm|publisher=Brookfield Ancestor Project|access-date=4 November 2014}}</ref> The process of appointment is not known, but the names were drawn almost exclusively from among John's more active opponents.<ref>{{ODNBweb |first=Matthew |last=Strickland |title=Enforcers of Magna Carta (act. 1215–1216) |year=2005 |edition=online |id=93691 }}</ref> They are listed here in the order in which they appear in the original sources:
{{div col|colwidth=22em}}
* [[Richard de Clare, 3rd Earl of Hertford|Richard de Clare]], [[Earl of Hertford]]
* [[William de Forz, 3rd Earl of Albemarle|William de Forz]], [[Earl of Albemarle]]
* [[Geoffrey FitzGeoffrey de Mandeville, 2nd Earl of Essex|Geoffrey de Mandeville]], [[Earl of Essex]] and [[Earl of Gloucester|Gloucester]]
* [[Saer de Quincy]], [[Earl of Winchester]]
* [[Henry de Bohun, 1st Earl of Hereford|Henry de Bohun]], [[Earl of Hereford]]
* [[Roger Bigod, 2nd Earl of Norfolk|Roger Bigod]], [[Earl of Norfolk]] and [[Earl of Suffolk|Suffolk]]
* [[Robert de Vere, 3rd Earl of Oxford|Robert de Vere]], [[Earl of Oxford]]
* [[William Marshal, 2nd Earl of Pembroke|William Marshal junior]]
* [[Robert Fitzwalter]], baron of [[Little Dunmow]]
* [[Gilbert de Clare, 5th Earl of Gloucester|Gilbert de Clare]], heir to the [[earldom of Hertford]]
* [[Eustace de Vesci]], Lord of [[Alnwick Castle]]
* [[Hugh Bigod, 3rd Earl of Norfolk|Hugh Bigod]], heir to the Earldoms of [[Earl of Norfolk|Norfolk]] and [[Earl of Suffolk|Suffolk]]
* [[William de Mowbray]], Lord of [[Axholme]] Castle
* [[William Hardell]], [[List of Lord Mayors of London|Mayor]] of the [[City of London]]
* [[William de Lanvallei]], Lord of [[Walkern]]
* [[Robert de Ros (died 1227)|Robert de Ros]], Baron of [[Helmsley Castle|Helmsley]]
* [[John de Lacy, 2nd Earl of Lincoln|John de Lacy]], Constable of [[Chester]] and Lord of [[Pontefract Castle]]
* [[Richard de Percy]]
* [[John FitzRobert]] de Clavering, Lord of [[Warkworth Castle]]
* [[William Malet (Magna Carta baron)|William Malet]]
* [[Geoffrey de Saye]]
* [[Roger de Montbegon]], Lord of [[Hornby Castle, Lancashire]]{{efn|Roger de Montbegon is named in only one of the four early sources (BL, Harley MS 746, fol. 64); whereas the others name [[Roger de Mowbray (d. c. 1218)|Roger de Mowbray]]. However, Holt believes the Harley listing to be "the best", and the de Mowbray entries to be an error.}}
* [[William of Huntingfield]], [[Sheriff of Norfolk and Suffolk]]
* [[Richard de Montfichet]]
* [[William d'Aubigny (rebel)|William d'Aubigny]], Lord of [[Belvoir Castle|Belvoir]]
{{div col end}}

======Excommunicated rebels======
In September 1215, the papal commissioners in England—[[Pandulf Verraccio|Subdeacon Pandulf]], [[Peter des Roches]], [[Bishop of Winchester]], and Simon, Abbot of [[Reading Abbey|Reading]]—excommunicated the rebels, acting on instructions earlier received from Rome. A letter sent by the commissioners from [[Dover]] on 5 September to Archbishop Langton explicitly names nine senior rebel barons (all members of the Council of Twenty-Five), and six clerics numbered among the rebel ranks:{{sfn|Powicke|1929}}

'''Barons'''
{{div col|colwidth=22em}}
* [[Robert Fitzwalter]]
* [[Saer de Quincy]], [[Earl of Winchester]]
* [[Richard de Clare, 3rd Earl of Hertford|Richard de Clare]], [[Earl of Hertford]]
* [[Geoffrey FitzGeoffrey de Mandeville, 2nd Earl of Essex|Geoffrey de Mandeville]], [[Earl of Essex]] and [[Earl of Gloucester|Gloucester]]
* [[Eustace de Vesci]]
* [[Richard de Percy]]
* [[John de Lacy, 2nd Earl of Lincoln|John de Lacy]], Constable of [[Chester]]
* [[William d'Aubigny (rebel)|William d'Aubigny]]
* [[William de Mowbray]]
{{div col end}}
'''Clerics'''
{{div col|colwidth=22em}}
* [[Giles de Braose]], [[Bishop of Hereford]]
* William, [[Archdeacon of Hereford]]
* Alexander the clerk (possibly Alexander of [[St Albans]])
* Osbert de [[River Somme|Samara]]
* John de Fereby
* Robert, chaplain to Robert Fitzwalter
{{div col end}}
{{hidden end}}