Magna Carta english

John, King of England was the last son of Henry II and it is in this sense that he did not inherit any land from or his name. He succeeds Richard Coeur de Lion, his brother, in 1199 or 10 years after the death of their father.

Henry II had built a kingdom that embodied the greatness of the British monarchy. Yet John caused the collapse of the empire which in a few months led to the reduction of his powers and then the fact that he was ejected from his capital.

It is indeed after having besieged the castle of his vassal, Hugues de Lusignan, in order to recover his fiancée that John is condemned by his overlord, Philippe-Auguste, King of France to the confiscation of all his French lands. The wars that ensued were heavy defeats for the Kingdom of England.

Hence the creation of the Magna Carta or Great Charter which is a charter of sixty-three articles torn by the English baronage to King John on June 15, 1215 after a short civil war marked by the capture of London, on May 17th, by the rebels.

This charter was drafted in 1215, on French soil, in the Cistercian abbey of Pontigny by English emigrants, in revolt against their king, John, King of England. This “Great Charter of Freedoms of England” guarantees the right to individual liberty.

Moreover, this text limits the royal arbitrariness and establishes in law the habeas corpus which prevents, among other things, arbitrary imprisonment. It guarantees the feudal rights, the freedoms of the cities against the royal arbitrariness and institutes the control of the tax by the Grand Council of the Kingdom. The archbishop of Canterbury, Étienne Langton, ardently defended the barons, his name remaining the first to be affixed as a witness to the Great Charter. When the pope excommunicated the barons, Archbishop Langton refused to publish the ban and was suspended by the pope.

We can then consider this text as one of the constitutive foundations of the British Kingdom because its advances are considerable. It limits the powers of the King and prevents him from taking too much of them. We will focus on paragraphs 1 to 6, 12, 14, 21, 60 and 61.

In this sense we will ask ourselves how this charter by changing the feudal foundations in England modifies the powers of the king?

We will thus identify the great demands of the aristocracy (I) then we will see the constitutive aspects (II) contained in the Magna Carta which suggests the beginnings of a democratic regime.

I/ The great demands of the aristocracy

The claims of the barons concern the right of succession (A) and the reduction of taxes (B)

A/ Estate Law Reform

The future of financial compensation

        If at the death of the Lord, the son is greater there is compensation of the Overlord by the old mode (decreasing according to the rank and size of the fief)

If at the death of the Lord, the son is minor there is compensation without "agios" when he reaches his majority

Supervision of the Right of Custody of Land

When the son of the deceased Lord is a minor: a manager who pays himself without excess by the rents of the land. Should not damage the earth but take care of it as it was his under pain of fine, it will be controlled and monitored.

B/ The tax reduction

Limitation of reasons

        §12-14 tax

For new taxes, the agreement of the Common Council is required except special circumstances (hostage, marriage, chivalry)

        Fines only by their peers

Reduction of amounts

Reasonable amounts for the above conditions

...