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Online Library of Liberty: Magna Carta: a Commentary on the Great Charter of King John, with an Historical Introduction

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Online Library of Liberty: Magna Carta: a Commentary on the Great Charter of King John, with an Historical Introduction The Online Library of Liberty A Project Of Liberty Fund, Inc. Misc (Magna Carta), Magna Carta: A Commentary on the Great Charter of King John, with an Historical Introduction [1215] The Online Library Of Liberty This E-Book (PDF format) is published by Liberty Fund, Inc., a private, non-profit, educational foundation established in 1960 to encourage study of the ideal of a society of free and responsible individuals. 2010 was the 50th anniversary year of the founding of Liberty Fund. It is part of the Online Library of Liberty web site http://oll.libertyfund.org, which was established in 2004 in order to further the educational goals of Liberty Fund, Inc. To find out more about the author or title, to use the site's powerful search engine, to see other titles in other formats (HTML, facsimile PDF), or to make use of the hundreds of essays, educational aids, and study guides, please visit the OLL web site. This title is also part of the Portable Library of Liberty DVD which contains over 1,000 books and quotes about liberty and power, and is available free of charge upon request. The cuneiform inscription that appears in the logo and serves as a design element in all Liberty Fund books and web sites is the earliest-known written appearance of the word “freedom” (amagi), or “liberty.” It is taken from a clay document written about 2300 B.C. in the Sumerian city-state of Lagash, in present day Iraq. To find out more about Liberty Fund, Inc., or the Online Library of Liberty Project, please contact the Director at [email protected]. LIBERTY FUND, INC. 8335 Allison Pointe Trail, Suite 300 Indianapolis, Indiana 46250-1684 Online Library of Liberty: Magna Carta: A Commentary on the Great Charter of King John, with an Historical Introduction Edition Used: Magna Carta: A Commentary on the Great Charter of King John, with an Historical Introduction, by William Sharp McKechnie (Glasgow: Maclehose, 1914). Author: Misc (Magna Carta) Introduction: William Sharp McKechnie About This Title: This is a detailed and meticulous edition of Magna Carta with each clause in the original Latin, followed by an English translation and heavily annotated by the editor. PLL v6.0 (generated September, 2011) 2 http://oll.libertyfund.org/title/338 Online Library of Liberty: Magna Carta: A Commentary on the Great Charter of King John, with an Historical Introduction About Liberty Fund: Liberty Fund, Inc. is a private, educational foundation established to encourage the study of the ideal of a society of free and responsible individuals. Copyright Information: The text is in the public domain. Fair Use Statement: This material is put online to further the educational goals of Liberty Fund, Inc. Unless otherwise stated in the Copyright Information section above, this material may be used freely for educational and academic purposes. It may not be used in any way for profit. PLL v6.0 (generated September, 2011) 3 http://oll.libertyfund.org/title/338 Online Library of Liberty: Magna Carta: A Commentary on the Great Charter of King John, with an Historical Introduction Table Of Contents Preface to Second Edition. From Preface to First Edition. Historical Introduction Part I.: Events Leading to Magna Carta. Part II.: Feudal Grievances and Magna Carta. Part III.: Magna Carta: Its Form and Contents. Part IV.: Historical Sequel to Magna Carta. Part V.: Magna Carta: Original Versions, Printed Editions and Commentaries. Text, Translation, and Commentary Preamble.1 Chapter One. Chapter Two. Chapter Three. Chapter Four. Chapter Five. Chapter Six. Chapter Seven. Chapter Eight. Chapter Nine. Chapter Ten. Chapter Eleven. Chapter Twelve. Chapter Thirteen. Chapter Fourteen. Chapter Fifteen. Chapter Sixteen. Chapter Seventeen. Chapter Eighteen. Chapter Nineteen. Chapter Twenty. Chapter Twenty–one. Chapter Twenty–two. Chapter Twenty–three. Chapter Twenty–four. Chapter Twenty–five. Chapter Twenty–six. Chapter Twenty–seven. Chapter Twenty–eight. Chapter Twenty–nine. Chapter Thirty. Chapter Thirty–one. Chapter Thirty–two. Chapter Thirty–three. Chapter Thirty–four. PLL v6.0 (generated September, 2011) 4 http://oll.libertyfund.org/title/338 Online Library of Liberty: Magna Carta: A Commentary on the Great Charter of King John, with an Historical Introduction Chapter Thirty–five. Chapter Thirty–six. Chapter Thirty–seven. Chapter Thirty–eight. Chapter Thirty–nine. Chapter Forty. Chapter Forty–one. Chapter Forty–two. Chapter Forty–three. Chapter Forty–four. Chapter Forty–five. Chapter Forty–six. Chapter Forty–seven. Chapter Forty–eight. Chapter Forty–nine. Chapter Fifty. Chapter Fifty–one. Chapter Fifty–two. Chapter Fifty–three. Chapter Fifty–four. Chapter Fifty–five. Chapter Fifty–six. Chapter Fifty–seven. Chapter Fifty–eight. Chapter Fifty–nine. Chapter Sixty. Chapter Sixty–one. Chapter Sixty–two. Chapter Sixty–three. Appendix. Documents Relative To, Or Illustrative Of, Magna Carta. I.: The Charter of Liberties of Henry I.1 (1100.) II.: The Second Or Oxford Charter of Stephen.1 (1136.) III.: Charter of Henry II.1 (circa 1154.) IV.: The So–called “unknown Charter of Liberties” of John.2 (circa 1214–1215.) V.: The Articles of the Barons.1 (1215.) VI.: Writs Supplementary of John’s Great Charter. VII.: The Great Charter of Henry III.2 (third Reissue, 11th February, 1225.) VIII.: Carta De Foresta.1 (6 November, 1217.) PLL v6.0 (generated September, 2011) 5 http://oll.libertyfund.org/title/338 Online Library of Liberty: Magna Carta: A Commentary on the Great Charter of King John, with an Historical Introduction [Back to Table of Contents] PREFACE TO SECOND EDITION. The numerous and weighty criticisms upon the first edition of this Commentary (published in 1905 and now out of print) were doubly welcome to the author as showing a widespread interest in the subjects discussed, and as enabling him to profit from the collaboration of eminent specialists in the elucidation of Magna Carta and of the age that gave it birth. The last eight years have been fertile in discussions on the form and contents, the historical setting, and the constitutional value of the Great Charter. Monographs and contributions to periodical literature, devoted exclusively to Magna Carta, have been published in France, Germany and the United States of America, as well as in Great Britain; while few books have appeared on English medieval history or on the development of English law without throwing light incidentally on one or more of the Charter’s various aspects. An endeavour has been made, by severe condensation, to find room in this new edition for whatever seemed relevant and of permanent value in this mass of new material, without sacrificing anything of importance contained in the first edition. Effect has been given, so far as space permitted, to the suggestions cordially offered by critics and fellow–workers, both privately and in published books and articles; while the author’s own recent researches have supplied additional illustrations, and have led him to modify several of his earlier impressions. Although no reason has been found for altering fundamental propositions, the whole work has been recast; hardly a page, either of Commentary or of Historical Introduction, remains as originally written; and care has been taken to supply the reader with references to the most recent authorities on the various topics discussed or referred to. The new material will be found mainly (1) in the portions of the Introduction treating respectively of scutages, the Coronation Charter of Henry I., the juridical nature of Magna Carta, its contemporary and permanent effects on constitutional development, its reissues by Henry III., and the nature of the so–called “unknown charter” of John; and (2) in chapters 12, 13, 14, 18, 20, 25, 27, 34, 38, 39 and 61 of the Commentary. In the Appendix, Professor Liebermann’s amended text of Henry I.’s Charter of Liberties has been adopted, and the Great Charter of 1225 substituted for that of 1217; while an attempt has been made, by means of italics and foot–notes, to show at a glance the chief points in which the three reissues by Henry III. differ from one another and from the Charter as originally granted by John. Latin Charters, of which the full text is given in the Appendix or elsewhere, have been printed literatim as in the authorities cited in each case; but for detached Latin words or phrases, whether occurring in the Historical Introduction or the Commentary, a uniform spelling has been adopted, in which the “ae” diphthong, where appropriate, has been substituted for the less familiar “e.” The author’s grateful acknowledgments are due to the Trustees of the Carnegie Foundation, for a grant towards the expenses of this edition; to Professor Vinogradoff, for help courteously given in solving problems affecting the interpretation of chapter PLL v6.0 (generated September, 2011) 6 http://oll.libertyfund.org/title/338 Online Library of Liberty: Magna Carta: A Commentary on the Great Charter of King John, with an Historical Introduction 34; and to Mr. David B. Mungo, LL.B., formerly the author’s assistant in the University of Glasgow, for his services in reading the proof–sheets and for many useful suggestions. The University, Glasgow, December, 1913. PLL v6.0 (generated September, 2011) 7 http://oll.libertyfund.org/title/338 Online Library of Liberty: Magna Carta: A Commentary on the Great Charter of King John, with an Historical Introduction [Back to Table of Contents] FROM PREFACE TO FIRST EDITION. No Commentary upon Magna Carta has hitherto been written from the standpoint of modern research. No serious attempt has yet been made to supersede, or even adequately to supplement, the works of Coke and Richard Thomson, published respectively in 1642 and 1829, and now hopelessly out of date. That this conspicuous gap in our historical and legal literature should have remained so long unfilled is the more remarkable in view of the great advance, amounting almost to a revolution, which has been effected since Coke and Thomson wrote.
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