Magna Carta

Недавно мне пришлось выступать с докладом перед аудиторией. Тема была захватывающая: Великая Хартия Вольностей. Сохраню-ка я текст сюда, вдруг, кому-нибудь еще пригодится?

"Hello and welcome to another episode of “mumbling to yourself for five minutes in front of disinterested audience”. My name is Igor Vasiliev, my colleague who I haven’t seen yet is lying gravely ill, so God help him, and today I’m going to mumble to you about a very important English historical document, known as Magna Carta.
Magna Carta is a fancy Latin way of saying “The Great Charter”. And the Great Charter it indeed was, for it layed foundation of the democratic society as we know it. It was first created in 1215 and granted citizens of the kingdom (those worth mentioning, at least) a right not to be punished except by written law. The Great Charter survived through English and then British history and parts of it still comprise the modern British uncodified constitution. By the way, several original copies of the 1215 edition Magna Carta survived and are now preserved in Salisbury Cathedral in England.
You might ask, “Wait a second, how could such a progressive document have been created at such dark times?” That’s a very good question, I’m glad you have asked it. The answer is pretty simple: Magna Carta was conceived as an instrument of the power struggle between King John and English Barons.

You see, King John wasn’t very popular with his vassals due to his politics. High taxes, unsuccessful wars and conflicts with Pope made some of the most powerful English barons rebel against the monarch. Usually they would find another perspective king and try to put him on throne, but in that case a suitable pretender couldn’t be found. So instead the barons decided to force upon King a document that would re-balance power between the King and his subjects. The document was inspired by The Charter of Liberties by King Henry I, and was indeed very constraining. For example, it included a clause that would make the King ask for permission to raise law or allow the barons to overrule any king’s decision they would not agree with. Needless to say, King John nullified this charter soon after he was made to sign it. Even the Pope ruled in his favor, saying this document was harmful and humiliating to the King, and released him from any oath to obey it. That led to a civil war, and the Charter was forgotten until the death of King John in 1216.

After death of King John and the end of the civil war the Charter was reissued by his heir King Henry III. The new King reworked and expanded the document and supplemented it with a new Charter of Forests that actually dealt with rights of common people and allowed them to use royal forests to forage food and fuel. To distinguish the main charter from the Charter of Forests, it was named “Magna Carta Libertatum”.

Magna Carta had lasted with almost no alterations until 1829, when one of the clauses was repealed due to some legal reforms that would merge several different laws regarding Offences against Person into one. With the document's perceived inviolability broken, in the next 140 years nearly the whole charter was repealed, leaving just three clauses in force to this day:
Clause 1 deals with freedom of the English Church;
Clause 9 grants London and other cities, towns and boroughs certain “ancient liberties and customs”;
Clause 29 grants any person regardless of what they might be a right of lawful judgement.

So why is Magna Carta so important, you might ask? Did it really grant the people of England all those rights it claimed it did? Not really. Without an authority that could enforce the Charter, the King could throw it out of the window, which King John in fact did. The Charter had to be repeatedly reconfirmed and, hopefully, followed by kings, which wasn’t always the case.
The great thing about the Charter is the idea behind it. The idea of the King ruling inside the law. The idea of protecting an individual against a ruling tyrant. This idea stood the test of time, it excited minds of humanists all over the world, it became a cornerstone of the fledgling American state and evolved into the jural society we all know and love.

Much obliged for your time and attention."

P.S. Следующее сообщение будет про Гражданскую войну в Англии. С Кромвелем и всеми делами. Я уже придумал первую фразу: "War never changes".