By Kelly O'Connell ——Bio and Archives--June 19, 2011
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King John of England signed the Magna Carta after immense pressure from the Church & his barons. The King often lived above the law, violating both feudal and common law, & was heavily criticized for his foreign policy & actions within England. The Barons, with the support of the Church, pressured King John to spell out a list of their rights & guarantee these rights would be enforced. The Barons provided a draft, & after some negotiation, King John put his seal to the Magna Carta in Runnymede in June of 1215.What was the Magna Carta, or Magna Carta Libertatum, ie Great Charter of Freedoms.? According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, it is...
The Magna Carta is long considered by English-speaking peoples the earliest great constitutional document of England. It is spoken of by authorities as the "foundation of our liberties".The document was forced upon King John by his barons who were highly dissatisfied by his overtaxation and expansive foreign intrigues. The original name of the work was the Articles of Barons. What is in the Magna Carta? According to the Constitutional Rights Foundation (CRF):
Magna Carta holds 63 articles or chapters; most concerning matters of feudal law important to the rebel barons, but of little relevance today. Other parts of Magna Carta corrected King John's abuses of power against the barons, Church officials, merchants and other "free men." Today, the most significant part of Magna Carta is Chapter 39: No free man shall be arrested or imprisoned or disseised [property taken] or outlawed or exiled or in any way victimized, neither will we attack him or send anyone to attack him, except by the lawful judgment of his peers or by the law of the land. This chapter's purpose was to prevent King John from personally ordering arrest and punishment of free men without lawful judgment. According to Magna Carta, "lawful judgment" was only made by judges ruled by "the law of the land," or by one's peers in a trial by combat.The importance of Magna Carta cannot be overstated. Wrote Winston Churchill:
Here is a law which is above the King and which even he must not break. This reaffirmation of a supreme law and its expression in a general charter is the great work of Magna Carta; and this alone justifies the respect in which men have held it.The aftermath of Magna Carta was seminal. Writes CRF:
Magna Carta, carrying with it the idea of "the rule of law," was reconfirmed a number of times over the next century, becoming a foundation of English law. Eventually, Magna Carta became the source of important legal concepts found in our American Constitution and Bill of Rights. Among these: no taxation without representation & the right to a fair trial under law. These foundations of our own constitutional system had their beginnings in a meadow beside a river almost 800 years ago.But who were the minds behind the actual text of Magna Carta? These would be Stephen Langton, Henry I, and numberless persons who helped frame England's Common Law tradition.
Stephen Langton lived in Paris for twenty-five years, studying, then lecturing on theology, until he gained such a reputation for learning, that, in 1206, Pope Innocent called him to Rome and made him cardinal priest of St. Chrysogonus. Here also he taught theology. Roger of Wendover said "the Roman court did not have his equal for learning and moral excellence." No wonder that he became known as the most illustrious churchman of English birth.Another description is even more effusive:
Although the roll of English churchmen has few names more illustrious, Langton's fame is hardly equal to his achievements. Even among his own countrymen too few have an adequate knowledge of his merits and great services to his country. His labors were concerned with the two things specially dear to Englishmen, the Bible and the British Constitution. Everyone who reads the Bible or enjoys civic freedoms owes a deep debt of gratitude to Langton. If men are measured by the magnitude of their works, it may be safely said that Langton was the greatest Englishman to sit in the chair of St. Augustine. Some have been great as writers and thinkers, others as statesmen solicitous for the welfare of the whole people, and others as zealous pastors of their flock. It was Langton's lot to win distinction in all three capacities, as scholar, statesman, and archbishop.The Pope was caught in a mighty struggle with King John, which included his decision to name Langton Archbishop over John's own choice. Yet, despite his friendship with the Pope, and a highly academic background, Langton did not side with Pope or King, but came down on the side of the common law and the English people at Runnymede. After becoming holder of the See of Canterbury, Langton spent much time trying to reign in the tyrannical activities of King John. He attempted to get John to reaffirm the ancient rights of Englishmen, especially as described by Henry the First's Charter of Liberties. Henry I himself was also a great scholar and reformer. The Catholic Encyclopedia describes Langton's attempt to get the rebellious barons who opposed John to reconcile with him:
Langton called the barons aside, read the charter of Henry, & commented on its provisions. They answered by loud acclamations, & the archbishop, taking advantage of their enthusiasm, administered to them an oath binding themselves to each other to conquer or die in defense of their liberties." When the king was going to wreak vengeance on the barons for disobedience, Langton firmly insisted on their right to a lawful trial, adding that, if John refused them this justice, he would deem it his duty to excommunicate all, except the king himself, who took part in this impious warfare. Such was the archbishop's vigorous line of action at the outset of the struggle which was brought to a successful issue two years later by the signing of the Great Charter at Runnymede. And, if he was the soul of the movement which led to these results, he may justly be regarded as the real author of the Magna Charta.
A series of developments, in which reason won the day, gave unique shape to Western culture and institutions. And the most important of those victories occurred within Christianity. While the other world religions emphasized mystery and intuition, Christianity alone embraced reason and logic as the primary guides to religious truth.
Jesus said, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."Magna Carta is a magnificent achievement, even if Langton had no idea how influential it would prove. Further, Langton showed the indispensable role of principled Believer when he defied the king at the threat of great bodily harm, and his own friend the Pope, to side with principle and the English people. Unparallelled common law jurist Lord Coke described Magna Carta as being like Alexander the Great--magnum in parvo--a great thing in a small package, writes James R. Stoner in Common Law & Liberal Theory, Coke, Hobbes & The Origins Of American Constitutionalism. Coke believed in the majesty of the common law, where right reason joined with right principles would achieve right outcomes. Later charters of freedoms like America's Constitution and Bill of Rights are not conceivable without the rule of law precedent set by Magna Carta. So, are modern humanist critics correct when claiming all biblical influence must be kept from government because of the danger of religious tyranny? If so, who can then explain how England's greatest religious leader delivered modern Christian freedom by drafting Magna Carta, the intellectual foundation of our legal system, which placed even kings under everyday law?
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Kelly O’Connell is an author and attorney. He was born on the West Coast, raised in Las Vegas, and matriculated from the University of Oregon. After laboring for the Reformed Church in Galway, Ireland, he returned to America and attended law school in Virginia, where he earned a JD and a Master’s degree in Government. He spent a stint working as a researcher and writer of academic articles at a Miami law school, focusing on ancient law and society. He has also been employed as a university Speech & Debate professor. He then returned West and worked as an assistant district attorney. Kelly is now is a private practitioner with a small law practice in New Mexico.