Magna Carta(Ken DaSilva-Hill) Leslie Charteris and Tony Hancock, on Magna Carta.

And

(Magna Carta - Did she die in vain ? - Galton & Simpson / Tony Hancock, circa 1960)



“Over to the left we have the island of Runnymede, where King John signed the Magna Carta in the year 1215. It is by virtue of this great charter that Englishmen have always enjoyed complete freedom to do everything that they are not forbidden to do” - Leslie Charteris author 1932


Having lived in the United Kingdom, and specifically England, all of my life, and been given in my early schooling a vastly better education than that of todays schoolchildren, who are largely educated on a narrow agenda simply intended to allow them to be continuously monitored into passing required examinations, rather than being presented with a good and rounded education, I often hear Magna Carta quoted as being the basis of English / British Law.

And of course it was.

However, the context of these common quotes by ordinary people implies that nothing has changed since the twenty six lords attended Runnymede in the presence of The King to celebrate the signing of the document in 1215.
Indeed, it is often claimed that Magna Carta gave complete and total freedom to the King’s subjects, so much so that it’s articles can be invoked fully as law even today.

This of course, is not so.

Since the recent problems with Coronavirus etc, an increasing number of folk, both ordinary people and conspiracy theorists in the UK, have taken to claiming that Magna Carta gives them the ‘freedom’ to ignore lockdowns or other perceived curtailment of their claimed ‘right’ to behave as they want.
These people show a serious misunderstanding of both English history and what Magna Carta really is.

What Magna Carta did in essence, was to present the twenty six Baron’s surrounding King John, with the right to organise their own lives without interference from the King, in order to bring together a more stable Kingdom, as a sort of “You scratch my back, and I will scratch yours” situation, which was of benefit to both parties.
In no way did it present freedom to the common people, who of course were still subject to serfdom and control by those Barons.

Over the many centuries since, the articles of Magna Carta have been either watered down or milked away by additional statutes and laws brought in to clarify the legal position and to support judgements in law. Judgements most often set in the context of legal precedent.
The law is constantly changing in order to change with the needs of current situations - it was not forged in fire and steel in 1215.

The above quote from the writer Leslie Charteris, famous as the writer of the well known and loved ‘Saint’ stories, actually makes a very good point, and puts it more than clearly, in its true context.

This sums up perfectly what Magna Carta in it’s many revisions between 1215 and 1800 ( and still revising), actually represents to those who are really aware of the historical significance of the charter. As an historical document it is interesting, and can be viewed by anyone with the inclination to do so, in the British Library in London, but ask any British person what it contains and how it affects the law today and only a very tiny number will be able to answer with any real or valuable knowledge or insight.

It is still argued over by academic scholars, lawyer’s and parliament, even as it’s impact on British law fades year by year and day by day, as human life and it’s needs become more complicated.
Originally written against a background of powerful Kingship, Catholic religious law, the serfdom of the people by overlords and an agrarian economic system, it has little real meaning these days, and has been much ignored throughout history as a means of giving any true or real freedom to the people.
A charter from 1215, has little relevance in 2022, when we live in a world far removed from the simplicity of the early medieval period, and now have to work in the complexity of international life and law.

Magna Carta protected the insecure King from his Lords rebelling against him, above anything else, and this was the true reason that it was complied and then signed that day at Runnymead.

Freedom is a right, in fact a human right, not a gift from a King or government.

So if we really believe in the freedoms supposedly bestowed on us by King John, why are we beset with such stuff as taxation, licences, rules and regulations, and government interference in our lives?
Why do so many people claim that it embodies ‘Common Law’ when what common law actually is, is still hotly debated by law scholars who cannot agree amongst themselves about this and use recent precedents in law to inform and resolve cases?

The fact is that Magna Carta is an interesting document and a window into the eleventh century, much in the way of our great cathedrals, castles and palaces. If real freedom had existed in those far off days, all of these historic monuments would not have existed, there would have been no need for them.
It was the pursuit, and holding of power which brought about Magna Carta, it did little for the common folk whilst making the overlords, the church and the Kingship better organised and as a consequence, richer and more powerful.
The commoners still toiled as serfs, and unpaid workers, looking on in hardship, as vast amounts were spent on the show of power reflected in large buildings, such as castles and palaces, and the growth of large independent armies, and religious establishments the length and breadth of the country.
What the great charter really represented was the establishment of power and control OVER the people, not the power of the people to express the natural freedoms given by life itself.

What It really expresses and what it’s real meaning is, is that - “ You can be free to do as you like, but only with My (The King’s) permission”.

In the words of a Janis Joplin song - “Freedom is just another word for nothing left to lose, and nothing ain’t worth nothing, but it’s free!”

I best think that the average understanding of The Great Charter by the modern British people, and others too, is realistically summed up by by the late lamented British comedy writers Simpson and Galton, who wrote the scripts for the wonderful and still funny radio show ‘Hancocks, Half Hour’, featuring the much missed comedian Tony Hancock.
In one scene, where Hancock feels that he is being personally got at by the trivial laws of the state, he addresses a court thus -

“Magna Carta, Magna Carta - did She die, - in vain?”

So, Magna Carta,
In pace requiestate.

---