The Magna Charta

The Magna Charta Libertatum was wrote in 1215 by King John Lackland of England, he was forced by a group of barons, his subjects, to limit the crown power, to ensure some civil rights and to protect their privileges. Barons were disappointed about the military defeats caused by the war against Philip II of France and for the onerous taxes that the crown determined without the parliamentary approval. The Barons send a list of requests to the King but he did not accept it, they broke the oath to obedience so the stability of the crown was in risk. King John had to accept the Magna Charta rights to safeguard the English Monarchy.

The Magna Charta is the first legal text of England has been rewritten and updated a lot of times and today it is still in force. For the first time in the history has been safeguarding individual freedom regard arbitrary king actions, though it was important above all feudal and church freedom rather than common people. One of the most important article is the “Habeas Corpus”, after that no once more could be arrested without a legal process before. This is known also as “Great Writ” and together to others important articles in the Magna Charta, they have built the base of western law civilization.
If we go on the A030 towards Egham, near Windsor, just 20 miles west of the central London, it is possible to see around the River Thames, the “Runnymede” area, the beautiful place where Magna Charta was written, where King John met feudal barons to write Magna Charta on 15 June 1215. Not many people know this area but it is very interesting, because Runnymede is a special memory place, in regard to democracy, freedom, limitation of power and equality under law. It was chosen as place of monuments and commemorative symbols, in fact in this peaceful and lonely place there are: Magna Charta Memorial; Ankerwyck Yew, where King John and Barons usually met, and also where Henry III said to have met Anna Bolena in the 1530; Air Force Memorial, the important monument for the death during the II War World, and other interesting little memorial buildings.
The Magna Charta memorial monument hides among the trees in a part of green area, this building fascinating and isolated is into the woods, it is a domed classical style on which is possible to read: “To Commemorate Magna Charta, symbol of the Freedom under Low”. The monument was created in 1957, by “American Bar Association” composed by voluntary lawyers and law students, to remember where the first Civil Document was written.
In the Word there are 17 copies of the Magna Charta documents and to see some of them we have to go in the British Museum, where there are two in a specific Library room, another one in Lincoln Cathedral and in the Salisbury Cathedral. Two of this copies are not in U.K, one is in Australia and one in United States. This last copy, dating of 1297 and it is signed by King Edward, has an interesting history, because is the only one that is in private hands, it was sold during an auction to David Rubenstein, founder of the financial company “Carlyle Group” adviser in the Carter government. He has bought the Magna Charta copy for 21, 32 million dollars in December 2007. Earlier it was of an English family until 1984 when it was sold to Ross Perrot, a rich American. For long time Magna Charta copy was borrowed to National Archives of Washington until the owner decided to sell it. Rubenstein, the new owner, said that the only reason of his buying was to save the only American copy. He said that he was worried that some foreign buyer could buy it and American people would lost the jewel of civilization, but now it is still in U.S.A. Here some Rubenstein’s declarations given by BBC news, he said: “I have always believed that the three most important documents were the Constitution, the Declaration of Independence and the Magna Charta. This document stands the test of time. There is nothing more important than what it represents. I am privileged to be the new owner, but I am only the temporary custodian. This is a gift to the American people. It is important to me that it stays in the United States.”