Magna Carta

Front Cover
Penguin UK, Jan 15, 2015 - History - 624 pages

'David Carpenter deserves to replace Sir James Holt as the standard authority, and an unfailingly readable one too.' Ferdinand Mount, TLS

'An invaluable new commentary' Jill Leopore, New Yorker

With a new commentary by David Carpenter

"No free man shall be seized or imprisoned, or stripped of his rights or possessions, or outlawed or exiled, or deprived of his standing in any other way, nor will we proceed with force against him, or send others to do so, except by the lawful judgment of his equals or by the law of the land."

Magna Carta, forced on King John in 1215 by rebellion, is one of the most famous documents in world history. It asserts a fundamental principle: that the ruler is subject to the law. Alongside a new text and translation of the Charter, David Carpenter's commentary draws on new discoveries to give an entirely fresh account of Magna Carta's text, origins, survival and enforcement, showing how it quickly gained a central place in English political life. It also uses Magna Carta as a lens through which to view thirteenth-century society, focusing on women and peasants as well as barons and knights. The book is a landmark in Magna Carta studies.

2015 is the 800th anniversary of Magna Carta's creation - an event which will be marked with exhibitions, commemorations and debates in all the countries over whose constitutions and legal assumptions the shadow of Magna Carta hangs.

 

Selected pages

Contents

The Documents 2 The Chapters Contents and Text of Magna Carta
MAGNA CARTA 1215
King John and the Sources for His Reign
Women Peasants Jews the Towns and the Church
Earls Barons Knights and Free Tenants
Magna Carta and the Structure of Royal Government
John and His Predecessors
Standards of Judgement
Runnymede 12 The Enforcement and Failure of the Charter
The Revival of the Charter 12161225
Magna Carta Make a Difference?
Glossary of Terms
Map of the English Counties
King Johns letter announcing the terms of the 1209 Treaty of Norham
The Canterbury Magna Carta
Notes

Resistance 12121215
The Development of the Opposition Programme
Bibliography Follow Penguin
Copyright

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Common terms and phrases

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About the author (2015)

David Carpenter, who has translated the text of Magna Carta and written the text of this edition, is Professor of Medieval History at King's College, London. He is the author of The Struggle for Mastery in Britain, 1066-1284, a volume in the Penguin History of Britain series.

Bibliographic information

TitleMagna Carta
AuthorDavid Carpenter
PublisherPenguin UK, 2015
ISBN014196846X, 9780141968469
Length624 pages
Subjects ›  ›  › 

History / Europe / Great Britain / General
History / Europe / Medieval
Law / Constitutional
Political Science / Constitutions
  
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