Magna Carta

Holt, J.C., Magna Carta, (2^nd Edition), (Cambridge University Press, 1992)

·         Was a failure – ‘intended as a peace and it provoked war’ pg 1

·         Document of law – ‘ no free man is to be imprisoned, dispossessed, outlawed, exiled, or damaged without lawful judgement of his peers or by the law of the land’ pg 2 – longstanding.

·         The charter failed to produce peace because it was loosely worded and could be interpreted  in many different ways

·         New editions distorted the original text

·         Was called great just because of it’s size – not because it was actually great

·         It was not just law, it was propaganda

Government text as above

·         12^th Century England had no constitution

·         No general system of government – no checks and balance, not rights protected, no defined purposes

·         Operated in a society where privilege was everything

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There is a copy of the Magna Carta in Lincoln Castle which makes a great trip. You can do the Cathedral and the Castle which is a Motte and Bailey, so this would reinforce most of this unit of study. 

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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-essex-14835423
The above is a link to the proposal  of having a public holiday to mark the sealing of the 'Great Charter'