January 14, 2015
Society of Antiquaries of London announces historic exhibition for Magna Carta 800
14th January, 2015, Culture 24
The Society of Antiguaries has released details of its plans to commemorate the 800th anniversary of the signing of the Magna Carta with a free exhibition exploring its priceless manuscripts of The Great Charter.
Grants from Bank of America Merrill Lynch, the Headley Trust, Heritage Lottery Fund and the Ruddock Foundation for the Arts will fund an exhibition, uniting and displaying the Society’s three copies of the charter for the first time.
Magna Carta Through the Ages (May 26 – July 31) will explore the antiquarian interest in the charter through the centuries and the ways in which Magna Carta has continued to be relevant to successive generations.
The star exhibits will be the Society’s three remarkable copies.
They comprise a copy of the 1215 charter, made from a discarded draft, which gives an insight into the process by which the terms of Magna Carta were negotiated, a unique roll copy of the reissue in 1225 and a copy of the 1225 reissue in an early 14th-century collection of statutes, showing how Magna Carta was received in a 14th-century legal context.
Describing the manuscripts as “extraordinary finds”, Stephen Church, a Professor of Medieval History at the University of East Anglia, said the medieval copies will allow people to understand how the text was received and used by 13th-century people.
“The fact that they are copies, rather than official communications from the king, shows just how important it was for those at the sharp end of the reforms to possess their own copies of Magna Carta,” he pointed out.
King John sealed Magna Carta at Runnymede, on the banks of the River Thames, on June 15 1215 in an attempt to make peace with his rebellious barons.
Copies were distributed throughout the kingdom. Although its promise of religious rights, protection from illegal imprisonment, justice and limitations on feudal payments were largely ignored during the remainder of John’s reign, subsequent medieval kings reissued it in various forms as they vied for support and popularity.
Many historians argue that its significance became largely symbolic in the middle ages until the 16th and 17th centuries, when it became a symbol of freedom, justice and democracy in both England and her colonies.
January 13, 2015
Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond MP delivers speech at Magna Carta anniversary dinner
January 13th, 2015
Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond MP delivered a speech last night at the Magna Carta Guildhall Anniversary dinner, which praised Magna Carta’s values in the modern world and its significance as a British export.
The event raised money and awareness for Magna Carta-themed projects taking place across Britain.
The Foreign Secretary’s closing remarks: “Long may Magna Carta and its principles flourish – let us celebrate it as Britain’s gift to the world, and an unrivalled inspiration to the defence of our collective liberty” – roused the attentive audience to great applause.
January 9, 2015
Melvyn Bragg’s ‘Magna Carta’ now available on BBC iPlayer
On 5th January, 2015, Melvyn Bragg began his new series, ‘Magna Carta’ – a major new four-part documentary series for Radio 4. Melvyn Bragg investigated the history of our most famous legal document and told the story of the events and people responsible for this landmark document.
Click here to listen to this series on BBC iPlayer
For more information on the BBC’s Taking Liberties season, please click here.
Magna Carta: Backed by the City
City AM, 9th January 2015.
Written by Marc Sidwell, Executive Editor
‘Happy 2015: despite this week’s horrifying atrocity in France, it’s going to be an extraordinary year. Not just for the sharp downward trends in oil, food and retail prices reshaping the business landscape even as they prove a welcome January gift for hard-pressed Brits. Nor even for the electoral wrestling-match set to occupy the next few months, or the prospect of an even more significant EU referendum if the Tories win. On 12 June, a great anniversary will arrive: the moment the treaty was agreed that laid the cornerstone of modern democracy.
Eight hundred years ago this summer, Magna Carta was sealed by a reluctant king. The City was a key player: without London’s backing, the miracle of 1215 would never have happened. Its fine 1297 copy is on show at the Guildhall from next week.
As a result, Magna Carta confirmed the liberties of the City of London, but its greatest gifts – democracy and the rule of law – are global. The British Library’s anniversary exhibition, sponsored by Linklaters, will include Thomas Jefferson’s manuscript of the US Declaration of Independence and an original copy of the US Bill of Rights.
Today, some wish to suggest the ordinary citizen’s interests are somehow at odds with the interests of those with more money or who stand at the helm of large businesses. But as Magna Carta shows, the principles of justice at stake in taxing a great city beyond endurance, and denying to certain landowners the proper course of law, prove to be those that, upheld, bring down arbitrary power to the benefit of all, raising up and liberating every citizen. At a time when an act of barbaric violence has shocked the world, rereading Britain’s talismanic charter of justice still recalls the civilised values that can unite us all.’
January 7, 2015
Magna Carta on view at Library of Congress through January 19
The Washington Post, 6th January, 2015
‘By the year 1215, King John had ruled over England for 15 years. But they were troubled years. John lived in the shadow of his older brother, King Richard I. Known as Richard the Lionheart, he was killed in battle in France in 1199.
John and his nephew battled for the throne. John won and restarted the war with France. He demanded money and men from his nobles. But within five years, French forces had routed the English. To pay for this stinging defeat, King John had to raise taxes — as unpopular in his day as ours. When more military losses followed, the king raised the nobles’ taxes again.
At the same time, John was having a disagreement with the pope, head of the Catholic Church, headquartered in Rome. England was a Catholic country. Many in England were loyal to the pope and the church. Pope Innocent III decided to punish John and his subjects by barring them from important church ceremonies. This, too, angered some of the barons
The powerful nobles rose up against the king. To stay in power, John was forced to sign a document called Magna Carta (Latin for “great charter”). This peace treaty limited the king’s power and set in writing the idea that no one, not even the king, was above the law. All free men have the right to justice and a fair trial, the document said.
Sound familiar? Magna Carta was the first charter to support the rights of the individual. And although it was signed in another time and place, it was embraced by the Founding Fathers of the United States more than 550 years later as they wrote the new nation’s Constitution and Bill of Rights.’
January 5, 2015
BBC marks the 800th anniversary of the Magna Carta with ‘Taking Liberties’ season
The BBC
‘2015 marks the 800th anniversary of Magna Carta – the document seen by many as England’s greatest export. It set out limits to the powers of the monarch and ideals of liberty and justice which have underpinned British society, the establishment of Parliamentary democracy and the development of the legal system in the UK and around the world.
This landmark moment falls in a General Election year and the BBC will mark this period with Taking Liberties – a collection of thought-provoking new commissions from across the BBC that will not only explore Magna Carta’s history and influence but will also examine the current state of democracy.’
Magna Carta: 800 years on
The Guardian, Friday 2nd January, 2015.
By Professor David Carpenter
‘Nelson Mandela appealed to it; the US founding fathers drew on it; Charles I’s opponents cherished it. David Carpenter considers the huge significance of the 13th-century document that asserted a fundamental principle – the rule of law.
This year, 2015, is the 800th anniversary of Magna Carta. It was on 15 June 1215 that King John, in the meadow of Runnymede beside the Thames between Windsor and Staines, sealed (not signed) the document now known as the Magna Carta. Today, jets taking off from London Heathrow airport come up over Runnymede and then often turn to fly down its whole length before vanishing into the distance. Yet it is not difficult to imagine the scene, during those tense days in June 1215, when Magna Carta was being negotiated, the great pavilion of the king, like a circus top, towering over the smaller tents of barons and knights stretching out across the meadow.
The Magna Carta is a document some 3,550 words long written in Latin, the English translation being “Great Charter”. Much of it, even in a modern translation, can seem remote and archaic. It abounds in such terms as wainage, amercement, socage, novel disseisin, mort d’ancestor and distraint. Some of its chapters seem of minor importance: one calls for the removal of fish weirs from the Thames and Medway. Yet there are also chapters which still have a very clear contemporary relevance. Chapters 12 and 14 prevented the king from levying taxation without the common consent of the kingdom. Chapter 39 laid down that “No free man is to be arrested, or imprisoned, or diseised [dispossessed], or outlawed, or exiled, or in any way destroyed, nor will we go against him, nor will we send against him, save by the lawful judgement of his peers or by the law of the land.”
In chapter 40 the king declared that “To no one will we sell, to no one will we deny or delay, right or justice.”
In these ways, the Charter asserted a fundamental principle – the rule of law. The king was beneath the law, the law the Charter itself was making. He could no longer treat his subjects in an arbitrary fashion. It was for asserting this principle that the Charter was cherished by opponents of Charles I, and called in aid by the founding fathers of the United States. When on trial for his life in 1964, Nelson Mandela appealed to Magna Carta, alongside the Petition of Rights and the Bill of Rights, “documents which are held in veneration by democrats throughout the world”. Chapters 39 and 40 are still on the statute book of the UK today. The headline of a Guardian piece in 2007 opposing the 90-day detention period for suspected terrorists was “Protecting Magna Carta”.’
Magna Carta #1 in Lonely Planet’s list of 2015 Anniversaries
January 1st, 2015
The 800th anniversary of the sealing of Magna Carta has been placed as number one of the Lonely Planet’s list of anniversaries taking place in 2015. replica panerai watches
Other mentions on the list include the 750th anniversary of the De Montfort Parliament, and the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo.
Magna Carta: the things you didn’t know
The Telegraph, 1st January 2015.
By historian Dan Jones.
This will be the year of Magna Carta. It is a year rich in historical anniversaries, including those of the battles of Agincourt (1415) and Waterloo (1815). But it is the commemoration of King John’s great concession at Runnymede on June 15 1215 that should dominate our thoughts, as we consider the profound influence that the Great Charter has had on eight centuries of history in England, Britain and the English-speaking world.
The celebrations begin this year on February 3. For one day, the only four known copies of Magna Carta 1215 will be brought together for the first time, at the British Library, where they will be seen by the 1,215 people who have won their tickets in a public ballot. There will be plenty more Magna Carta pageantry during the rest of the year, including an exhibition, also at the British Library, a royal visit to Runnymede on the anniversary itself and many other smaller events in towns across the UK – Lincoln, Bury St Edmunds, Salisbury and more – who claim a historic connection with the Great Charter.
But what exactly is Magna Carta? Why was it granted? Does it really speak to the principles of democracy, liberty and human rights with which it is so often associated? And what is the purpose of the charter – if it has one – today? All of these questions are of critical importance as we celebrate eight centuries of Magna Carta, and look towards a ninth.
Magna Carta was a failed peace treaty. It was produced during a civil war between John and a coalition of his barons, known by various titles, including The Army of God and The Northerners.
The issues between these two groups were many and various – which is why Magna Carta is 4,000 words long and is now usually divided into 63 clauses. The grievances it addressed were not only of John’s making. They reached back at least two generations, into the reigns of John’s father, Henry II, and his brother Richard I, “the Lionheart”.
What is Magna Carta and why are we celebrating its 800th anniversary in 2015?
The Metro, Monday 29th December
‘2015 marks the 800th anniversary of the signing of Magna Carta. It’s a document you’ll be hearing a lot more about over the next 12 months so, just in case that history lesson passed you by at school, here’s everything you need to know.
What is Magna Carta and why is it so important?
Magna Carta is a document created in 1215 that limited the power of the monarch and established human rights for everyone in England.
Signed on June 15 by King John of England in Runnymede, Surrey, Magna Carta was meant as a peace treaty between King John and his subjects, and demanded that every person had to obey the law, including the king.
Among the original 63 clauses in the 1215 Magna Carta – many of which dealt with King John’s wrongdoings during his tyrannical reign – were the right to a fair trial by jury for all ‘free men’ and the right of all cities, boroughs, towns and ports to enjoy ‘free customs’.
‘Magna Carta’ means ‘The Great Charter’ in Latin, and the signing of this new ‘peace treaty’ is considered a pivotal moment in the establishment of the human rights that we all enjoy today.’
William Shakespeare’s ‘The Troublesome Reign of King John’ in BBC’s 2015 Theatre Highlights
The BBC, 30th December 2014
‘To mark the 800th anniversary of the Magna Carta, Shakespeare’s Globe and Northampton’s Royal & Derngate will tour the Bard’s rarely performed King John. Directed by James Dacre, the production will visit Northampton’s Holy Sepulchre Church – which was frequently visited by King John and his court.
The Globe begins the new year with Hattie Morahan as Beatrice-Joanna in Dominic Dromgoole’s production of gruesome Jacobean tragedy, The Changeling.’
To read other entries on the BBC’s 2015 Theatre Highlights, click here.
Labour would make learning about Magna Carta compulsory
The Times Educational Supplement, 29th December 2014
‘Every pupil in England will be taught about Magna Carta if Labour wins the next election, shadow education secretary Tristram Hunt pledged today.
But critics have been quick to point out that the medieval document is already included in the national curriculum. They have also questioned whether Labour would impose the policy on the thousands of academies that have freedom to choose what to teach.
Mr Hunt, a historian, said: “Next year marks Magna Carta’s 800th anniversary and if I am education secretary after the general election, I am determined every child is taught the medieval past and modern power of this heroic charter.”
The latest national curriculum framework for history, published in September 2013, states that 11-14-year-olds “should be taught about the development of Church, state and society in Medieval Britain” and that this could include “Magna Carta and the emergence of Parliament”.
Mr Hunt added: “A Labour government would update the curriculum to give teachers the tools to explain the importance of 1215.” ‘
December 30, 2014
Magna Carta 800th one of English Heritage’s ‘Top 10′ Anniversaries of 2015.
30th December, 2014.
The 800th Anniversary of the sealing of Magna Carta has been placed on an English Heritage list of top anniversaries in 2015.
The sealing of Magna Carta is the oldest event in the list, and stands alongside the 600th anniversary of the Battle of Agincourt, and the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo.
Also on the list is a direct descendant of the sealing of Magna Carta: the De Montfort Parliament of 1265 is seen as an important moment in the history of Parliamentary democracy. De Montfort was the ringleader of English Barons who participated in the Second Barons’ War, a conflict influenced hugely by the precedents set by the Barons who engineered Magna Carta in 1215.
UK Parliament are leading with events commemorating the De Montfort Parliament, and are working with Magna Carta 800th to recognise Magna Carta internationally in 2015.
To read the English Heritage’s list of the top anniversaries of 2015 in The Telegraph, click here.
December 29, 2014
Royal Holloway, University of London, opens Magna Carta centre to study digital age ‘freedoms’
Royal Holloway, University of London, is to open a Magna Carta centre in 2015, which will offer students the option to study digital ‘rights’ and ‘freedoms’.
The University was founded in 1886 by mercantile Victorian philanthropist, Thomas Holloway, and set a historical precedent as being the first University open only to women.
Now, almost 130 years later, Royal Holloway, University of London, will make contributions to the understanding of rights and privileges in a digital age, marking the 800th Anniversary of the sealing of Magna Carta in the nearby fields of Runnymede.
To read more about the centre from the BBC, please click here.
December 27, 2014
Lincoln Castle to close for Magna Carta project
BBC News, 23rd December 2014
‘Lincoln Castle is to close its gates for more than three months while a £22m project to build a new vault for the Magna Carta is completed.
The four-year Lincoln Castle Revealed project draws to a close on 1 April 2015, when the castle re-opens.
It includes a high-security underground vault, where an original copy of the Magna Carta will be displayed alongside the Charter of the Forest.
Lincoln’s copy of the Magna Carta – one of only four surviving originals – will be stored in the vault as part of a “widescreen cinematic experience”, charting the story of the document, which is 800 years old in 2015.
“This will make the castle an attraction of international importance, bringing in many more visitors from near and far,” said county councillor Nick Worth.’
To read more from the BBC, click here.
December 15, 2014
Magna Carta 800th Anniversary Committee to fund children’s audio guide for the British Library’s Magna Carta exhibition
We are delighted to announce that the Magna Carta 800th Anniversary Committee will be funding a children’s audio guide to assist with helping younger audiences engage with the largest Magna Carta exhibition in history next year at the British Library.
Magna Carta: Law, Liberty, Legacy , which is sponsored by the global law firm Linklaters, marks the 800th anniversary of Magna Carta and will run from 13 March 2015 until 1 September 2015.
The guide will focus on 10-15 key objects from the exhibition, which traces the dramatic 800 year history of Magna Carta. The exhibition will draw on the British Library’s rich historical collections, as well as borrowing celebrated international documents including Thomas Jefferson’s handwritten copy of the Declaration of Independence and an original copy of the US Bill of Rights (Delaware ratification) on loan from The New York Public Library and the US National Archives respectively.
The audio will draw on professional actors to bring the story of the exhibits to life, encouraging children to interact with the content by asking questions and re-imagining scenes from history.
For more information on the British Library exhibition, click here.
December 10, 2014
Royal Holloway, University of London’s world-class art collection will celebrate the Magna Carta’s 800th anniversary.
The Magna Carta 800th Commemoration Committee is happy to announce that a bid submitted by Royal Holloway, University of London, which will develop an exhibition focusing on paintings from the famous Holloway collection that feature breaches of human rights, has been accepted.
Famous paintings in the collection include, ‘The Princes in the Tower’ by Millais, ‘The Railway Station’ by William Powell Frith, and Edwin Long’s ‘The Babylonian Marriage Market.’
The College was founded by Victorian philanthropist and advertising mogul Thomas Holloway in 1879, and was the first female-exclusive university. Holloway purchased the paintings in the famous Royal Holloway, University of London collection throughout the 1880s.
Dr. Laura MacCulloch is the curator of the famous Royal Holloway, University of London collection. Click here to look at the collection online.
November 28, 2014
Contemporary account of sealing of Magna Carta discovered
The Independent, 28th November 2014
An account of how the sealing of the Magna Carta went down with ordinary people at the time has been discovered by staff at the British Library.
King John was forced by his nobles to seal the historic document in June 1215 and it is widely seen as the birth of civil liberties in the UK, as it enshrined the right to swift and fair justice and put legal controls on the head of state’s power.
However a poem written shortly afterwards by Scottish monks in the Melrose Chronicle saw it rather differently, according to a report in The Guardian.
Julian Harrison, the British Library’s curator of medieval manuscripts, found the poem in the chronicle, which appears not to have been examined for mentions of the Magna Carta before.
To read more from The Independent, click here.
November 27, 2014
From Magna Carta to West Africa: The British Library announces 2015 Cultural Programme.
27th November, 2014
Magna Carta will play a huge role in collections & exhibitions at the British Library in 2015, a press release today has confirmed.
Three exhibitions will involve the public in discussion about Magna Carta and the current state of liberties today, as well as a balloted event in which the four 1215 editions of Magna Carta will be united for the first time in history.
The three public exhibitions are:
Law, Liberty, Legacy: The largest ever Magna Carta exhibition to mark the iconic document’s 800th anniversary
Cornelia Parker: Magna Carta (An Embroidery)
Magna Carta: My Digital Rights – Do we need a Bill of Rights for the internet?
Other exhibitions this year include unseen collected letters of Harold Pinter, and a major exhibition exploring the culture of West Africa.
For more information on the Events, please click here.
November 26, 2014
£1.4 Million donated to Lincoln Castle for Lincoln Castle Revealed project.
The Lincolnshire Echo, 25th November, 2014
‘Historic Lincoln Trust has secured a £1.4m donation for the Lincoln Castle Revealed project.
The donation will be made by the David Ross Foundation, which helps children and young people discover their strengths through a wide-range of world-class opportunities focusing on education, sports, arts and the community.
The money will go towards the creation of a new underground home to showcase Magna Carta and the Charter of the Forest, which will be named the David P.J. Ross Magna Carta Vault in honour of the foundation’s contribution.
Lord Cormack, chairman of the Historic Lincoln Trust, said: “This will mean that generations of visitors and students will have a unique opportunity to appreciate the full significance of the most important constitutional document in our history: the foundation of the rule of law in this country and inspiration to countries throughout the world”.’
Click here to read more from the Lincolnshire Echo.
November 25, 2014
Magna Carta’s 800th Anniversary number 1 in Lonely Planet’s list of 2015 anniversaries.
The 800th Anniversary of the sealing of Magna Carta has topped a Lonely Planet list of important anniversaries falling in 2015.
The Magna Carta is one of the most influential documents of all time, and commemoration events for the document are taking place across the United Kingdom and across the world.
2015 marks important anniversaries of the Battle of Waterloo, the American Civil War, and even the Lord of the Rings.
Click here to read the Lonely Planet’s list of special anniversaries in 2015.
November 20, 2014
Magna Carta River Thames pageant announced
From the BBC, 20th November, 2014
A “spectacular” river pageant on the River Thames has been announced to celebrate the 800th anniversary of the sealing of the Magna Carta next year.
A flotilla of boats will sail from Bisham Abbey to Wraysbury in Berkshire on Saturday 13 and Sunday 14 June.
Thames Alive is helping to organise the event, the group behind the Queen’s Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant in 2012.
The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead said: “The world’s eyes will be on us in June next year.”
To read more from the BBC on the Pageant, click here
Magna Carta 800th Commemoration Committee announces charity partnership with the Access to Justice Foundation
The Magna Carta 800th Commemoration Committee are delighted to announce a new partnership with the Access to Justice Foundation.
At the heart of the Magna Carta was the concept that there should be proper access to justice. With the recent changes in the provision of legal aid, cuts in government spending and the increasing complexity of citizens’ interaction with the law, the ability to obtain access to justice remains as relevant today as it was when the barons gathered at Runnymede.
The Access to Justice Foundation aims to improve access to justice for the most vulnerable in society by raising funds and distributing them to organisations that support those who need legal help but cannot afford it. The free legal advice sector provides a vital means of ensuring that the continued provision of proper access to justice is maintained. The Access to Justice Foundation is proud to support that sector and play its own role in maintaining the great tradition of the Magna Carta.
In celebration of the 800th anniversary of the sealing of the Magna Carta the Access to Justice Foundation will be working with the Commemoration Committee to run bespoke events in the Magna Carta towns in addition to its annual programme of fundraising events, which will have a Magna Carta focus. Teams and individuals will be walking, running, cycling, playing golf and baking to raise money to support access to justice; sponsored walks will take in the local sights and places of interest and the events will highlight some of the most important legal clauses in the Magna Carta.
The events will reach out to local communities, celebrating the work of free legal advice organisations and the legal profession which supports them, involving everyone in the local community in celebrating and commemorating the importance and continuing relevance of the Magna Carta today.
Chief Executive of the Access to Justice Foundation, Ruth Daniel, said “The Magna Carta celebrations emphasise the continued relevance of access to justice in our society. We’re delighted to be able to highlight the work we are doing and its importance to continuing the traditions laid down by the Magna Carta 800 years ago.”
Click here to visit the Access for Justice Foundation website.
November 17, 2014
Magna Carta’s 800th anniversary picked by VisitEngland as a 2015 Highlight
Visit England have picked the 800th Anniversary of Magna Carta as one of the fifteen national highlights for 2015. The anniversary stands alongside the Rugby World Cup & the bicentenary of the Battle of Waterloo.
For more information, and to see the other events on Visit England’s list, click here.
November 16, 2014
BBC announces Magna Carta “Taking Liberties” season
The BBC has today announced it will mark the 800th anniversary of Magna Carta with Taking Liberties – a collection of thought-provoking new commissions from across the BBC that will not only explore Magna Carta’s history and influence but will also examine the current state of democracy.
The BBC’s Director-General Tony Hall says: “I am delighted to announce this new season marking the 800th anniversary of Magna Carta. The BBC should be the place where the great events in our nation’s history are commemorated. Michael Cockerell, David Starkey, Melvyn Bragg, Amanda Vickery, Nick Robinson and Helena Kennedy QC amongst others will be presenting a season of programmes examining what Magna Carta’s key themes of freedom, power and justice mean to Britain and the world today.”
The BBC’s season will form part of an extensive range of events and activities across the country to mark the anniversary. The BBC has been working closely with the British Library and the Magna Carta 800th Anniversary Commemoration Committee to develop this collection of programmes.”
Click BBC Taking Liberties Press Release to download more information about the BBC’s Magna Carta programmes.
November 13, 2014
Why Americans love the Magna Carta: from Thomas Jefferson to Jay Z
The Telegraph, Thursday 13th November.
As one of four surviving original manuscripts goes on display in Washington, we trace the role of the Magna Carta through US history.
When Prime Minister David Cameron appeared on a chat show in New York last year only to be quizzed about the signing of the Magna Carta, he seemed perplexed. He shouldn’t have been.
The charter drawn up by 40 rebellious barons at Runnymede in 1215 to assert their individual rights is revered by Americans, who see it as an inspiration for their own constitution despite the fact that the United States didn’t exist until some 550 years after the Magna Carta was signed.
The Magna Carta’s influence on American culture can be seen in everything from the Bill of Rights to the title of a recent Jay Z album.
To understand why, you’ve got to start at the very beginning.
Magna Carta and the Mayflower:
When pilgrims began leaving Britain for North America in the 17th century, they wanted the rights that were guaranteed to them as British subjects to follow them to the New World.
As a result, America’s early colonies established charters guaranteeing certain fundamental liberties to those who settled there.
These charters were, unsurprisingly, modelled after the Magna Carta, which could have reasonably been described as America’s founding document – at least until the ratification of the US Constitution in 1790.
Magna Carta and the American Revolution:
It was no coincidence that when residents of Boston first took up arms against the crown, the seal of the Massachusetts Bay colony included the image of a militiaman with sword in one hand and Magna Carta in the other.
Both the rallying cry of “no taxation without representation” and the declaration that even the king must be subject to the law could be traced back to Runnymede.
To read more from the Telegraph, click here.
November 11, 2014
The Oxford Brookes Schools Project
Oxford Brookes University is delighted to announce that the Magna Carta Trust’s 800th Anniversary Commemoration Committee is making a grant of £15,000 to the University.
The project will take place during this academic year and will provide opportunities for young people to engage and reflect on the meaning and significance of Magna Carta in contemporary British society.
This project will provide a framework to build on existing partnerships between Brookes students and local schools and the establishment of a regular event for debate and discussion around issues of political and social importance.
Aimed to engage specifically with young people, the project will compliment a suite of other activities taking place across Oxfordshire in celebration of the Magna Carta 800th Anniversary.
For the full article or more information, click here.
November 10, 2014
Magna Carta: Awesome Tale
The Huffington Post, 11th November 2014.
By Sir Peter Westmacott, UK Ambassador to the US.
‘On June 15th 1215, in a bucolic meadow outside London, King John of England, beaten down by incessant warring with his own barons, stuck his seal to a document. Eight hundred years later, the implications of that moment are still playing out. Written in Latin, the document was called Magna Carta Liberatum–which translates simply as “Great Charter of Liberties”–or, if you’re in a hurry, simply Magna Carta.
Today, Magna Carta is regarded in both the UK and the US as a foundation stone of our freedoms. Next year marks its 800th anniversary, and to celebrate, Lincoln Cathedral in eastern England has sent its copy on a grand tour of the United States. From now until January, it will be exhibited at the Library of Congress.
King John was certainly no fan of Magna Carta, but while in the nobles’ clutches he pretty much had to do as he was told. Just as soon as he wriggled free, he broke his oath, repudiated the charter, and started fighting with the barons once again. It was left to his son, Henry III, to sign the definitive 1225 version. In contrast to his father, Henry signed of his own free will… in exchange for a hefty tax to fill the royal coffers.
Why did John hate Magna Carta so much? Because, for the first time in history, it placed clear limits on royal power. Eight centuries on, some clauses sound stunningly modern. For example:
No free man shall be arrested, or imprisoned, or deprived of his property, or outlawed, or exiled or in any way destroyed, nor shall we go against him or send against him, unless by legal judgement of his peers, or by the law of the land.
Today, we regard this idea–that our rulers can’t punish or dispossess us just because they feel like it–as a given. In the early thirteenth century, it was revolutionary. Indeed, Magna Carta contains, in embryo, a number of rights we free-thinking moderns take for granted. It even hints at a principle that has caused a certain degree of friction between our two countries historically–no taxation without representation.
In 1776, a group of 56 clever men in Philadelphia decided to use ideas descended from Magna Carta to found an entire country. By that time, they didn’t need a King to sign off on those principles, because they held them to be self-evident truths. Chances are, the King wouldn’t have agreed anyway.
The connection between Magna Carta and the Declaration of Independence has not gone unnoticed. It certainly didn’t escape Winston S. Churchill, himself half-American, who said:
The Declaration of Independence is not only an American document. It follows on Magna Carta and the Bill of Rights [the British one, signed by William III in 1689] as the third great title deed in which the liberties of the English-speaking people are founded.
In 2007, the DC-based philanthropist David Rubenstein bought the last privately-held copy of Magna Carta–a re-issue sealed by Edward I in 1297–and lent it to the National Archives, where it is kept next to the originals of the United States’ Declaration of Independence, Constitution and Bill of Rights. Lincoln Cathedral’s copy, a 1215 original, comes to the Library of Congress as part of a splendid exhibition entitled Magna Carta: Muse and Mentor. Fittingly, the Library has placed it next to Thomas Jefferson’s own library and a display on civil rights.’
To read more from the Huffington Post, click here.
November 9, 2014
1297 Magna Carta paraded at Lord Mayor’s Show in London
BBC News, 8th November
The City of London’s 1297 copy of the Magna Carta has travelled through the capital during the Lord Mayor’s Show.
The parade through the City marked Alan Yarrow taking up the post of the 687th Lord Mayor of London.
Around half a million people are thought to have turned out to watch the annual pageant which featured more than 7,000 participants and 19 bands.
The 800th anniversary of Magna Carta will be marked in major commemorative events in 2015.
November 7, 2014
Magna Carta Exhibition Highlights shared US-UK love of liberty
The Telegraph, 6th November.
Some 75 years after the Lincoln Cathedral copy of Magna Carta was locked in the vaults of Fort Knox for safekeeping, it returns to the US Library of Congress.
Princess Anne returned to Washington DC for the first time in 20 years on Thursday to open an exhibit celebrating the 800th anniversary of the signing of Magna Carta, a document treasured by Americans as an inspiration to their own constitution.
The Princess Royal said the document, drawn up by 40 rebellious barons in 1215 to assert their individual rights, served to highlight Britain and America’s enduring love of liberty.
“We take so much for granted in terms of our freedoms and our expectations of freedoms and independence, and anniversaries such as this really are reminders of how far we have come in safeguarding our liberties,” she said at a ceremony at the Library of Congress.
“Nearly 800 years ago, Magna Carta gave us our first concept of a society governed by the rule of law — a major step.”
Lincoln Cathedral has lent one of the only four surviving copies of Magna Carta issued in 1215 for an exhibition that also includes 76 items drawn from the Library of Congress’s collection, including George Washington’s annotated copy of a draft of the US Constitution from 1787.
The exhibition “Magna Carta: Muse and Mentor” also marks another anniversary – the 75th since the Lincoln Cathedral copy of Magna Carta was sent to America in 1939 for safekeeping, in case the Nazis succeeded in invading Britain.
November 5, 2014
The Legacy of Magna Carta and fundamental liberties
Australian Magna Carta 800th Committee to assess impact of Magna Carta on contemporary politics.
The Magna Carta Committee of the Rule of Law Institute of Australia is delighted to announce that it has been awarded £20,000 by the UK Magna Carta Trust’s 800th Anniversary Commemoration Committee. The award will be used to develop a website entitled “The Legacy of Magna Carta and fundamental liberties” and make educational material available to all Australians and other countries of the Commonwealth.
The Legacy of Magna Carta website will explore fundamental liberties of the individual as they exist in selected Commonwealth countries today. It will be a resource for teachers and students to learn about individual liberties, legal institutions and events that enshrine the legacy of Magna Carta.
Magna Carta is the most famous and important document in the history of the English speaking world. It was granted on the 15 June 1215 by King John and next year we will celebrate its 800th anniversary.
It is critical to the protection of an individual’s fundamental liberties. It was a source of the US Declaration of Independence. And it was brought with the first settlers to Australia and became part of our legal heritage.
As Sir Gerard Brennan, a former Chief Justice of Australia, has said, the Magna Carta has lived in the hearts and minds of Australian people. It is an incarnation of the spirit of liberty in Australia. And whatever its literal text or meaning, it has become the talisman of the spirit of a society in which tolerance and democracy reside, a society in which power and privilege do not produce tyranny and oppression.
Chairman of the Australian Magna Carta Committee, Professor Nicholas Cowdery AM QC, noted the following: “The principles reflected in the Magna Carta are valuable in educating students about liberty, democracy and the rule of law. It is an inspiration for a framework of laws which provide the basis for peace and order in many countries, and for individual liberties.”
The website will include online interactives and downloadable print resources for secondary students (aged 12 – 18) who participate in legal or civics courses as part of their studies. Exploration of fundamental principles of legality such as checks and balances on the power of government, and the relationship between the rule of law, democracy and liberties will highlight the importance of Magna Carta in contemporary discussions about liberty.
The first two countries to be examined on the website will be Australia and Fiji.
For over 200 years the Charter has been part of the Australian psyche and is a fundamental reason our society has had no civil wars or serious civil unrest, with dissent and individual freedoms accommodated peacefully.
Fiji, an island nation in the South Pacific, which became independent from the United Kingdom in 1970, has recently been readmitted as a full member of the Commonwealth after a period of undemocratic military rule. The constitutional framework for liberty in Fiji and its recent democratic elections are a fascinating study in the workings of government, the rule of law and liberty.
Resources for a further two Commonwealth countries will be made available mid-2015.
A portal with links to Magna Carta education materials from a range of cultural institutions will also link teachers and students to the wealth of information already available.
The UK’s Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rt. Hon. George Osborne MP, who provided for the grant to the UK Magna Carta 800th Anniversary Commemoration Committee in his March 2014 budget, said: “The principles of freedom and liberty which the Magna Carta codified for the first time have had a lasting impact not just in the UK but around the world. I announced at the Budget that the Government would support the commemoration of the 800th anniversary of King John and his barons sealing the document. I am pleased that it will be commemorated in so many interesting and exciting ways, involving people from around the UK, the Commonwealth and beyond”.
Details of the Australian Magna Carta Committee appear at: http://www.magnacarta.org.au/
November 3, 2014
Magna Carta 800 years on: recognition at last for ‘England’s greatest export’
The Guardian, Saturday 1st November.
“Prepare for a surfeit of television historians strolling across a meadow in Surrey, gesturing into cameras. Plans are taking shape for lavish celebrations – including a host of TV and radio documentaries and books, and even a float at the Notting Hill carnival – of an anniversary that many hope will bring belated recognition to one of England’s greatest but most overlooked creations.
Eight hundred years ago next year, on 15 June 1215, on the banks of the Thames in Runnymede, an embattled King John met the English barons, who had backed his failed war against the French and were seeking to limit his powers. The weakened monarch had little choice but to witness the sealing of what some say is the world’s most important document, one that, symbolically at least, established a new relationship between the king and his subjects.
Thus the original Magna Carta, 3,500 words in Latin on a calfskin parchment, came into being, its enduring relevance confirmed in the many legal cases in which it is cited today. But while lawyers worship Magna Carta for laying the foundations for modern democracy, the defence of personal liberty and the protection of freedoms around the world, Britain largely ignores it. The 750th anniversary passed in 1965 with little fanfare. Plans for the 700th anniversary were abandoned due to the first world war. An appeal to the government for a national holiday next year, backed by many MPs, was rejected.
History as an academic discipline has also often been reluctant to pay homage. The 1214 battle of Bouvines, the decisive battle after which England was forced to concede it had lost most of its lands in France, a pivotal moment in the weakening of John’s position, has been described as “the most important battle in history that nobody has ever heard of”. And until recently Magna Carta was only on the periphery of the history syllabus. Even David Cameron, when asked on a US chat show, was unable to say what Magna Carta means in English (answer: “Great Charter”).”
To read more from the Guardian, click here.
October 31, 2014
Junior Lawyers in Schools project launched
On Wednesday 29th October, the Magna Carta 800th Anniversary Committee launched the Junior Lawyers in Schools project. The programme aims to use the anniversary as an opportunity to inspire school-age children and foster their aspirations to future careers in legal and civic professions.
Junior Lawyers in Schools will encourage junior lawyers to go into schools, speak with pupils, deliver activities, and help children and teenagers understand their rights and the impact of the rule of law.
We are grateful to Radisson Blu Edwardian, our hotel partners, who hosted the launch event at the Mayfair Hotel.
To sign-up your school, or your legal team, to this project, click here
An excerpt from the Guardian, who attended the event, is below:
“The 800th anniversary of the Magna Carta next year will be used as an opportunity to inspire school-age children around the country to pursue a career in the law.
Senior judge Lord Dyson has launched Junior Lawyers in Schools this week, a project that will send young solicitors and barristers into schools and colleges in 2015 to enthuse pupils about law.
The Magna Carta 800th committee also wants to encourage a sense of civic duty among young people, create a greater awareness of the rule of law, and help them understand the significance of the Magna Carta.”
To read more from the Guardian, click here.
October 21, 2014
Salisbury in Lonely Planet ‘top 10 world cities’ list – city holds Magna Carta
BBC News – 21 October 2014
Salisbury has been named as one of the best cities in the world to visit next year by travel guide Lonely Planet.
The Wiltshire city, described as “quintessentially English”, was the only UK entry in the top 10 list.
Placed seventh ahead of Toronto and Vienna, the city was selected as its “greatest treasure” the Magna Carta marks its 800th anniversary in 2015.
Tom Hall, one of the judges, said it might appear a “surprising choice” but “we believe Salisbury is a must-see”.
According to the Best in Travel 2015 publication, travellers have “for too long” considered the city a “short stop on the way to Stonehenge”.
But with the eighth centenary of Magna Carta “igniting revelry across England” next year, Salisbury – as the holder of the “best-preserved original copy” – will be “leading the charge”, it says.
Salisbury holds the “best-preserved original copy” of the Magna Carta, whose 800th anniversary will be marked in 2015.
For more information, click here.
October 11, 2014
University of West Indies to lead Magna Carta project across the Caribbean
ST. AUGUSTINE, Trinidad and Tobago – The University of the West Indies (UWI) St. Augustine Campus has been awarded a grant by the Magna Carta 800th Anniversary Committee in the UK to support the work of The UWI in promoting the understanding of Magna Carta in the Commonwealth Caribbean. Through the grant, a project titled “The Impact and Influence of Magna Carta on the Commonwealth Caribbean,” is being led by Dr. Hamid Ghany, Senior Lecturer in Political Science and Coordinator of the Constitutional Affairs and Parliamentary Studies Unit (CAPSU) of The UWI’s Faculty of Social Sciences. The project will be launched with a Distinguished Lecture by Chairman of the Magna Carta 800th Anniversary Committee, Professor Sir Robert Worcester, KBE DL on Saturday, October 18, 2014 at the Learning Resource Centre from 7.00pm.
For more information on this exciting project, please click here
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