Georgius the Peasant

"The Magna Charter"

Monday, November 16, 2009 4:57:40 PM

By congregating there, armed to the teeth, the Barons compelled John to sign the Magna Charter, which said:

1. That no one was to be put to death, save for some reason - (except the Common People).
2. That everyone should be free - (except the Common People).
3. That everything should be of the same weight and measure throughout the Realm - (except the Common People).
4. That the Courts should be stationary, instead of following a very tiresome medieval official known as King's Person all over the country.
5. That 'no person should be fined to his utter ruin' - (except the King's Person).
6. That the Barons should not be tried except by a special jury of other Barons who would understand.

Magna Charter was therefore the chief cause of Democracy in England, and was thus a Good Thing for everyone (except the Common People).

- 1066 And All That, page 39-40.
By W. C. Sellar and R. J. Yeatman.

DanegeldSimon de Montfort - the Good Baron

Comments

Georgius the PeasantLoki Aesir # Monday, November 16, 2009 5:00:03 PM

It's 6. that gets me.

Kaffekatten # Tuesday, November 17, 2009 7:13:24 AM

Make me a Baron and I'll sign it before you can say "Common People".

Georgius the PeasantLoki Aesir # Tuesday, November 17, 2009 9:22:06 AM

Seconded.

Johnoldephartte # Thursday, December 17, 2009 2:37:09 AM

You are mixing languages, G. Latin is Magna Carta ; English is Great Charter. I usually think of it as the revolt of the hereditary executive, tired of a 'war of terror' waged on them by the monarch.
That would be warrantless detention, torture, no recourse against the state. Sounds like today to me.

Georgius the PeasantLoki Aesir # Thursday, December 17, 2009 8:41:23 AM

I'm not mixing languages, the book I'm quoting is, and on purpose, for the joke. To underline it not being my mistake, I put the title in quotation marks.

As to "the revolt of the hereditary executive", I guess that's fair. Calling the monarch's policies a war of terror on them might be going a tad far, though, to my limited knowledge.

Warrantless detention, torture... can't lay claim to thinking we've got those things in Norway. Little recourse against the state beyond the elections, though, but I can't think of any historical state in which the means of recourse was noticeably bigger, so I'm rather happy, all in all.

Johnoldephartte # Thursday, December 17, 2009 4:50:46 PM

Denmark has a few policies I expect you'd disapprove. The U.S. announced it would kidnap, imprison and torture worldwide at its whim right in the British Parliament a few years back. Check out Guantanamo or Bagram - or Iraqi jails too - to see the Bush Administration is not gone...just slightly camoflauged.
Australia doesn't even allow people imprisoned/questioned by security to tell their spouse.