Magna Carta

​

 

This is a revised version incorporating your comments and corrections. I am particularly grateful to Sue Allenby and Chris Basham for their knowledgeable input. There is a back-story which lay behind these events, mainly concerning the Interdict imposed by the Pope, but in order to keep things simple I will delve into it in a separate article.

 

The 63 clauses (approximately 3,600 words) of the Charter of Liberties was sealed (not signed) on 15th June 2015 following negotiations between the king and the rebel barons at Runnymead, brokered by Stephen Langton, Archbishop of Canterbury. Within two months King John obtained the Pope’s consent to annul the charter. As a consequence only four engrossments survive, ours, two in the British Library and one in Lincoln Castle.

 

13 known copies of the 1215 MC were produced, one for each Cathedral. The 1225 version however went to all Cathedrals and Sheriffs, maybe 40 in all. The reason that the Sheriffs were excluded the first time around is because (as in Robin Hood) the Sheriffs (often foreign) sided with the King.

 

King John died in October 1216 and was succeeded by the nine year old Henry lll with William the Marshall as regent. In order to tempt the rebel barons over to the King’s side Magna Carta was accepted by the King. This version was based on a rewrite by William the Marshall and the papal legate Guala Bichierri in which references to the late King John were omitted and the clauses referring to the forest were removed into a separate Charter of the Forest. Britain was still largely uncleared and more people would have been working in the forest than in the fields. The rights of Pannage etc. which go back to Norman times, still exist in the New Forest.

 

Key to the new king accepting Magna Carta was the removal of the Security Clause which imposed a council of 25 barons that was a transfer of power that no monarch (or Pope) was ever likely to accept.

 

As a result the remaining clauses were labelled Magna Carta meaning the larger of the two volumes. In time the meaning changed as the importance of the document was realised. Because of the unrest and the king being under-age Magna Carta did not finally become officially distributed until 1225; it was almost identical to the 1217 charter of Marshall and Bichierri. The catalyst was the need to raise taxes in order to retake Gascony from the French. Edward 1 eventually enrolled this version of MC on the statute book in 1297.

 

The parchment used was sheepskin (not vellum) and and the language was a French form of Medieval Latin, written with a quill pen using the traditional ink of oak-gall, iron and gum, still in use today. In effect the ink acted like a tattoo, biting into the document and forming a permanent record (including errors) that would last hundreds of years provided it was not exposed to ultraviolet light. A good example of its efficacy is the wording on the last line right hand side where ‘Runnymead’ and ‘Windsor ‘can clearly be seen after 800 years. The parchment would have been pricked at regular intervals and lined (drypoint) before used for writing. This explains the overall neatness but it is not clear how the sides were justified.

 

As the parchment was expensive to produce the scribes developed a system of accents (tittles) which indicated that the words had been shortened. In addition they used an expanded version of the Roman system of shorthand developed by Cicero’s secretary Tiro. The most obvious example is the continental 7 (see bottom right three lines up) which is the symbol for ‘and’ in Latin. On a modern computer keyboard the & and 7 are on the same key linking us directly to the Thirteenth century. When printing came in, the ampersand was adopted but the Irish continued to use the 7. The result of all this was that only a scribe could read MC. At some point a French version of MC was believed to have been produced for the Barons’ benefit.

 

Our document is far neater than the other three and is in Gothic Script. The modern explanation is that the three were produced by scribes in the Chancery in London but ours was written by a book copyist and this points to Old Sarum whose scriptorium had a great reputation. Bearing in mind that the man responsible for sending out some 10 copies of MC was Elias of Derham, a Canon of Old Sarum and almost certainly the man charged by the Bishop with building the Cathedral (and possibly the town). Some copies are now known to have been produced in Oxford so the method of distribution is not clear. The Barons were summoned to an Oxford Council in July 1215 so this may have been an opportunity to distribute copies.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The clauses of MC protect the Church, the City of London and the landowners (Barons). Now as a conquered country with a population of some 3 million, only half of which could even technically be described as free, it was unlikely that MC would protect the rights of the ordinary people. However in the coronation charter of Henry l, the king did agree to uphold the rights granted by Edward the Confessor. So the origin of our Human Rights is Anglo-Saxon. It is likely therefore that people in the 13th century knew those rights even though their overlords did not uphold them. Although the 1215 version does not therefore appear to be particularly democratic, the 1225 version widened its scope to include everyone.

 

Normally, a legal document would have been sealed by a signet ring pressed into beeswax and resin sealing wax. The King however had a much larger seal that was attached by a ribbon or cord. The weight of the seal and the rolling-up of the document caused many seals to fall off. The Canterbury MC seal is still attached but due to a fire in 1731 it is now a formless ball of wax.

 

Now, MC was invoked by Thomas More but Henry VIII really was above the law. After that it was largely forgotten until Charles I started to behave like King John. The senior law lord Sir Edward Coke (Cook) researched MC and used it to produce the Petition of Right which limited Royal power. I believe that this work is what impressed the fledgling US and caused them to use MC as the basis for the Declaration of Independence. Nearer to our own time Eleanor Roosevelt used it as the basis for her International Declaration of Human Rights.

 

Are the four engrossments (final version of a legal document) different? The answer is yes with Salisbury having over thirty differences which are however minor. Each scribe made errors and our document has three which again were not serious.

 

Further reading:

Magna Carta David Carpenter, Penguin Classics 2015.

Magna Carta J C Holt, Cambridge University Press 2015.

The Magna Carta Project - www.magnacarta.cmp.uea.ac.uk - Nicholas Vincent, David Carpenter, Teresa Webber 2015.

Magna Carta by J C Holt - Cambridge University Press 1992 

Magna Carta - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magna_Carta

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

 

 

 

 

EPIGRAPHY

I have mentioned before about the Medieval scribes using Tironian Notes (Shorthand) and that the 7 in Magna Carta is the symbol for ‘et’ (and). I tried to discover the derivation of more symbols and found myself in a different world which taxed my Latin and grammar to well beyond the limit. Scribal abbreviation is really a separate branch of Palaeography and extremely difficult to put into simple words; they even have their own vocabulary which includes minuscule, sigla, ligatures, macrons and tildes (now used for the ‘ny’ sound in Spanish). For the enthusiast there is even an App - Abbreviationes™ Online – Medieval Abbreviations on the Web in which you can use your ‘phone to help translate documents.

​

A macron is a suspension mark, some form of line above a word, that usually indicates a missing m, n, i or ion. A tilde is a curled macron and usually denotes a missing a. A symbol looking like a 9 denotes a missing terminal us or in the middle of a word a missing e or er - and this is just scratching the surface! The ostensible reason for scribal abbreviations was that parchment was so expensive but I think it rather developed a life of its own. It was almost a secret language that excluded all but the cognoscenti. In fact in later Medieval times it was regarded as related to witchcraft and so fell out of favour.

​

When I talk to visitors they often mention the ampersand. The logogram & in fact means and per se or and by itself and. Recitations of the alphabet would conclude with the ‘27th letter’ and per se and, which became slurred by the nineteenth century to ampersand. Incidentally, the ampersand can be traced to the Carolingians in the  1st Century but it was superseded in early Medieval times by the Tironian 7, with the situation reversing when printing became standardised. The Irish however still use the 7, no doubt due to their large monastic influence.

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

Above, Sir Robert Bruce Cotton attributed to Cornelis Janssens van Ceulen. We have his collection to thank for the two copies of the 1215 MC and the Articles of the Barons in the British Library. King John's letter to the sheriffs commanding them to publish Magna Carta (Courtesy of Herfeford Cathedral Dean & Chapter).

When the scribe made up the ink he would probably use it straight away so that the ink penetrated the parchment’s collagen fibres like a dye. If the ink was left to oxidise before using it might only lie on the surface of the document and thus not last as long. 

​

MC UPDATE

Although I have talked about it before, we shall no doubt continue to come back to it as new discoveries are made and aspects of this fascinating document are made clearer. I have just acquired a copy of Penguin’s 2015 printing of Magna Carta which I find very illuminating.

 

Firstly, it clarifies the name. Magna Carta was used initially in 1225 to distinguish it from the smaller Charter of the Forest. There was a certain amount of confusion before it became generally established that the Great had become a reference to the document’s importance.

 

The next point to be clarified concerns the word Copy which confuses a lot of our visitors who fail to understand the concept of an ‘original copy’. The Penguin edition makes it clear that all sealed versions are, to use the legal term, engrossments and are original. A copy of an engrossment would not have had a seal attached. Just to confuse matters there are still extant drafts of the Charter of Liberties at different stages in the negotiation which fit between the Articles of The Barons and Magna Carta itself. Whilst mentioning the word Liberties it would appear that John thought of them as concessions whereas the Barons thought of them as rights.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Was there an original authorised text produced at Runnymede? The Penguin book believes there was. John declared that bishops would issue letters patent testimonial that would confirm the ‘concessions’. None survive but in the 14th century one from Canterbury was copied into The Red Book of the Exchequer.

 

It is interesting to note that very quickly MC was translated into French for the benefit of the Barons but an English translation was not available until 1300. The first written translation into English that is still around today dates from the sixteenth century.

 

Finally, a subject that intrigues many visitors - are there any mistakes? It would appear that all copies contain errors but not of meaning. In our version elongatus (dispossessed) is omitted from Chapter 57. Henry archbishop of Dublin from Chapter 62 and in Chapter 61 the word justicar is used instead of ‘king’s justices’.

 

Incidentally, the Salisbury style of writing is described as ‘bookish in form being similar to the writing in texts such as bibles and psalters’. Also that Salisbury is in the future indicative whereas the others are in the present subjunctive - I won’t pretend to know what this means. If any of you are retired teachers and can provide a simple answer it would be much appreciated.

​

PENGUIN MC

This book was published in 2015 with a commentary by historian David Carpenter. An interesting fact is that Magna Carta runs to 3,550 words whereas the Articles of the Barons runs to 1,945 words which gives an indication of how much bargaining went on, and not always in the Barons’ favour. John appears to have dragged his feet after Runnymede whereas the Barons got stuck in straight away (especially with the restoration of their lands). This could be one of the reasons why our copy was produced locally. The Lincoln MC has its name Lincolnia on the dorse (reverse) showing it was sent from the Chancery.

 

John however gave MC a try hoping that the barons would disarm and go home. After the Oxford Council in July it became obvious that the barons however were not going to keep their side of the bargain so civil war became inevitable. Langton tried to bring the sides together but this was the last time John met the barons.

 

The 1225 version went to all cathedrals and all sheriffs so I assume that this was the normal distribution pattern. It looks as if the 1215 version only went to Cathedrals which means the information on our tent is incorrect. The reason neither party wished to inform the sheriffs is that a large part of the abuses highlighted in MC was down to them - think of Robin hood. There is a Chancery record that two charters went to Lincoln, one to Worcester and four to Elyas. He then received a further six the following month which makes a total of thirteen. Thirteen corresponds to the number of bishops in post in 1215 and it is likely that Elyas distributed his engrossments at the Oxford Council.

​

SOMERSET HERALD
I recently came across an odd reference in our own Cathedral website. The writing on the reverse of Magna Carta  anno domini 1215  is ‘written in a hand very similar to that of the antiquary and herald Robert Glover’. Intrigued, I looked him up on Wikipedia: Robert Glover (1544 – 10 April 1588) was an English Officer of Arms, genealogist and antiquarian in the reign of Elizabeth I. In the College of Arms, he rose to the rank of Somerset Herald of Arms, serving in that capacity from 1571 until his death in 1588. As marshal and deputy to his father-in-law, William Flower, Norroy King of Arms, he participated in heraldic visitations throughout northern England. 

 

Some of his manuscripts were translated with the help of Sir Robert Bruce Cotton 1571 - 1631. Cotton was elected as MP for Old Sarum in 1624. Cotton was an antiquary and bibliophile and his collection of manuscripts formed the basis of what is now the British Library. His friend, Sir Edward Dering, Lieutenant of Dover Castle forwarded the Canterbury Magna Carta to Cotton. This is the one that was later damaged by fire. The Cotton Library was used by Sir Edward Coke (1552 - 1634), Chief Justice of the King’s Bench, to research Magna Carta in his attempts to bring Charles l within the confines of the Law. His decisions and writings profoundly influenced the American Constitution.

 

ALCHEMY
Emily, after having spoken to the conservator, queried my description of how the iron gall ink worked. This prompted a little research. As you know the basic ingredients are oak galls, iron and gum. This recipe dates back to Roman times and is still in use. In the thirteenth century the scribes would make their own ink and often vary the recipe slightly - even using wine or beer instead of water for soaking. The oak galls provided gallo-tannic acid which when fermented (or by hydrolysis) released glucose and gallic acid. Combined with the iron sulphate and the gum binder it yielded an ink. Interestingly, during the 20th century, the US, Germany and India laid down standards for these inks. The diagram below showing how the ink darkens is courtesy of Heritage Science (Springer Open).

​

Every so often I like to do an update of our Magna Carta knowledge. In this edition I hope to highlight two aspects: exemplifications and the charter in the US.

EXEMPLIFICATIONS
This is the proper name for attested copies which have been sealed by the Spigurnel, the king’s official equipped with a seal press, beeswax and resin.

1215: we know of 13 copies that were issued for circulation to cathedrals. The sheriffs were largely foreign imports brought in to do King John’s will and not all cathedrals were operating following the Pope’s interdict. The documents were issued in two tranches, firstly of 7 and later a further 6.

It is thought very unlikely that a master copy ever existed. The four surviving copies are in Salisbury, Lincoln and two in the British Library. The antiquarian Sir Robert Cotton acquired the two London copies in the 17th century. One was discovered in a tailor’s shop by a lawyer, Humphrey Wyems, the other by Sir Edward Dering in Dover castle. The Dover copy is now believed to have originated in Canterbury. This copy was slightly damaged in Cotton’s library fire in 1731but a copy was engraved by John Pine in 1733. In the 1830s however, a bungled attempt at cleaning and conservation rendered the document illegible until recently when technology came to the rescue. The Salisbury copy is the most readable and it is likely that it was produced at Old Sarum where they had acquired great skill in copying books. I have read that the Cathedral ‘re-discovered’ the copy in 1812!

A draft of the 1215 charter was found in Peterborough Abbey and is held by the Society of Antiquaries, Burlington House.

1216: only 1 copy survives which is in Durham Cathedral.
1217: 4 copies exist, 3 in the Bodleian and 1 in Hereford Cathedral. This last is accompanied by the Articuli super Cartas, the instruction to sheriffs how to observe the conditions in the document. Durham and Lincoln also have the accompanying Charter of the Forest.
1225: 4 copies exist, 1 in the British Library (see page 1, public domain) but originally from Lacock Abbey (Abbess Ella Longespée), there is 1 each in Durham Cathedral, the Bodleian and the National Archives (Kew). Also found in Peterborough Abbey was a copy of the third re-issue of the 1225 charter along with a ‘roll copy’. The British Library’s copy is accompanied by the Charter of the Forest.
1297: 1 copy is in Parliament House, Canberra which was sold to them by King’s School, Bruton. The second copy is on permanent loan to the US National Archives (see page 1). This came originally from the Brudenell family (Earls of Cardigan) who sold it to the Perot Foundation who sold it on to US businessman David Rubinstein for $21.3 million. There is also 1 copy in Kew and 1 in the London Guildhall.
1300: 7 copies survive from Edward I reign. They are in Faversham, Oriel College Oxford, the Bodleian, Durham Cathedral, Westminster Abbey, City of London and Sandwich (one of the Cinque Ports). The Sandwich and Oriel College exemplifications are accompanied by the Charter of the Forest. Right is a 1300 copy of the Articuli in the National Archives.

Two things strike me; firstly that Durham Cathedral has managed to acquire 3 copies of Magna Carta; secondly, that there was a Wessex cluster - Salisbury, Bruton and Lacock.

​

THE AMERICAN ANGLE
The Lincoln copy has travelled to the US on a number of occasions and in fact spent the war years locked in Fort Knox. Winston Churchill wanted to cement the special relationship by giving them the copy but Lincoln were having none of it.
Henry Care (1646 - 1688) was a Whig propagandist and member of the Green Ribbon Club (loose London political association that met in taverns and coffee houses). He was very anti-Popish and his handbook English Liberties, or the Freeborn Subject’s Inheritance (right, in the public domain)sold well in the American colonies. In 1687, the Quaker and Christ Church Oxford educated William Penn, who governed Pennsylvania largely from England, had printed in Philadelphia The Excellent Privilege of Liberty and Property: Being a Reprint and Facsimile of the First American edition of Magna Charta (left, courtesy of the Tarlton Law Library, Austin, Texas). Penn was heavily influenced by Edward Coke and John Selden. 

The Declaration of Independence of the (right, courtesy of the Aspen Institute) was signed by 56 of the United States’ Founding Fathers, congressional representatives of the Thirteen Colonies. The Committee of Five who drafted the document were John Adams (Massachusetts), Thomas Jefferson (Virginia), Benjamin Franklin (Pennsylvania), Roger Sherman (Connecticut) and Robert Livingston (New York). Jefferson was deputed to write the first draft.

Although the philosopher John Locke’s (1632 - 1704) ideas contributed to the written constitution (lower right, free license of the US National Archives and Records Administration), it is said that the Founding Fathers reached back to ancient Greece for their ideas. After all they were both slave-owning democracies!

The constitution grew out of reforms to the earlier Articles of Confederation but opinion was polarised, as it still is, by those who wished to see a strong federal government and those keeping more power with the individual states. The pivotal role went to James Madison, Jr. (4th President) who was a supporter of power being devolved to the states and who was opposed by Alexander Hamilton (of musical fame) who was the leader of the federalists.

The Greek democracy was based on a relatively small population divided into demes in which the polis (excluding women and slaves)were involved in decision making. By Roman times it had morphed into a mob being kept quiet with ‘bread and circuses’ easily roused by demagogues. Unfortunately, the Trump presidency has highlighted that the US has followed the Roman model.

​

ABSENT BARON
One important Baron that was absent at Runnymead was our own William Longespée, the King’s half-brother. Apparently he was in Devon conducting a campaign against rebels around Exeter. It could be that he was included in the document because he had played and was still playing a considerable role in this crisis. Quotes are from Magna Carta by JC Holt, Cambridge University Press 1992.
 

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

​