The Magna Carta just turned 800 years old this past June 15 as I was reminded on several websites I visit regularly, so I figured it was time to read it. It is one of those documents whose importance is impressed on people in school, but that few actually read, so I figured that the procrastination went on long enough and that this would be the year I would read it. I read the text off the Project Gutenberg website, which is a translation of the original into modern English, so it was an easy read.
Basically, it is a list of new laws limiting the King's power. The English barons had King John sign it after they won the battle at Runnymede. Most of the items have to do with the rights and duties of the king and the barons (especially the council of 25), inheritance laws, laws about the rights and duties of creditors and debtors, laws protecting the rights of merchants, and taxes. It dispels popular myths about medieval kings being all-powerful and shows the important part historically played by the aristocracy in bringing about the tradition of mixed (and limited) government in the West.
One item (no. 20) in the Magna Carta struck me as glaringly relevant to current events. It says that a man should be fined only in proportion to the degree of his offense and that whether his offense was trivial or serious, the fine should not be large enough to deprive him of his livelihood. Moreover, the fine could not be imposed until reputable people in the same neighborhood assessed it to be appropriate. It brought to mind certain small bakers and florists who have been fined out of their livelihoods within the last few years...
When 800 years is not enough time for a lesson to be learned once and for all, it is safe to assume that the condition is chronic and requires perennial management.
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