– loss of land in France. King John became highly unpopular with his nobles when the French King invaded Normandy and the English finally lost their lands in France. To the nobles one thing was clear: King John failed to carry out (выполнить) his duty to them as the duke of Normandy. He had taken their money and levy (облагал) taxes but he failed to protect their (noble's) land.
– conflict with the Pope. The conflict with the Pope made John unpopular not only in the clergy (среди духовенства), but also among a lot of common people, because they suffered most from the Pope's interdict (отлучения от церкви).
– heavy taxes. Heavy taxes of course didn't appeal (не нравились) to anyone. Everyone suffered from increased taxes and taxes that seemed quite unreasonable.
– illegal arrests. Apart from the losses of land, the nobility often suffered from illegal arrests. Very often John seized people, imprisoned them and even murdered them without any trial.
– corrupt judicial system.
The John was considered the worst king in English history.
John's poor and arb i trary (|'ɑːrbətreri| деспотическое, произвольное) government with its very heavy tax demands, unsuccessful wars in France, quarrels with the Pope and defeat in 1214 – this government had led the barons and bishops to revolt. The rise started first in the Northern England and then very soon spread south and east. The barons withdrew their allegiance (|əˈliːdʒəns|– отозвали присяги) to the King, in other words, they no longer claimed to be loyal to him, and tried to neg o tiate |nɪˈɡoʊʃieɪt| (договориться) new conditions of the King's rule. They also demanded to grant them a charter confirming (даровать хартию, подтверждающую) ancient 'liberties' they were entitled to (на которые они имели право). But the negotiations (переговоры) went nowhere, and very soon armies were raised.
Civil war was close, and the barons even managed to capture London (where John's Exchequer was based). Exchequer is a financial department (казначейство). So, King John had now to talk to the barons. The barons' demands were incorporated in a document known as 'The Articles of the Barons'. On 15th of June 1215 (twelve-fifteen) having this document on them they met with King at Runnymede [r a nim i: d] (which is not very far from London). There John had to set his seal on the Articles of the Barons. He promised to issue a special Charter based on these demands which later became known as Great Charter of Freedoms, or the Magna Carta. Magna Carta [ 'mægnə 'kɑ:tə ] guaranteed the people of England rights that the king could not go back on (не мог бы нарушить, обмануть).
The problem with the previous Charter of Liberties (1100) was difficulty in enforcing it. Barons chose a counsel of 25 people whose task was to enforce this Charter's agreement. John had to sign it eventually in order to avoid a civil war. In year later, in 1216 he tried to go back on the Magna Carta (=ignore it) which provoked the barons into declaring war on the King. A civil war started. By 1216, King John got ill. During the war, he suffered from dysentry (|'dɪsənteri| дизентерии, М.В. произнесла |dɪ'zənteri|). When he was retreating, he somehow managed to lose most of his treasure including some of his Crown jewels. A few days after that King John died and was succeeded by Henry III. The reign of King John ended in as much unfortunate way as it had started.
Magna Carta (in Latin – the Great Charter, or the Great Paper). It was designed to rebalance the power between the King and the barons. Magna Carta contains 63 promises about what the King could and couldn't do. It also set up a counsel of 25 barons to make sure John kept his promises. In history Magna Carta became the symbol of the rule of law in England, it was one more clear manifestation of the idea that even kings shouldn't violate (нарушать) the law. It protected the rights of individuals. Its basic principles have been used in the constitutions of the USA, Japan, Germany and many Commonwealth (во многих странах Содружества) and other countries.
A large part of the Magna Carta was copied, nearly word for word, from the Charter of Liberties of Henry I, issued when Henry ascended (взошел) to the throne in 1100. So, in a way, Magna Carta also regulated functions of the King and the relations between the Crown, the Church and the barons and liberties which each one of these sides had.
Magna Carta guaranteed, proclaimed, established, stated:
– the right to due process of law. Nobody could be arrested or convicted without a trial.
– the right to a fair trial before one's equals (in order to eliminate corruption).
– the right to habeas corpus. If a person is arrested, he has the right to know why he was arrested and what his crime is. People have rights against unlawful imprisonment.
– the right not to be tried twice for the same offence. No-one could be tried more than once for the same offence.
– the right to proportionate fines: when punishment had to fit the crime.
– the right not to be fined so heavily as to have livelihood [laivlihud] destroyed (лишен средств к существованию)
– reasonable taxation approved by the barons (emergence of English Parliament is connected to this). This is a very important point, we will go back to this idea when we start discussing the emergence of English Parliament. New taxes that had been obtained (признаны) by 'the common counsel of the realm'. In addition, only reasonable taxes ('aids' – сборы) were to be taken by the knights from their free t e nants (арендаторов, вассалов).
– the King is not above the law (the rule of law)
– the freedom of the Church to govern its own affairs.
– the right to own property which could not be taken without due process of law
– the people's right to forest and riverbanks (to fuel and food + building supplies [sepl a is] – добывать топливо, еду и стройматериалы)
– the right of London and other cities, towns and ports to have all their liberties and free customs.
– the right of a people to travel freely in and out of their country, except during war
Most of the Provisions of Magna Carta are no longer relevant to the present-day situation.
Magna Carta was several times reissued, for example in 1225 after the civil law, John's son was made to sign Magna Carta again.
L e gacy ([л е гаси] – наследие) of Magna Carta
1) final version of Magna Carta was reissued by Edward I and became part of English law in 1297;
2) In the 17th century was used by Parliament to protect itself from kings James I and Charles I. Sir Edward Coke expressed a view that the Charter guaranteed substantive (основные) rights to all Englishmen and strictly limited the power of the Crown;
3) By the early 19th century most clauses (пункты) of Magna Carta in their originate form had been repealed (отменены) from the English law. 3 clauses are still in force even today:
– Clause number 1 that guarantees the freedom of English Church.
– Clause number 9 that guarantees the 'ancient liberties' of the city of London. Indeed, London is in a way in a privileged position compared to other towns and cities
– Clause number 29 that guarantees the due process of law
4) Magna Carta has been called the foundation of the British and other constitutions
Magna Carta (мультик)
Magna Carta (The Great Charter) is one of the most famous documents in the world. It has inspired people across the centuries: from Thomas Jefferson to Mahatma Gandhi. But why was the charter originally created and what does it actually say?
The year 1215, the ruler is King John. Many people believe that the king John was one of the worst kings in history:
1. he imprisoned his former wife (бывшую жену), stabbed (зарезал) his opponents to death,
2. allegedly |əˈledʒɪdli| (якобы, как утверждают) murdered his own nephew.
3. he had imposed heavy taxes on his barons in order to pay for his expensive foreign wars. If they refused to pay, he punished them severely or seized their property.
4. he pulled the beards of the Irish Chiefs (вырывал бороды ирландским вождям)
The barons demanded that king John obey the law. When he refused, they captured London and John was forced to negotiate (принужден к переговорам).
In June 1215 the two sides met at Runnymede. The result of the negotiations was written down by the king’s clerks [kla:ks] into the document we know as Magna Carta.
Although most of the charter’s clauses dealt with medieval rights and customs, Magna Carta has become a powerful symbol of liberty around the world. The most famous clause, which is still part of the law today, for the first time gave all ‘free men’ the right to justice and a fair trial.
‘No man shall be arrested or imprisoned except by the judgement of their equals and by the law of the land. To no-one will we sell, to no one deny or delay right or justice’
Ни один свободный человек не будет арестован или заключен в тюрьму,
или лишен владения, или объявлен стоящим вне закона, или изгнан, или
каким-либо (иным) способом обездолен, и мы не пойдем на него и не пошлем на
него иначе, как по законному приговору равных его (его пэров) и по закону страны.
However, this clause was not as liberal as it sounds. The Charter only applied to ‘free men’, the vast majority of people in 1215 were unfree peasants [p e sents] who were ruled over by their landowners. And although Magna Carta was intended to create peace between King John and his rebellious barons, England was plunged (погружена) into civil war after the Pope declared the Charter inv a lid |ɪnˈvælɪd|
When King John died of dysentery [d i sentri] in 1216, nine years old Henry III took to the throne. To keep the peace, Magna Carta was reissued several times during 13th century (in 1217, 1225, 1297), until it was finally made part of English law (1297).
Magna Carta has lived on for 800 years, and is echoed |'ekoʊd| in the United States Declaration of Independence and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Perhaps Magna Carta’s most important l e gacy (наследие) is that everyone - including our leaders - must obey the law. What started out as a document of specific complaints from a group of barons has turned into an international symbol of liberty, without which we might not have the rights we value so much today.