1) From The Carta Magna of 1215

This given excerpt belongs to the Carta Magna or Magna Carta Libertatum (Medieval Latin for
"the Great Charter of the Liberties"), commonly called Magna Carta, a primary source
collection of 37 English laws of historic-literary nature and legal-political character.

It is a charter of rights agreed to by King John of England, of the house Plantagenet, at

Runnymede, near Windsor, on 15 June 1215. John acceded to the throne on the death of his
brother, Richard I.

He lost his French dominions and imposed a high level of taxation that had the English nobility
up in arms against him. They forced him to sign the Magna Carta, guaranteeing their rights in
relation to those of the crown. This led to a civil war, which only ended with John’s death.

First drafted by the Archbishop of Canterbury and the most powerful Barons of England to
make peace between the unpopular King and a group of rebel barons, it promised the
protection of church rights, protection for the barons from illegal imprisonment, access to
swift justice, and limitations on feudal payments to the Crown, to be implemented through a
council of 25 barons. Most of its clauses recounted their specific complaints against the lawless
behavior of the King, and ended with a promise that it would not be repeated. None of the
sides stood behind their commitments and the charter was annulled by Pope Innocent III,
leading to the First Barons' War.

This text reflects the barons aim to provide the King with knights in exchange of portions of
feudal lands (knight’s fees) and the insistence of the knights to be allowed to "buy out" of the
military service by paying scutage (a term derived from Latin scutum, "shield"). So, by imposing
a scutage on holder’s knight's fees, even in time of peace, the militaries who actually wanted
to fight were paid.

This document does not only imply to accomplish the clauses in it, but it is also an attempt to
spread the bond between the King and the vassals and all the subjects of the crown.

It represents the actual whim of barons and knights, and especially the Archbishop, Stephen
Langton to stop the tyranny and despotism of this new King. In fact, King John quarreled with
the Pope Innocent III about who should be archbishop of Canterbury. The Pope wanted
Stephen Langton, but King John refused. The Pope excommunicated him and banned all
church services. In response, John attacked the Church without mercy. Pope innocent made
the king and people to pay him. The taxes levied by King John were extortionate. He imposed
taxes on the Barons, and quarreled with them over his methods of ruling England.

In June 1215, the Barons took him by surprise and signed and sealed the document after, on
June 10th. Copies of the Carta Magna were distributed to bishops, sheriffs, and other
important people through England.

Every medieval king of England up to the time of Edward IV confirmed the charter. The spirit of
Magna Carta was to guide the development of the English Constitution. As the 13th century
chronicle wrote: ‘The Barons stood against the king for their liberty of the Church and realm’.
In my opinion, 13th century feudalism was the period posterior to the crisis of this system in
14th century and the after transition to capitalism in the 17th. It was still prevalent the
controlled inequality among people, segregating them into social strata and divided subject’s
lives into ‘small parcels’. It only brought poverty and interest, as in personal benefit, creating
disputes between royals and rebels, triggering economic and social differences. So, from my
point of view, ‘scutage’ was the precedent to what we know eventually as ‘tax’. Knights will
avoid going to war by paying those ‘taxes’. Everything depended on a wealth basis. The top
classes, lords, and kings, even knights will receive, while the lowest were ‘forced’ to work, and
won’t be defended when the time comes. And not only that, by getting rid of one’s obligations,
one is getting separate from the system, even if last one is stratified. This wasn’t beneficiary for
the people without any means of protection. Paradoxically, it paid the high cost of wars in
which the King was obligated to get his subjects involved.

If it wasn’t for this Carta Magna, who touched some principles of law, it wouldn’t have meant
in future ages the backbone of English liberties. It insisted on the law and being ruled by its
terms, not by the royalty’s desires.

Finally, this extract of the Carta Magna shows several events that reflect its transcendence,
because it marked the beginning of the English parliamentary system, and the English law
would be agreements between the King and the nobility. Due to this, it is undeniably, one of
the most important documents of the 13th century.