The Enduring Significance of Magna Carta: A Q&A Session

Summary

Magna Carta’s contribution was its insistence that even a king had to respect the common law. After the death of King John, his young son’s succession was an opportunity for a fresh start, with the reissuing of Magna Carta in 1217 and confirmation in 1225, regulating feudal revenues, corporate privileges, and addressing specific abuses. John’s young heir, Henry III’s reign, was lived in the shadow of Magna Carta, with any move he made that provoked opposition raising the spectre of an appeal against him to the principles of the charter.

Table of Contents

• The history and significance of Magna Carta
• The development of trial by jury and emergence of Parliament under Henry III
• The role of Parliament in binding the political nation and getting it to agree to be taxed
• The unique society of Scandinavia in the High Middle Ages
• The role of the Church and monarchy in Scandinavian society
• The dynastic stability in Norway and its widespread advantages in diplomatic and commercial relations
• The importance of Bergen as a contact point and trading settlement for the Hanse

Q&A

Q: What is the history and significance of Magna Carta?

A: Magna Carta’s significance in English and world history can be traced back to the early 13th century, including the death of King John from dysentery, the ascension of his young son and successor, Henry III, and the intervention of the papacy. After John’s death, his young heir’s succession was seen as an opportunity for a fresh start, with the reissuing of Magna Carta in 1217 and confirmation in 1225, regulating feudal revenues, corporate privileges, and addressing specific abuses. However, Magna Carta’s lasting contribution was its insistence that even a king had to respect the common law, as affirmed in chapter after chapter in memorable but vague language.

Q: How did Henry III’s reign relate to Magna Carta?

A: John’s young heir, Henry III’s reign was lived in the shadow of Magna Carta. Any move he made that provoked opposition raised the spectre of an appeal against him to the principles of the charter. Despite occasional backsliding, he genuinely seemed to try to abide by the charter’s precepts. Two significant developments during Henry III’s reign were the development of trial by jury and the emergence of Parliament, the former emerging somewhat accidentally as a substitute for trial by ordeal, while the latter resulted from the king’s desire to reconquer the lands of western France that had once been in his father’s possession.

Q: What is the role of Parliament in binding the political nation and getting it to agree to be taxed?

A: Parliament became the forum for the presentation of the Crown’s case for its major policies, domestic and foreign. Tasks that Parliament attended to were dealt with only by the king together with the lords or nobles of the great council, whose composition was still relatively malleable in the late thirteenth century, and the commons had no role to play in the judicial activities of this high court. However, Parliament became the place where the Crown’s propaganda value was emphasized, and it served to bind the political nation together and get it to agree to be taxed. Edward’s wars required much money, and the calling of Parliament was necessary to achieve this.

Q: What was unique about Scandinavian society in the High Middle Ages?

A: In the High Middle Ages, Scandinavia had a unique society that was characterized by its freedom, both from slavery and serfdom due to the enduring ethos of clan freedom and the absence of dependent peasantry. However, there were still strong warrior and service aristocracies and a strong Church. The absence of any secure principles of succession beyond election meant that every king who wanted to nominate his successor, use anticipatory succession, or establish the principle of primogenitary succession had to confront rival claimants from within the royal family who were willing to call upon aristocratic support from various factions.

Q: What was the role of the Church and monarchy in Scandinavian society?

A: On the other hand, the Church in Scandinavia worked hand in glove with the kings to secure royal rule and establish the kind of peace that would allow ecclesiastical institutions to flourish. Local assemblies remained intact but were co-opted in an administrative partnership. The monarchs created an elaborate regional administration for the country comprising regulatory, judicial and fiscal districts under the control of approximately seventy key appointees.

Q: What was dynastic stability in Norway?

A: Norway was a good example of dynastic stability being a sine qua non for getting aristocrats to see that it was to their advantage to hitch their destiny to that of the Crown. The consequences of a strong administration and a harnessed nobility were widespread advantages in diplomatic and commercial relations. Norway maintained its hold over Iceland and the North Sea islands. Norwegian stockfish was exported throughout the Baltic region, and Bergen emerged as a major entrepôt on the western coast.

Q: Why was Bergen important?

A: Bergen was to become an important contact point and trading settlement for the Hanse, a loose Baltic and North Sea association of merchants and merchant towns. However, the Norwegian kingdom’s relations with the association were not always good. The Lübeckers’ position was to oppose all measures that were intended to regulate Hanse merchants or to diminish their privileges, and the Norwegian kings tried several times to get control of Lübeck by diplomacy and by force, so as to protect the kingdom from punitive boycotts orchestrated under the town’s leadership.

Conclusion

The enduring significance of Magna Carta lies not only in its historical context but also in its emphasis on the principles of law and justice. The emergence of Parliament and the development of trial by jury under Henry III helped to further this idea, ultimately contributing to a more democratic and just legal system that persists to this day. In Scandinavia, the interplay between the Church, monarchy, and nobility helped to create a stable and prosperous society. Bergen’s importance as a trading settlement for the Hanse exemplifies the importance of trade and commerce in global politics. The lessons of all these historical events continue to shape and influence our world today.