boomer177
Loves Spam
- Joined
- Feb 14, 2011
- Posts
- 810
On June 15, 1215, 800 years ago today, at Runnymede, near Windsor, King John, besieged by barons in rebellion,
affixed his seal to the Magna Carta.
In the words of FDR in his 1941 Inaugural, "the democratic aspiration was written in Magna Carta."
In a single paragraph, the document sets forth the basic outlines of what, eight centuries on, constitute many
of our most important rights and liberties and, indeed, the very conception of government by rule of law. As
transposed into modern English, it provides:
"No free man shall be seized or imprisoned, or stripped of
his rights or possessions, or outlawed or exiled, or deprived
of his standing in any other way, nor will we proceed
with force against him, or send others to do so, except by
the lawful judgement of his equals or by the law of the land.
To no-one will we sell, to no-one deny or delay right or justice."
One of four extant originals.
An early 17th Century rendering of an early
13th Century king. The artist is unknown.
At the British Library, dusting an otherwise unidentified painting "of a fearful King John."
https://encrypted-tbn0.***********/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSTjbSkYbueVr8DvCbx0FS2E5zcm7Krhj0gMRbd_A5V2LsmJivXhw
Many, if not most, depictions show
John signing with a not-yet invented
quill pen rather than affixing his seal.
affixed his seal to the Magna Carta.
In the words of FDR in his 1941 Inaugural, "the democratic aspiration was written in Magna Carta."
In a single paragraph, the document sets forth the basic outlines of what, eight centuries on, constitute many
of our most important rights and liberties and, indeed, the very conception of government by rule of law. As
transposed into modern English, it provides:
"No free man shall be seized or imprisoned, or stripped of
his rights or possessions, or outlawed or exiled, or deprived
of his standing in any other way, nor will we proceed
with force against him, or send others to do so, except by
the lawful judgement of his equals or by the law of the land.
To no-one will we sell, to no-one deny or delay right or justice."
One of four extant originals.
An early 17th Century rendering of an early
13th Century king. The artist is unknown.
At the British Library, dusting an otherwise unidentified painting "of a fearful King John."
https://encrypted-tbn0.***********/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSTjbSkYbueVr8DvCbx0FS2E5zcm7Krhj0gMRbd_A5V2LsmJivXhw
Many, if not most, depictions show
John signing with a not-yet invented
quill pen rather than affixing his seal.
