"I find it difficult to put myself in the position of one of the original supporters of the Magna Carta, but it is the place where we have to start if we are to understand its importance. The Barons sought to protect their interests from a tyrannical king, but in doing so they also had to accept the principle that they would be similarly bound in their dealings with those who were tied to them by obligations of loyalty and service. This principle enabled it to endure. It was why it was...
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"I find it difficult to put myself in the position of one of the original supporters of the Magna Carta, but it is the place where we have to start if we are to understand its importance. The Barons sought to protect their interests from a tyrannical king, but in doing so they also had to accept the principle that they would be similarly bound in their dealings with those who were tied to them by obligations of loyalty and service. This principle enabled it to endure. It was why it was reissued to end the civil war on King John’s death. It was why over the century after it was first issued that it became capable of being invoked, not just by powerful men but by peasants in dispute with their Lord. It entered our national consciousness as a set of principles of justice and on the limits of the exercise of power, which if at times ignored were not forgotten and could be and were revived. A great deal of that revival may have been based on a mythical interpretation of the Charter’s origins but not of its significance.
Today we are the beneficiaries of this tradition in respect of both our rights and liberties and of parliamentary authority as a check on government. We have a lot to celebrate."
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