Posted on 06/15/2013 9:00:13 PM PDT by SunkenCiv
A peace treaty sealed in Runnymede in 1215, signalling the end of a conflict between King John and barons who were in revolt, has once again got passions running high in Surrey.
...a debate is raging on what to do in the place where the charter -- hailed by some as the foundation of English democracy -- was sealed.
Plans to build an £8m visitor centre in Runnymede as a legacy of the anniversary were dropped earlier this year because of lack of funds.
Surrey County Council, Runnymede Borough Council and the National Trust have all said they are now working to find a way to raise the profile of the Magna Carta and the site where it was sealed.
But the Magna Carta Trust's 800th committee, which is overseeing global commemorations to mark the anniversary, has said the lack of an interpretation centre at the site is a "travesty".
...Some historians have disputed the importance of the Magna Carta, arguing that of its 63 clauses, only three have not now been repealed or become obsolete. But Professor Saul said there could be no doubt about its significance.
He said: "The idea that Magna Carta was a narrow 'feudal' document was wrong... There can be no doubting the historical importance of Magna Carta. It established the principle that the executive power -- in this case, the king -- is subject to the law just like everyone else.
"Later in the 13th Century the jurist Bracton wrote 'in England the king is below God and below the law'. The crucial clause is clause 39: No free man shall be arrested, imprisoned or dispossessed without judgement of his peers or against the law of the land.
(Excerpt) Read more at bbc.co.uk ...
Yes, I know. I was referring to this in your link’s post:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2535714/posts
Human rights laws existed before the Magna Carta (Jews followed it in the Torah long before that)
American Thinker ^ | 06/16/2010 | Ethel Fenig
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The MC was an elite v. elite document. The hoi polloi weren’t a party to it and it is miraculous how it came to pass as a document of general and not limited rights for all. I suspect the Christian influence via the Torah as the reason.
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