I'll posit that you can't just be given a copy of, for instance, the Magna Carta and exect to glean its sheer profundity without loads of instruction regarding history and its place in time. In fact clauses such as "* (11) If a man dies owing money to Jews, his wife may have her dower and pay nothing towards the debt from it." may require a little explanation...
Sorry for the digression from the real topic of the Governor's School Buggery...
A pound of flesh, Mr. Shylock?