The Magna Carta, Part 1 (1959)

[Music] John by the grace of God the king of England of Ireland Duke of Normandy and Aquitane and Count of Anju to his archbishops abbotss baronss justices foresters sheriffs governors officers and to all ba Philips and faithful subjects, greeting. [Music] In the year 125, a bargain was struck between an unwilling English king and his discontented baronss. This has come to be known as Magna Carta or the great charter. But to learn the meaning of Magna Carta, we must go back to another milestone of English history as recorded in the great biotapistry. [Music] The biotapestry woven 900 years ago stands alone as a visual record of warfare during the great age of feudalism. In the year 1066, Norman warriors from the north of France invaded Saxon England. The Anglo-Saxons fought a defensive battle behind a wall of shields. Their weapons, the lance and the two-handed axe, opposing the Norman bowman and the terrible charges of the Norman cavalry. [Music] [Music] My life [Applause] my life. [Music] The Anglo-Saxons were defeated at the great battle of Hastings. And for the next h 100red years, England was to be ruled by the Norman French, the first of the Norman rulers, William the Conqueror. >> If any man know what manner of man the conqueror was, then will we describe him? He was more feared and more powerful than all former kings of the land. [Music] The land of Britain was under his sway. There was nothing in the land that was not his. He loved wild beasts as though he were the father of wild beasts. He decreed that whosoever killed a stag or a buck was to be blinded. Very lamentable indeed was the downfall of our dear country England. All were reduced to such a state of woe and slavery that it was considered a disgrace to be called an Englishman. [Music] Yet no man dared complain for all power lay with the king. Thus, William the Conqueror. He had, besides conquering the land and its people, introduced a new form of feudalism into Britain. Anglo-Saxon kings had held England with loose reigns, but William took firm possession of all the land. Now the king distributed these English lands among those warriors who had fought with him at Hastings. But none owned land but the king. His baronss held it by his favor and must will all that he willed if they would keep their possessions. Williams landholding baronss had out of their vast estates distributed land to their own vassels or followers. Such was the ancient custom of feudalism. But William the Conqueror made his own rules. As Roger of Wendover, a 13th century historian, continues, >> "Now at length the king sent to his men all over England to ascertain what lands he possessed therein, and how much revenue." >> Thus William decreed that a great survey be made. His purpose to tax not only his baronss, but his baron's vassels. William's nobles objected to this survey called the Doomsday Book. They expected to render military service to the king in exchange for their estates. This was a timehonored feudal custom, but with a doomsday survey, William set aside an equally time-honored custom of feudalism, the right of the local lord to tax his own tenants. But the king would hear no complaints, and thus he extorted from his subjects many marks of gold. He was fallen into covetousness, and greediness he loved with all. [Music] Whether he had become greedy or not, William the Conqueror had created in the crown a powerful central government. [Music] [Applause] to all faithful subjects, both French and English, know that I, Henry, have been crowned King of England. Henry I promised much in his coronation charter, but the nobles who placed him upon the throne got more than they had bargained for. In the past, the king's tax collectors had used Roman numerals for computing taxes due. And with Roman numerals, even simple arithmetic is difficult. [Music] Henry introduced the X-ecker. The word ex-checker comes from the checkered cloth covering the accounting table. Like the abacus, the ex-checker table was a kind of primitive adding machine, and Henry's baronss did not approve of it. [Music] In times past, crown monies had been collected irregularly. For instance, aids were collected to meet a king's ransom. Under Henry, however, these aids were turned into a permanent source of revenue. Thus, Henry's baronss saw another important feudal right usurped by a powerful king. [Music] When Henry was dead, Steven, his nephew, now tempted God and seized the crown of the kingdom. >> For the people of England, the reign of Steven was a tragic time of dissension and civil war. [Music] I cannot and may not tell of all the torture inflicted upon the wretched people of the And during King Steven's reign, it was said openly that Christ and his saints slept. The choice before England seemed to be lawless chaos or a king with absolute power over all men. Now there was great tranquility in England for the love which the people felt for Henry Plantedinate their future sovereign. >> But this great tranquility did not last long under Henry II's rule. To replenish the royal treasury, Henry must find new ways to raise money. He sent royal judges throughout the land to hold court and administer justice. >> Such odium there lies sheltered in the avarice of kings. Our Henry Planted be thinks himself so sturdy he wrecks not. >> Under the old feudal system, the local baronss had administered local justice. Now the king sought to take over this task and something more. The money collected as fines. Thus, as time went on, Henry's ex-jecker became a storehouse of grievances as well as gold. [Music] I've done homage to King Henry and swore owes to him that he's in no fair kept. With every bag of gold, he asks another in replacement that a man should g himself in his pride above all. [Music] And in this way did gold and the power of gold come to the king. >> King Richard the Lionhe Heart was a brave warrior and a most noble crusader. Twice with great energy and skill. He led the Christian host to the very gates of the holy city. But these crusades were costly, and Richard raised money for them by every means. And moreover, it must be said to his discredit that while he fought these wars bravely, he left his kingdom to take care of itself. [Music] After however this noble Richard had gone the way of all flesh, killed not in the holy wars but in France, John his brother came over into England to be crowned there. [Music] And on the 27th of May in the year of our Lord 1199, Hubert, Archbishop of Canterbury, placed the crown upon his head. [Music] Much has been written about the misrule and the cruel tyranny of this same King John. But it may be claimed with justice that much of the discontent of his reign stemmed from earlier times. [Music] William I had conquered England and introduced new forms of feudalism. William the Conqueror's son Henry I introduced systematic taxation and usurped ancient feudal rights of his noblemen. During King Stevens reign, the power of the crown declined, but the land was torn by civil war. Henry II reasserted the powers of the crown by taking over from the feudal baronss the administration of local justice. [Music] Thus, the history of England preceding the crowning of John is a history of conflict between the kings who attempted to center absolute power in the crown and the feudal baronss who sought to preserve the old forms of feudalism. But at last during John's reign an attempt was to be made on the fields of Runyde to resolve this conflict by drafting a written charter of rights and liberties which in later times was to be called Magna Carta. Yeah. [Applause] [Music]