Читать книгу Magna Carta: A Commentary on the Great Charter of King John. With an Historical Introduction онлайн

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It must not be forgotten, however, that the truth of historical questions does not depend on the counting of votes, or the weight of authority; nor that a vigorous minority has always protested on the other side. “It has been lately the fashion,” Hallam confesses, “to depreciate the value of Magna Charta, as if it had sprung from the private ambition of a few selfish barons, and redressed only some feudal abuses.”^[206] It is not safe to accept, without a careful consideration of the evidence, the opinions cited even from such high authorities. “Equality” is essentially a modern ideal: in 1215, the various estates of the realm may have set out on the journey which was ultimately to lead them to this conception, but they had not yet reached their goal. For many centuries after the thirteenth, class legislation maintained its prominent place on the Statute Rolls, and the interests of the various classes were by no means always identical.

Two different parts of the Charter have a bearing on this question; namely, chapter 1, which explains to whom the rights were granted, and chapter 61, which declares by whom they were to be enforced. John’s words clearly tell us that the liberties were confirmed “to all freemen of my kingdom and their heirs for ever.” This opens up the crucial question—who were freemen in 1215?