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

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When the conference began, the fourth group was not near John, being otherwise occupied in the command of castle garrisons or of troops actually in the field; the third group, a small one, was with him; and the first and second groups were, in their imposing strength, arrayed against him.

Unfortunately, the vagueness of contemporary accounts prevents us from reproducing with certainty the progress of negotiations on that eventful 15th of June and the few days following. Some inferences, however, may be drawn from the words of the completed Charter itself and from those of several closely related documents. One of these, the Articles of the Barons,^[32] is sometimes supposed to be identical in its terms with the Schedule which had been already presented to the King’s emissaries, at Brackley, on the 27th of April.^[33] It is more probable, however, that during the seven eventful weeks which had since elapsed, the original demands had been somewhat modified. It is not unlikely that the interval had been employed in making the terms of the suggested agreement more full and specific. The Schedule of April was probably only a rough draft of the Articles as we know them, and these formed in their turn the new draft on which the completed Charter was based. Articles and Charter are alike authenticated with the impress of the King’s great seal, an indisputable proof that the terms of each of them actually received his official consent.