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

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The two archbishops and their brother prelates entered a second protest of a different nature. They seem to have become alarmed by the drastic measures adopted or likely to be adopted, founded on the verdicts of the twelve knights elected in each county to carry into effect the various clauses of the Great Charter directed against abuses of the Forest laws. Apparently, it was feared that reforms of a sweeping nature would result, and practically abolish the royal forests altogether. Accordingly, they placed their protest formally on record—acting undoubtedly in the interests of the Crown, feeling that as mediators they were bound in some measure to see fairplay. They objected to a strained construction of the words of the Charter, holding that the articles in question ought to be understood as limited; all customs necessary for the preservation of the forests should remain in force.^[52]

The provisions referred to were, as is now well known, chapters 47, 48, and 53 of Magna Carta itself, and not, as Roger of Wendover states, a separate Forest Charter.^[53] That writer was led into this unfortunate error by confusing the charter granted by King John with its re-issue by his son in 1217, when provisions for the reform of the forest law were framed into a separate supplementary charter. From Roger’s time onwards, the charters of Henry III. were reproduced in all texts and treatises, in place of the real charter actually granted by John. Sir William Blackstone was the first commentator to discover this grievous error, and he clearly emphasized the grave differences between the terms granted by John and those of his son, showing in particular that the former king granted no separate Forest Charter at all.^[54]