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

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Before the conferences at Runnymede came to an end, confidence in the good intentions of the twenty-five Executors, drawn it must be remembered entirely from the section of the baronage most extreme in their views and most unfriendly to John, seems to have been completely lost. If we may believe Matthew Paris,^[55] a second body or committee of thirty-eight barons was nominated, representing other and more moderate sections of the baronage, to act as a check on the otherwise all-powerful oligarchy of twenty-five despots. If this second committee was ever really appointed, no details have been preserved as to the date of its selection, or as to the exact powers entrusted to it.

If the rebel leaders expected to arrive at a permanent settlement of their disputes when they came to meet the King on the morning of the 15th day of June, it must have been evident to all before the 23rd, that John only made the bargain in order to gain time and strength to break it. Three weeks, indeed, before John granted Magna Carta, he had begun his preparations for its repudiation. In a letter of 29th May, addressed to the Pope, there may still be read his own explanation of the causes of quarrel, and how he urged, with the low cunning peculiar to him, that the hostility of the rebels prevented the fulfilment of his vow of crusade. In conclusion, he expressed his willingness to abide by the Pope’s decision on all matters at issue.