Magna Carta at the Beginning

Magna Carta

At the beginning of the Magna Carta, we find a list of persons who have sworn before God and the holy Roman Church that they will abide and follow all of the laws contained in the document. Notice that with the exception of the archbishop of Canterbury, the archbishop of Dublin, Ireland, and eight other individuals linked to the Church and the Roman papacy, all others are either earls or wealthy landowners which makes them members of the English nobility. All of these individuals are also loyal subjects to King John. There is not one mention of anyone outside of the nobility and/or wealthy landowners who have been given as a birthright certain noble titles by the English Crown. No mention of commoners, guild members, common workers or peasants, those truly hard-working loyal subjects who served as the middle/lower classes of Feudal England. Thus, it appears they have been excluded from any of the rights granted by the charter even though just below Section 1 we find the words "To All Free Men of Our Kingdom."

Thus, all of the rights contained in the Magna Carta, being "the liberties written out below," have been granted by King John and God for only the nobility and certain leaders of the Holy Roman Church. Notice that these liberties or rights have also been granted "for us (i.e., the nobility) and our heirs forever... To have and to keep for them and their heirs, of us and our heirs," meaning that the liberties outlined in the remainder of the document are for posterity and are perpetual and cannot be taken away by anyone, not even the all-mighty Holy Roman Church.

In #6, we find that women can inherit their husband's property and/or holdings, but if the woman in question is of "lower social standing," meaning that she comes from non-nobility stock, then she is not allowed to inherit anything. As a widow, a woman is allowed to have her "marriage portion and inheritance" immediately after her husband's death and will not have to pay a fee to the Crown and the Church. However, the widow can remain in her husband's house for only forty days and "within this period her dower shall be assigned to her." This dower is financial support which originates via the income received from the husband's property during their marriage. Apparently, once this dower is paid to the widow, she must vacate her husband's house and find someplace else to live which then allows other heirs, being males, to take over the property. Certainly, this is a form of blatant discrimination based on sex and gender and is slanted for the financial gain and security of the male heir. In #'s 10 and 11, we find more instances of rampant discrimination. For instance, if a person borrows money from a Jew and then dies, the Jew is not entitled to any interest from his heirs "for so long as he remains under age." Even worse, if a man dies owing money to a Jew, "his wife may have her dower and pay nothing towards the debt," thus leaving the Jewish lender out in the cold.