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Other Featured Stories:

The Mayflower, Degory Priest & his Descendants

The Frankish Merovingian Dynasty

The Irish Potato Famine & the immigration of Ned Devin to the US

Albert Henry Woods & The Alaskan Connection

Francis & John Wyman
and their beginnings

Charlemagne.. the man, the myth, the legend

King John I Lackland

Featured Story
King John signs the Magna Carta on June 15, 1215

by: Michele Wiley (Magna Carta - latin meaning “Great Charter” or “Great Paper”) The Magna Carta is undoubtedly one of the most (if not the most) important legal documents ever drafted in democratic history. While the Magna Carta is an English document, it served as a model for the United States Constitution and Bill of Rights, as well as the principle of Common Law (law created by court decisions as opposed to legislated) law practiced in the United States. (1) The origins of the Magna Carta are based upon disagreements between Pope Innocent III, King John of England and the English Barons. While many believe that the Magna Carta was the first document to restrict the powers of an English King, that is not the case. The Charter of Liberties (issued earlier in 1111 by Henry I of England) obligated the King to abide by certain laws regarding the treatment of church officials and nobles.

It is widely held that by 1199, when John I Lackland began his rule, he became the most powerful King in Europe. However, shortly after being crowned King of England, succeeding his brother King Richard (the Lionhearted), King John incurred some failures which caused the English Barons to revolt, seeking to limit the King’s power. By 1215 some of the rival Barons gathered together and took London by storm on June 10, 1215. After the taking of London, the King - represented by the Archbishop of Canterbury -- sought negotiations with the Barons. On June 15th, 1215 the King and his party met with the Barons at a meadow known as Runnymede which runs along the River Thames in the county of Surrey, England. On that day, King John affixed his seal (which acted as his signature) accepting the “Articles of the Barons.” In exchange for the King’s acceptance, on June 19, 1215 the Barons reaffirmed their allegiance to the King. On July 15, 1215 a document was released formalizing the agreement between the King and the Barons. That document became known as the Magna Carta.

As originally drafted, the Magna Carta required King John to renounce some of his rights, to abide by certain legal procedures, and to accept that -- regardless of his title -- he would be subject to English law. It also protected certain rights of the King’s subjects and can thus be viewed as providing “Constitutional Rights” to the people of England. Specific clauses (36, 38, 39 and 40) of the Magna Carta provided the King’s subjects protection against unlawful imprisonment. This important tenant of law - now known as “habeas corpus” - was incorporated into the United States Constitution and allows a prisoner – or someone on his behalf - to petition a court using the ‘Writ of Habeas Corpus” to request release from prison based upon false imprisonment. Today the writ is most commonly used as a post conviction remedy.

Another right granted under the Magna Carta (clause 39) – and incorporated into the 5th and 14th Amendments of the United States Constitution – is the right to “due process of the law.” This concept affords criminal defendants certain rights to a fair trial. The United States Supreme Court has greatly expanded – or defined – the “due process” rights.

While other clauses of the Magna Carta addressed freedom (from the King) for the Church of England, taxation, and inheritance rights, clause 61 (the security clause) was the most important to King John. (And of importance to our Woods family tree!)

In their wisdom, the Barons knew that they had to extract some form of security from King John so that he would honor the terms of the Charter, thus the “security clause.” Clause 61 is the longest of the charters original 63 clauses and called for the Barons to select 25 of their members to act as “Sureties” (or enforcers) of the Charter. Under this clause, the Barons were granted the authority to overrule the will of the King and to seize his castles and other possessions if necessary. Of the 25 “Surety Barons,” 11 appear in our Woods family tree. They are:

It is well documented that King John had no intention of abiding by the Charter as it stripped him of his power and left him a King only in name. Shortly after the Barons departed London, King John rejected the Charter thus plunging England into Civil War.

After King John’s death in 1216, the Magna Carta was revised and reissued. It underwent revisions in 1217 and again in 1225 when it finally became law. It was reissued a final time in 1297 but was only as a confirmation of the 1225 version.

(1) The complete and legal definition of “Common Law” (as well as other legal principles described in this document) is much more complex than described here. The legal principle of ‘stare decisis’ (Latin meaning “to stand by things decided”) is used in common law judicial systems and is the basis upon which case law – rather than legislated law – is created. Under the ‘stare decisis’ principle, legal decisions that have been decided by an upper court should stand as binding precedent for other courts (thus creating what is commonly called “case law”).

Additional information about the Magna Carta & the Sureties may found at these fine websites:
magnacarta.org | Medieval Sourcebook

This months featured story was submitted by:
Michele Wiley, Anchorage, Alaska
Family Tree Charts provided by: Rick Devin

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