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The Magna Carta
This "Great Charter" was meant to help solve issues between King John of England and his disgruntled Barons. Though it was not recognized by the Pope of the time, and it was tweaked later on; many of its clauses remain, to this day, an intergal part of several national constitutions world wide.
"Magna Carta was written by a group of 13th-century barons to protect their rights and property against a tyrannical king. It is concerned with many practical matters and specific grievances relevant to the feudal system under which they lived. The interests of the common man were hardly apparent in the minds of the men who brokered the agreement. But there are two principles expressed in Magna Carta that resonate to this day: "No freeman shall be taken, imprisoned, disseised, outlawed, banished, or in any way destroyed, nor will We proceed against or prosecute him, except by the lawful judgment of his peers and by the law of the land." "To no one will We sell, to no one will We deny or delay, right or justice." http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/featured_documents/magna_carta/ |