MAGNA CARTA: The Places That Shaped the Great Charter

Derek J. Taylor embarks on a mission to uncover the 'golden thread of truth' travelling to palaces and villages of medieval England, through the castles and towns of France and the Middle East, to the United States of the 21st century. We go to the Fens, Clarendon Palace in Wiltshire, Lionheart's legacy, Chateau Gaillard in Normandy, Temple Ewell in Kent, Bouvines in Northern France, and of course Runnymede in Surrey plus the British Library, the Wash, Worcester Cathedral and the Palace of Westminster, Jamestown Virginia and Washington DC and back to Runnymede. In some senses, Magna Carta itself back in 1215 was a business deal. When hostilities had broken out between King John and the rebel barons earlier that year, the City of London, already a thriving trade centre, saw a commercial opportunity and pitched their support behind the barons. It was a game-changer, which tipped the balance away from John and a neat little clause was inserted into Magna Carta saying that the City of London should 'enjoy all its ancient liberties and free customs, both by land and by water'. For 800 years, Magna Carta has inspired those prepared to face torture and even death in the fight against tyranny. But the belief that the Great Charter gave us such freedoms as democracy, trial by jury and equality beneath the law has its roots in myth. When King John was forced to issue it, Magna Carta was regarded as little more than a stalling tactic in the bloody conflict between monarch and barons. With maps and illus., and eight pages of colour photos. 403pp, paperback.