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| King John of England signing Magna Carta on June 15, 1215, at Runnymede; coloured wood engraving, 19th century. (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
MAGNA CARTA - MEGA CHARTER
Bad King John was a dastardly king. But how do you stop a tyrant?
That is the question.
By Nic Lance
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At first but few, But then they grew
Twenty-five barons under the yew
An oath they swore, an oath they swore
At Ankerwycke, in times of yore
Bold plans they had
To stop King John (he was qu-i-te bad)
In open air
In weather fair
Terms agreed, the scene was set
For a hob nob and a tête à tête
At Runnymede, at Runnymede
In a meadow at Runnymede
Peacemaker, sconemaker(!) go between, diplomat,
Archbishop Langton sat patiently with the king (what a rat)
Immersed in negotiation
Speaking for a nation
They parleyed well into the night
Among the bats by candlelight
The Archbishop’s chaplain prayed out loud
Until King John was truly cowed
Normally, bad King John would rather steal
Than do a deal & set his seal
To a big charter
“Call that a charter!”
But that bright day in June
He changed his tune -
Bad King John sealed the charter, drank some wine
kissed his barons – all was fine
Magna Carta
What a charter!
At Runnymede, at Runnymede
They sowed such seed at Runnymede
Our freedoms to uphold
No one above the law, no law to be sold
No person to be judged, except by their peers
All hunky dory, no more tears
From tyranny to liberty
What brilliant diplomacy!
At Runnymede at Runnymede
They sowed such seed at Runnymede
....
....
© Nic Lance June 2015 Lincoln
(800 years after the sealing of Magna Carta)
With a grateful nod to Rudyard Kipling.
Postscript to Magana Carta
One of the 4 surviving copies of the 1215 Magna Carta can be seen at Lincoln Castle which has recently had a £22 million revamp, together with the Charter of the Forest (1217) which did much more to relieve the plight of the ‘common’ man and woman living near royal forests.
Revised versions of Magna Carta were subsequently re-issued in 1216, 1217 and 1225 in the reign of Henry III and several times thereafter.
Archbishop Stephen Langton (born in Langton by Wragby, in Lincolnshire) was a key figure in thrashing out the terms of Magna Carta. He was a negotiator, mediator, peace maker, deal maker but not, as far as I know, a scone maker. This is just the Bake Off effect!
The yew tree at Ankerwycke is estimated to be 2000 years old and was named as one of Britain’s 50 great trees in 2002 to mark the Queen’s Golden Jubilee. Although the king and the barons would have sworn an oath before dictating and sealing the terms of Magna Carta, the swearing of an oath under the Ankerwycke Yew is speculation on my part. However the manor of Ankerwycke, on the bank of the River Thames opposite Runnymede , belonged to Richard de Montfichet - one of the 25 barons who witnessed the sealing of Magna Carta - so there is a strong connection.
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