Magna Carta: The True Story Behind the Charter facts for kids
First edition
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| Author | David Starkey |
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| Country | United Kingdom |
| Subject | British politics, history |
| Genre | Non-fiction |
| Publisher | Hodder & Stoughton |
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Publication date
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January 1, 2015 |
| Pages | 304 |
| ISBN | 978-1473610057 |
| Preceded by | Introduction to Fatal Colours: Towton 1461 – England's Most Brutal Battle by George Goodwin (2011) |
Magna Carta: The True Story Behind the Charter is a book by historian David Starkey. It was published in 2015 by Hodder & Stoughton. The book tells the story of the writing of the royal charter of rights Magna Carta. Starkey writes about its background, its history and what he believes is so great and important about it.
Background
2015 was the 800th anniversary of the first issuing of Magna Carta. To coincide with this, new academic works on the subject were published and events held to mark the anniversary. Starkey presented a one-hour BBC documentary on Magna Carta, and it was accompanied by a book published by Hodder and Stoughton.
In the documentary, Starkey argues that Magna Carta is a foundational stone of the rule of law and a basis constitutions because he believes states tends towards being "arrogance, corruption and conflict with its people", while the citizens tend towards being “disorderly, irrational and bloody-minded”. Starkey writes that Magna Carta is essential in keeping peace and constraints on the state and the citizen population and says that it is this rather shaky 800 year old document that has led to a "constitutional edifice" developing in the UK.
Synopsis
Starkey starts by describing the origins of Magna Carta. He tells the story of the warring parties and the fight involved in the creation and writing of the charter. He argues that the story of the birth of English constitutional government is much murkier and more complicated than the general view that it had been born at Runnymede on 15 June 1215. Nevertheless, Starkey writes that this symbolised a great English capacity to find peaceful compromise in politics.
The book mostly focuses on telling the story behind the charter, how the barons forced King John to seal the charter. The story follows the differences between the original Magna Carta of 1215 and the subsequent Magna Carta of November 1216 which followed the death of King John a month before.
Starkey concludes the book by writing about his views on the political implications of Magna Carta in present-day politics. He believes that the modern UK state appears to be fragmenting and would be helped by the core principles of the charter with a new charter of liberties or a new William Marshal figure.
