Why Is He Standing Over Me?
Why is he standing over me?
Nicolas Chamfort, best known for his witty epigrams and aphorisms, wrote: "The nobility say the noble is an intermediary between the king and the people. Yes, like a hunting dog is an intermediary between a hunter and hares".
Yesterday was the 800th anniversary of the signing of the Magna Carta. We are told that Magna Carta is the cornerstone of modern legal systems. The original was nullified within weeks. But the Magna Carta is not what it's made out to be. It was never about the "common people". It was an attempted agreement between the feudal nobility and the King. It is often claimed that Magna Carta "established due process". But 17th century principles of Trial by Jury, Habeas Corpus, and the Parliament's Right to control Taxation, were not really part of the text.
If we look through history, concepts such as The Divine Right of Kings or The Mandate of Heaven did not exist in all cultures. In those cultures, Magna Carta would be meaningless. But in a culture where the legitimacy of the monarch is claimed to be based upon the will of God, and where the monarch is subject to no earthly authority, Magna Carta was a relevant document.
Here's a Brief History of Human Rights.
