808 years ago today* on a grassy plain down by the river, the barons convinced bad King John to affix his seal to Magna Carta. Or the Magna Carta. Or Magna Charta. However you want to grammarize it. (And no, he didn't "sign" it, they didn't do things like that back then.)
And boy was that guy bad even by the standards of medieval royals: when you type "bad king..." in your search engine, the first suggested search is "bad king ... John."
There's a lot of good stuff in Magna Carta -- and a lot of stuff that has been rendered irrelevant or quaint by the passage of time, and even some stuff that we'd consider cringe-worthy today (see art. 10, for example).
But we takings geeks all know and continue to appreciate article 28:Nullus enarius aries, vel alius ballivus noster, capiat enar vel alia catalla allcujus, nisi statim inde reddat enarius, aut respectum inde habere possit de voluntate venditoris.Magna Carta art. XXVIII (1215).
If, like us, you don't know Latin, here's the English version:
No constable, or any of our bailiffs, shall take anyone’s corn [grain] or any other chattels, unless he immediately [statim] pays for them in cash, or else he can agree with the seller to postpone payment.Magna Carta art. XXVIII (1215). Just Compensation...stat!
Sounds familiar, no? If you ever wondered where James Madison got the backwards, somewhat weird syntax of the Takings Clause, we don't think you have to look much further than article 28. If it ain't Latin, it ain't the law (as a lawprof of ours once counseled).
And does that part about the duty to provide compensation for takings "statim" (immediate, without delay) have continuing relevance today? We sure think so. As does the MC itself, which continues to get a lot of love in Supreme Court opinions.
For a non-technical and highly-readable (and enjoyable, even for non-history buffs), you can't do better than Dan Jones's "Magna Carta - The Birth of Liberty."
The book starts off by giving the reader the background that led to Runnymede, the details of why King John came to the negotiating table, how well he honored Magna Carta (one guess - he didn't - they didn't call him "Softsword" for nothing), and how the document only grew in relevance in the intervening centuries. Even half a world away.
The front door of the U.S. Supreme Court:
No "the," and it is spelled "Charta"
Long live the Magna Carta!
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* Yes, we know of the Gregorian calendar reform so when we say "today," we're not being 100% correct. But come on man, work with us here.
