Magna Carta : A Central European Perspective of Our Common Heritage of Freedom

To mark the 800th anniversary of the ratification of the Magna Carta by King John at Runnymede, __Magna Carta__ provides the central European perspectives on this monumental document and its impact on the political and legal experiences of freedom, from the medieval period to the present day. The volume gives rise to a discussion about the legacy of the Magna Carta as one of the fundamental elements of European identity. Supported by previously untranslated sources at the end of each chapter, the team of contributors consider the lasting legacy of Magna Carta in Hungary, the Czech Republic, Poland and Lithuania. The authors present the successful attempts to limit royal power by law while protecting the priveleges of the nobility carried out throughout the region from the thirteenth to eighteenth centuries. Each chapter considers the historical and political contexts behind these efforts, the processes by which political and legal institutions were subsequently formed and finally examines the legacy of those institutions which are today found in constitutional identities, constitutional arrangements and political projects across Central Europe. A preface by Robert Blackburn draws the collection together, highlighting the continued universal significance of the Magna Carta. This original title will enable students and academics alike to see for themselves the reverberations the Magna Carta caused in medieval Europe and beyond from a fresh and unusual perspective. Magna Carta- Front Cover 1 Magna Carta 2 Title Page 4 Copyright Page 5 Contents 6 Contributors 8 Foreword 13 Acknowledgements 19 Chapter 1: Why do we Central Europeans celebrate the anniversary of Magna Carta?: Introductory remarks 22 The Tocquevillean insight 23 Estate privileges as the mediaeval foundations of the early modern civic rights and mixed/ republican government 25 Freedom under the law 31 The archipelago of freedom 33 The experience of unfreedom 40 Toward a notion of Central European constitutional identity 52 Chapter 2: a) The Hungarian experience of freedom: the tradition of the Golden Bull 58 Liberty, limits, political community and the Golden Bull of Hungary 58 The development of the Hungarian ethos of liberty 68 Chapter 2: b) The Hungarian sources 73 Chapter 3: a) King, estates and the Czech Crown: the legal sources of the ideas of freedom in the medieval and early modern Czech lands 100 Early middle ages: aristocracy, election of the sovereign and royal title 100 Land community and origin of liberties of the Estates 104 Estate system, codification of provincial law and legislative stipulation of liberties in the fifteenth–seventeenth centuries 115 Excursus: privileges for Olomouc bishopric in the sixteenth century 125 Czech historiography of the nineteenth century and idea of Czech state 129 Conclusion 131 Chapter 3: b) The Czech sources 133 Chapter 4: a) The nobility’s privileges and the formation of civil liberties in old Poland 148 1. Introduction 148 2. The types of privileges introduced in old Poland: their legal characteristics 150 3. The first general (nationwide) privileges: the privileges of Buda and Košice; the nobles’ immunity from taxation 153 4. The golden epoch of privileges: the principle of personal and property inviolability 154 5. From the epoch of privileges to the era of noble democracy 159 6. Privileges and liberties as reflective of the Republic’s constitutional foundations 161 7. Freedom of conscience and religious toleration 164 8. The Constitution of 3 May 1791 164 Chapter 4: b) The Polish sources 168 Chapter 5: a) Ruling by law and by consent: monarchy and noble estate in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania 188 Introduction 188 The emergence of the Lithuanian state 189 The ruling dynasty 192 Union of Krėva (Krewo) and the Jagiełłonians 195 The union of Lublin and the noble democracy 202 The end of the Commonwealth and its legacy 209 Chapter 5: b) The Lithuanian sources 212 Index 249 "To mark the 800th anniversary of the ratification of the Magna Carta by King John at Runnymede, Magna Carta provides the central European perspectives on this monumental document and its impact on the political and legal experiences of freedom, from the medieval period to the present day. The volume gives rise to a discussion about the legacy of the Magna Carta as one of the fundamental elements of European identity. Supported by previously untranslated sources at the end of each chapter, the team of contributors consider the lasting legacy of Magna Carta in Hungary, the Czech Republic, Poland and Lithuania. The authors present the successful attempts to limit royal power by law while protecting the privileges of the nobility carried out throughout the region from the thirteenth to eighteenth centuries. Each chapter considers the historical and political contexts behind these efforts, the processes by which political and legal institutions were subsequently formed and finally examines the legacy of those institutions which are today found in constitutional identities, constitutional arrangements and political projects across Central Europe. A preface by Robert Blackburn draws the collection together, highlighting the continued universal significance of the Magna Carta. This original title will enable students and academics alike to see for themselves the reverberations the Magna Carta caused in medieval Europe and beyond from a fresh and unusual perspective." --publisher's description To mark the 800th anniversary of the ratification of the Magna Carta by King John at Runneymead, 'Magna Carta' provides the Central and Eastern European perspectives on this monumental document and its impact on the political and legal experiences of freedom, from the medieval period to the present day. The volume gives rise to a discussion about the legacy of the Magna Carta as one of the fundamental elements of European identity. Supported by previously untranslated sources at the end of each chapter, the team of contributors consider the lasting legacy of the Magna Carta in Hungary, the Czech Republic, Poland and Lithuania. The authors present the successful attempts to limit royal power by law while protecting the privileges of the nobility carried out throughout the region from the 13th to 18th centuries. Each chapter considers the historical and political contexts behind these efforts, the processes by which political and legal institutions were subsequently formed and finally examines the legacy of those institutions which are today found in consitutional identities, constitutional arrangements and political projects across Central and Eastern Europe Why Do We Central Europeans Celebrate The Anniversary Of Magna Carta? Introductory Remarks / Zbigniew Rau, Marek Tracz-tryniecki, And Przemys±aw çzurawski Vel Grajewski -- The Hungarian Experience Of Freedom : The Tradition Of The Golden Bull / Attila K. Molnar And Levente Vèolgyesi -- King, Estates And The Czech Crown : The Legal Sources Of The Ideas Of Freedom In The Medieval And Early Modern Czech Lands / Jana Janiésovâa And Dalibor Janiés -- The Nobility's Privileges And The Formation Of Civil Liberties In Old Poland / Dorota Malec -- Ruling By Law And By Consent : Monarchy And Noble Estate In The Grand Duchy Of Lithuania / Artåuras Vasiliauskas. Edited By Zbigniew Rau, Przemysław Żurawski Vel Grajewski And Marek Tracz-tryniecki. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.