The Reinvention of Magna Carta 1216–1616 (Cambridge Studies in English Legal History)

This new account of the influence of Magna Carta on the development of English public law is based largely on unpublished manuscripts. The story was discontinuous. Between the fourteenth century and the sixteenth the charter was practically a spent force. Late-medieval law lectures gave no hint of its later importance, and even in the 1550s a commentary on Magna Carta by William Fleetwood was still cast in the late-medieval mould. Constitutional issues rarely surfaced in the courts. But a new impetus was given to chapter 29 in 1581 by the 'Puritan' barrister Robert Snagge, and by the speeches and tracts of his colleagues, and by 1587 it was being exploited by lawyers in a variety of contexts. Edward Coke seized on the new learning at once. He made extensive claims for chapter 29 while at the bar, linking it with habeas corpus, and then as a judge (1606-16) he deployed it with effect in challenging encroachments on the common law. The book ends in 1616 with the lectures of Francis Ashley, summarising the new learning, and (a few weeks later) Coke's dismissal for defending too vigorously the liberty of the subject under the common law. Magna Carta Was Largely Ineffective For Practical Purposes Between The Fourteenth Century And The Sixteenth, Late-medieval Law Lectures Giving No Hint Of Its Later Importance. A Treatise By William Fleetwood (c.1558) Was Still In The Traditional Mould, But The Lectures Of The 'puritan' Barrister And Mp Robert Snagge In 1581, And The Speeches And Tracts Of His Colleagues, Advocated New Uses For It. After Centuries Of Oblivion, In 1587 There Were Eight Reported Cases In Which Chapter 29 Was Cited. Sir Edward Coke Made Extensive Claims For Chapter 29, Linking It With Habeas Corpus, And Then As A Judge (1606-16) He Deployed It With Effect In Challenging Encroachments On The Common Law And The Liberty Of The Subject. This Book Ends In 1616 With The Lectures Of Francis Ashley, Summarising The Effects Of The New Learning, And Then Coke's Dismissal For Pushing His Case Too Hard. A Challenging New Account. The Legal Character Of Magna Carta -- Chapter 29 In The Fourteenth Century -- Magna Carta In The Inns Of Court 1340-1540 -- Personal Liberty And The Church -- Royal Prerogative And Common Law Under Elizabeth I -- William Fleetwood And Magna Carta -- The Resurgence Of Chapter 29 After 1580 -- Magna Carta And The Rule Of Law 1592-1606 -- Sir Edward Coke And Magna Carta 1606-1615 -- A Year Consecrate To Justice 1616 -- Myth And Reality -- Appendices. Two Fifteenth-century Readings On Chapter 29 -- Actions Founded On Chapter 29 (1501-32) -- William Fleetwood On Chapter 29 (c. 1558) -- Fleetwood's Tracts On Magna Carta And On Statutes: A Concordance Of Parallel Passages -- Six Elizabethan Cases (1582-1600) -- The Judges' Resolutions On Habeas Corpus (1592) -- Coke's Memorandum On Chapter 29 (1604) -- Whetherly V. Whetherly (1605) -- Maunsell's Case (1607) -- Bulthorpe V. Ladbrook (1607). Sir John Baker. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. This new account of the influence of Magna Carta on the development of English public law is based largely on unpublished manuscripts. The story was discontinuous. Between the fourteenth and sixteenth centuries the charter was practically a spent force. Late-medieval law lectures gave no hint of its later importance, and even in the 1550s a commentary on Magna Carta by William Fleetwood was still cast in the late-medieval mould. Constitutional issues rarely surfaced in the courts. But a new impetus was given to chapter 29 in 1581 by the 'Puritan' barrister Robert Snagge, and by the speeches and tracts of his colleagues, and by 1587 it was being exploited by lawyers in a variety of contexts. Edward Coke seized on the new learning at once. He made extensive claims for chapter 29 while at the bar, linking it with habeas corpus, and then as a judge (160616) he deployed it with effect in challenging encroachments on the common law. The book ends in 1616 with the lectures of Francis Ashley, summarising the new learning, and (a few weeks later) Coke's dismissal for defending too vigorously the liberty of the subject under the common law. Magna Carta was largely ineffective as a constitutional document for hundreds of years until it was reinvented for practical purposes by lawyers between the 1580s and 1616. This book reveals, partly from unpublished legal sources, the steps by which this occurred, and examines the causes.